Coming into the season, Shaka Smart’s seat was rather hot. The sixth-year head coach was on track to miss another NCAA Tournament in 2019-2020 before COVID-19 shut down the season. However, the year ended with momentum and the Longhorns have been able to carry that over to 2020-2021.
Now, they are off to their best start since Smart took over. Texas is 9-1 overall with their only loss coming to No. 3 Villanova. In the Big 12, they are 3-0 with wins over Oklahoma State, Kansas, and Iowa State. Stars Greg Brown, Matt Coleman, and Courtney Ramey have shined while role players such as Jericho Sims and Kai Jones have taken the next step.
In Joe Lunardi and ESPN’s latest Bracketology, Texas has risen all the way up to a one seed. Rice would be the opponent in the famous 1-16 matchup. Old Southwest Conference rival Arkansas is a hypothetical second-round matchup, while Oklahoma State is the only other Big 12 team in Texas’ bracket.
Here is the full region:
The NCAA announced the entire tournament would be held in the state of Indiana for coronavirus reasons. Dates, locations, and times have yet to be announced.
If Texas were to be a one seed in the tournament, it would be the first time since 2003 when they made the Final Four. Sophomore T.J. Ford led the way, averaging 15.0 points and 7.7 assists throughout the year.
There is a long season ahead of the Longhorns are remaining one of the top four teams in the tournament will be tough. Especially in a conference like the Big 12.