Texas finally broke the curse and won their first NCAA tournament game since 2014 with an 81-73 win over Virginia Tech in the first round.
On Selection Sunday, the East Region looked to be one of the toughest portions of the bracket. No. 1 Baylor, No. 2 Kentucky, No. 3 Purdue and No. 4 UCLA were each viewed as capable of competing for the national championship this season.
In typical March Madness fashion, Kentucky was eliminated by No. 15 seed St. Peters in the first round, while Baylor suffered a loss to No. 8 seed North Carolina in the second round on Saturday.
While the Longhorns will have to face a tough Purdue squad on Sunday evening, the path out of the East Region beyond the second round now looks as favorable as it could for Texas. If Chris Beard’s team can upset the Boilermakers in round two, they’ll face off with St. Peters in the Sweet 16.
Texas fans appear to be slowly gaining confidence ahead of the matchup with Purdue. Cautious optimism seems to be the common theme throughout Beard’s first season with the Longhorns, which has included a great deal of inconsistency.
To help pass the time until tipoff vs. Purdue, let’s take a look at the pregame social media buzz.