After a long, grueling Big 12 campaign, the conference tournament is finally in sight for the league's 14 teams. Nine Big 12 teams are currently comfortably slotted into the NCAA Tournament field, three others will look to keep their slim bubble hopes alive in Kansas City, and the bottom two are auto-bid or bust. One of the teams in the “should be in” category is the Texas Longhorns.
Like many Big 12 teams, Rodney Terry's squad had a solid nonconference showing before running into a wall during conference play. The Longhorns lost three of their first four contests in conference play — including disappointing showings at West Virginia and against UCF at home.
Texas has bounced back since then, beating the teams it is supposed to and avoiding bad losses. The result is the Longhorns find themselves as a single-digit seed in most March Madness brackets while resting easy come Selection Sunday. A timely run in the Big 12 tourney though could boost Texas' seeding significantly and make the Longhorns a dark horse come March.
Top teams showing weakness
As the current projected #8 seed in the Big 12 Tournament, the Longhorns face a tough road to even reach the conference championship game. A second-round game against the likes of Oklahoma or Kansas State would be followed by a contest against the number-one team in the country, Houston. Fortunately for Texas, just one game separates fifth and tenth place in the Big 12 currently. A win or loss could take the Longhorns out of the dreaded 8-9 matchup and open up a more inviting path to the final — even if it means a tougher opening game.
The Cougars have won six straight, including impressive wins over Iowa State and Baylor, but the rest of the conference has proven to be beatable. Second-place Iowa State is just 51st in offensive efficiency per Ken Pomeroy and is coming off a 58-point performance against Oklahoma in which it shot 33% from the field. Baylor is 74th in defensive efficiency over its last 11 games and 111th in ADJD against quality opponents (top 50 teams). Then there is Kansas, which has lost all ability to hit outside shots in Big 12 play. The Jayhawks are 11th in the league, hitting just 31.4% of their three-point attempts in conference play after shooting 38.4% from deep in non-conference games.
Texas has beaten Baylor this year while playing Houston and Iowa State tight. Given some of the recent struggles by these top teams, the Longhorns should not feel intimidated by any opponent in the Big 12 Tournament.
Hungry veteran leaders
If nothing else, this group of Texas players knows how to win. Dylan Disu, Max Abmas, and Brock Cunningham are all fifth-year seniors, with Disu, Cunningham, and junior guard Tyrese Hunter leading the Longhorns to a Big 12 Tournament title and Elite Eight berth last season — even after a mid-season coaching change. Meanwhile, Abmas helped engineer a Sweet 16 run and later a 30-win season at Oral Roberts, while Kadin Sherick was part of a 25-win team during his final season at Virginia.
While not as senior-laden as last year's squad, this team is still experienced — as five of its top six scorers are upperclassmen. The Longhorns are the ninth-most experienced team in college basketball, per KenPom, and with so many proven winners on the roster, this Texas team cannot be counted out in the Big 12 Tournament.
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