Texas basketball HC Rodney Terry and players discuss No. 15 Colgate

Rodney Terry and Texas players speak ahead of the Colgate game.

If you thought the Texas basketball program would take Colgate lightly, you could be mistaken. Texas head coach Rodney Terry and his team discussed the importance of the matchup and the task ahead of them.

Rodney Terry had the following to say ahead of Thursday’s bout in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

I don’t think of Colgate as an underdog. Colgate can play with anybody in this tournament . . . Any time you score 80 (points per game), you can beat anybody in the country on any given day.

The team appears to understand it will likely face an atmosphere similar to the one it faced in Kansas City for the Big 12 Tournament title against Kansas. Veteran forward Brock Cunningham imparted his own wisdom from the team’s 2021 early exit against Abilene Christian and it’s 2022 game against Virginia Tech.

“They will root for the under-seed.” Cunningham added, “especially when Texas is that top seed.”

Rodney Terry echoed the sentiment sharing, “I think our guys understand when they signed up to play at Texas that they were gonna get everybody’s best game.”

We will see if those are merely words or if Texas is that prepared.

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NCAA Tournament: Texas vs. Colgate preview and predictions

Texas presents matchup problems against Colgate’s defense.

Texas is set to take on Colgate in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday. The Longhorns look to fend off the upset-minded Raiders and advance to the Round of 32 for the second straight season.

Texas earned a No. 2 seed for the committee after a 26-8 season with a Big 12 tournament title under their belt. Colgate comes in with an identical 26-8 record as a No. 15 seed, champions of the Patriot League.

Colgate is more than capable of giving Texas a scare in this matchup. The Raiders are the best three-point shooting team in the tournament field, hitting at a 40% clip on the year.

The Raiders have multiple players that can score the basketball at a high level, with five players averaging double figures.

Texas’ athleticism in the frontcourt and experience at guard should be able to give a struggling Colgate defense fits. Marcus Carr leads the Longhorns offense as the facilitator, while Dylan Disu is coming on hot as of late.

Timmy Allen is back from injury to put the Longhorns at full strength entering March Madness.

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