Texas basketball has been a bit inconsistent in its first season under Sean Miller, but the Longhorns have still done enough to put themselves in NCAA Tournament conversation. Texas entered the NCAA Tournament solidly in the field just above the bubble in most projections, including ClutchPoints' latest Bracketology, needing just one win to essentially secure its spot in the field.
Unfortunately for Miller and company, Texas did not get that win. The Longhorns took a bad loss in a 76-66 stunner at the hands of Ole Miss, who its far out of tournament contention.
The loss will make it a very long wait for Texas until Sunday afternoon, when it will find out its NCAA Tournament fate for good. However, Miller isn't sweating the wait and put things in perspective after the upset loss on Wednesday, via Giorgy Ruiz of TSTV Sports.
“I have no anxiety. None. Zero,” Miller said of the uncertainty around Selection Sunday. “I came to Texas to build a championship program. This has been a very rewarding and enlightening [experience]. When you get to the finality of it, whatever happens happens, and I'll have peace.”
In truth, Texas should still be feeling pretty good about its chances of getting into the tournament on Sunday thanks to the struggles of the rest of the bubble. Indiana, Stanford and Virginia Tech, three teams that were seemingly chasing the Longhorns coming into the week, all lost their first games in conference tournament play as well, so not many teams have been able to gain ground on Texas despite the loss.
The one thing that Miller and company do have to be on the lookout for is potential bid stealers. They always come, every March, and spoil the party for a few bubble teams. At the moment, there are three conferences where it feels like a distinct possibility: the Mountain West, the Atlantic 10, and the MAC.
If bids get stolen in all three of those leagues, maybe Texas will have something to worry about on Sunday. However, the Longhorns are still looking pretty good in the tournament picture despite this stunning upset.
