The second weekend of the NCAA Tournament begins Thursday. For the first time since 2008, the Texas Longhorns are participants. The Longhorns reunite with a familiar Sweet 16 foe on Friday night.
Texas faces the Xavier Musketeers who sent Rick Barnes and company home for the 2004 NCAA Tournament. Since the game, Xavier has been a mainstay in college basketball across multiple head coaching hires. The Longhorns are looking to join them as consistent contenders.
Rodney Terry has done well to avoid the minefields that have presented themselves for fellow top seeds. Purdue, Kansas, Marquette and Arizona have already been eliminated as Top 2 seeds. Their absences increase the likelihood that Texas could win it all. They’ll have to get past a difficult test in Xavier to get there.
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Here’s a look at how the next round could unfold.