Tag: Texas Longhorns Basketball

Preview: No. 10 seeds Virginia, Colorado State battle to play Texas

Texas finds out its next opponent on Tuesday night.

March Madness is here. The NCAA tournament begins Tuesday, and perhaps with more relevance to the Texas Longhorns than usual.

The Longhorns battle the winner of the No. 10 play-in game between the Virginia Cavaliers and the Colorado State Rams.

The teams narrowly reached the tournament in a more competitive field than usual. Their contrasting styles will play a role in the matchup and could determine how likely are Texas’ chances to advance.

Virginia’s style is straightforward. The Cavaliers want to play suffocating defense. The team allows 59.6 points per game.

While its defense led the team to a national title victory over Texas Tech and former Texas head coach Chris Beard, its lack of offense has also led to some of the more memorable upsets in recent tournament history. The list includes the first ever round of 64 upset of a No. 1 seed when the No. 16 UMBC Retrievers upset the Cavaliers.

Virginia isn’t separating from teams offensively this season. Its 63.6 points per game average has lifted it to a 1-3 record vs. Top 25 opponents. The Cavaliers rank No. 254 nationally in field goal percentage (43.4%) and No. 355 in free throw percentage (63.7%).

On the opposite side is a Colorado State squad that can score in droves. The team averages 76.4 points per contest and has gone 2-0 vs. Top 25 opponents for the season. The Rams have not fared as well defensively allowing 68.4 points per game.

The teams are scheduled to play Tuesday at 8:10 p.m. CT on TruTV.

What Texas’ tournament draw means for its postseason chances

The Longhorns couldn’t have asked for a better first weekend than their 2024 tournament draw.

The Texas Longhorns (20-12) have been a frustrating team to watch on the basketball court this season. From inconsistent offense to lackluster defense, the team has looked disjointed for much of the year.

Despite the above concerns, this season’s tournament draw gives Texas a chance to reach the Sweet 16.

Winning in the NCAA tournament isn’t easy as Texas knows well. The program is 39-40 all-time in the NCAA tournament. That resume includes plenty of first round exits. The Longhorns suffered losses to the likes of No. 11 seed Northern Iowa, No. 14 Abilene Christian and No. 11 Nevada when Shaka Smart led the team.

Chris Beard and Rodney Terry had better success as head coaches in Austin. Beard earned the team’s first NCAA tournament victory since 2014 in his first season. Terry took Texas to its first Elite Eight since 2009.

The dysfunction for the current squad is more reminiscent of the Smart era than the last two tournament runs. Albeit, the Longhorns’ potential opponents provide matchups that could give Texas a chance to win a couple of games.

Texas is set to play the winner of the No. 10 seed play-in game between the Virginia Cavaliers and Colorado State Rams. Some question whether or not the Cavaliers should be in the tournament given their lackluster resume. The two teams weren’t worthy of a tournament bye. They were among the last teams in the field. That favors Texas.

Stylistically, some suggest Virginia’s suffocating defense is a bad matchup for Texas. If the Longhorns run through guard Max Abmas they could certainly see the matchup go in Virginia’s favor. Abmas isn’t very tall or fast and seems to have limited vertical jump. While an effective scorer, his lack of ability to create space for himself has created issues not only in consistent scoring but in protecting the basketball.

Despite the issues Virginia’s defense present, the Cavaliers’ offensive limitations were enough to keep them on the bubble. Should Texas get high scoring forward Dylan Disu and efficient forward Dillon Mitchell shot opportunities in the first game, they could advance to face the No. 2 Tennessee Volunteers.

Tennessee, like Texas, did not have the most impressive entrance to the tournament. The Volunteers lost to the Mississippi State Bulldogs in their first SEC tournament game, 73-56.

While Mississippi State is a good team, Tennessee’s launch to March Madness is similar to how it has fared in the NCAA tournament. Barnes’ squads have struggled in the postseason since he took over at Tennessee. The Vols should be favored in the potential matchup, but the Longhorns would have an opportunity to win.

There is plenty of reason to doubt Texas entering the weekend. The inconsistent product is among the top concerns. Even so, if the team was going to make another Sweet 16 appearance you would expect their tournament draw to look like it looks this year.

Texas to face winner of Virginia, Colorado State in NCAA tournament

Texas was given a No. 7 seed in the NCAA tournament.

The Texas Longhorns’ bracket is set. Head coach Rodney Terry and company were given a No. 7 seed.

The No. 7 designation is a surprising one, but one that Terry’s squad certainly isn’t arguing against. The Longhorns are slated to play the winner of a No. 10 seed play-in game between Virginia and Colorado State.

The storylines abound for Texas players and coaches as we enter the first weekend. Virginia transfer Kadin Shedrick could face his former team should the Cavaliers win their first game.

Former Longhorns head coach Rick Barnes’ Tennessee Volunteers are the No. 2 seed in the same bracket as Texas. A potential reunion with Barnes is set to take place in the round of 32 should both teams advance out of their first matchup with a win.

Texas will await the results of the game between Virginia and Colorado State before taking the court. It will look to make a surprise run after reaching the Elite Eight last season.

Where Texas lands in ESPN’s latest bracketology

Joe Lunardi released his NCAA Tournament prediction the morning of Selection Sunday.

It’s officially Selection Sunday. Men’s and women’s basketball programs across the country will soon learn their seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Continue reading “Where Texas lands in ESPN’s latest bracketology”

Opinion: Texas tourney hopes rely on good shot taking, more Dylan Disu

For Texas to play winning offense, things have to change in the tournament.

The Texas Longhorns (20-12) await their NCAA tournament seed after an inconsistent season in Austin. The inconsistency could have something to do with how it is allotting its offensive opportunities.

The issue for Texas could lie in its offensive approach. One area that stands to improve is shot allotment. Lost in Wednesday’s loss to Kansas State was how many shot attempts each player received.

Guard Max Abmas scored 26 points but took 20 shot attempts for the game. Unfortunately, he didn’t get much help from fellow guard Tyrese Hunter, who followed a 30 point performance in the regular season finale against Oklahoma with an 0-for-7 shooting day from the field.

Texas forwards Dillon Mitchell and Dylan Disu combined for 14 shot attempts despite proving more reliable on the year. They went for a combined 8-for-14 on the day despite an off night for Disu. Perhaps the team might consider getting the ball to its higher percentage scorers.

The Longhorns lost to the Kansas State Wildcats (19-14) in their first and only Big 12 tournament matchup of the season. The Wildcats will likely be playing in the NIT after losing by 19 points in their next Big 12 tournament matchup.

If Texas doesn’t improve its approach it might be one-and-done again in March Madness.

Texas has more than one bad loss on its schedule. Its first few games in Big 12 play featured losses to West Virginia (9-23) and UCF (17-15). The aforementioned squads went 4-14 and 7-11 in Big 12 play. For the Longhorns, losses like those and Kansas State might have been the difference between a No. 6 or 7 seed and having to face a No. 1 seed in the round of 32.

In Texas’ win over Oklahoma in its regular season finale, the Longhorns took 12 three point attempts. They prioritized scoring around the basket and shot 63.5% from the field on the way to 94 points. Against Kansas State, the Longhorns went 26% from three-point range and saw a 10-point halftime lead vanish not long into the second half.

The strength of the Texas offense is its posts Dillon Mitchell and Dylan Disu. The Longhorns’ tournament approach could give an idea of whether or not they view their posts as their offensive strength.

Bracket Update: Texas No. 9 seed in ESPN bracketology projection

The Texas Longhorns were solidly in the tournament as a No. 9 seed in a recent bracket prediction.

It’s that time of the year. College basketball fans across the country have their eye on bracket updates from leading NCAA tournament analysts.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi released his recent projections at 12:30 a.m. CT on March 15. It placed the Longhorns solidly in the tournament as a No. 9 seed.

The projection pits Texas against No. 8 seeded Nebraska, and in the same region as the reigning national champion UConn Huskies who defeated Texas earlier this season. Much has changed since the Longhorns faced the projected No. 1 seeded Huskies, but the matchup probably isn’t one Texas should relish.

On the other hand, anything can happen in March. It just takes a good weekend to reach the Sweet 16, and that’s what Texas hopes it can find in the early going of the NCAA tournament.

Other notable projections placed rivals in the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas A&M Aggies into the field. The Aggies were noted as the last team in the tournament while Oklahoma was given one of the last four byes. Given the Sooners won 20 games in the Big 12, they should be a lock to make it into the tournament.

The Kansas State Wildcats (19-14) are likely out of contention despite defeating Texas on Wednesday. The team was eliminated from the Big 12 tournament in a loss to Iowa State, 76-57.

NCAA tournament predictions see changes as more teams add data points in conference tournament games. Even so, Texas looks to be safe heading into Sunday’s tournament announcement.

Texas forward Dylan Disu is given first-team All-Big 12 honors

Dylan Disu was recognized as one of the best players at his position.

The All-Big 12 team has been announced. Texas forward Dylan Disu received first-team honors.

The distinction is well-earned for Disu who put up a career best season in Austin. For the year he put up a strong 16.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. The point average was bolstered by an impressive 51.3% conversion rate from three point range.

Disu was one of the few predictable players on Texas’ 2024 squad consistently producing for his team on the court. His strong performance aided Texas in reaching 20 wins on the year despite losing several key contributors from the team’s Elite Eight run a season ago.

Heading into the Big 12 tournament, Texas is seemingly a lock to reach the NCAA tournament. That said, it has plenty to gain by a strong showing over the next week including a higher tournament seed. How high the team can climb is up for debate, but one would presume a handful of resume-building win opportunities will be there if the Longhorns keep winning.

For Texas to experience continued success, Disu will likely be a huge part of it. The forward will look to secure more wins as his team enters the middle of March.

A look at the 2024 Big 12 Tournament bracket for men’s basketball

No. 7 Texas will face No. 10 Kansas State on March 13.

Texas concluded the 2024 college basketball regular season with a 94-80 win over Oklahoma on Saturday. Continue reading “A look at the 2024 Big 12 Tournament bracket for men’s basketball”

Texas hoops unofficially joins football as ‘SEC program’ after finale

Texas’ move to the SEC got more real after its Big 12 regular season finale against Oklahoma.

Texas football has been an SEC program for a couple of months now. Basketball is soon to join it on the other side of the move from the Big 12.

The Longhorns played their last Big 12 regular season game in Saturday’s win over the Oklahoma Sooners. After the upcoming week’s conference tournament, the team’s only tie to the league will be representing it in neutral site games over March Madness before departing.

There’s no love lost between the Longhorns and their current league. This season has seen fans of a couple teams chant “S-E-C” to punctuate victory over Texas. The Longhorns don’t take it as an insult.

Texas is on to bigger and better things in football, but the move to its new conference will make for a more manageable basketball schedule that what it has faced in the Big 12. College basketball’s juggernaut increased in difficulty when it added Houston to a conference led by Kansas, Baylor, Iowa State and other prominent basketball programs.

The Longhorns’ time in the Big 12 is coming to an end. Saturday marked the final basketball regular season in the conference.

Texas will play its final Big 12 basketball tournament as it tips off March 12.

‘Horns down the Sooners, 94-80

Texas reached 20 wins to cap the regular season with a win over Oklahoma.

For the third consecutive year, the Texas Longhorns swept the Oklahoma Sooners on the basketball court. It was the Longhorns’ seventh consecutive win over their hoops rival.

The win turns up the heat on Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser who has yet to beat Texas since taking over in Norman.

Texas head coach Rodney Terry took pressure off himself getting to the 20-win mark for the season. His team did so for the most part without reliance on three point baskets.

The Longhorns attempted 12 three-point shots making six of them. Consequently, Texas made 63.5% of its field goals and scored 94 points. The high scoring output was bolstered by a 22-for-23 performance from the free throw line.

The high field goal percentage and volume of free throw attempts are perhaps a result of more two-point shot attempts. Perhaps, for a program who isn’t afraid to shoot from long range, the team might have found a more efficient way to score given its personnel.

Texas isn’t loaded with three point scorers, but that doesn’t mean it lacks scorers altogether. The scoring output was well distributed on Saturday.

Veteran guard Tyrese Hunter led the scoring for the Longhorns with 30 points on 13 shot attempts. By comparison, fellow guard Max Abmas put up 11 points on 13 shot attempts.

Forward Dylan Disu added 16 points in post-injury action while Dillon Mitchell scored 14 points off the bench. Texas reserves Chendall Weaver and Kaden Shedrick put up nine and eight points respectively.

The Longhorns will look to follow one of their more complete offensive performances with a win in the Big 12 tournament.