Last week, I wrote that Texas needed to win at least two of their final three games to even be considered for an at-large bid. To the disbelief of many, Texas was able to come away with a huge overtime win against Baylor and a thorough defeat of Kansas State. With those two wins, Texas was able to lock up the 7 seed in the Big 12 which is fairly respectable in a conference that is as deep as any in the country.
On Wednesday, Texas will open up their Big 12 tournament against Texas Tech. Needless to say,this is another must win for Rick Barnes and the Longhorns. While a win would hopefully be enough to get them at least a 12 seed in the NCAA, according to Joe Lunardi, a loss will take them out of contention.
Texas men will be out of NCAA tourney if they lose Wed to Tech, according to latest bracketology update from ESPN's Joe Lunardi.
— Longhorn Network (@LonghornNetwork) March 9, 2015
With that said, if Texas is unable to beat an underwhelming Texas Tech team, especially in crunch time, they do not deserve to be playing in the postseason. The Texas Longhorns are as talented as any team in the country and have the personnel to compete with the best, as evident in the close loss to Kentucky without Isaiah Taylor. However, whether it be poor coaching or poor execution, the Longhorns never ceased to disappoint. I was close to giving up on this team, but after watching the tenacity that they showed in their final two games, I am starting to feel that maybe this team is not dead.
Before the season started I felt as though this team had final four potential. The Longhorns show flashes of pure brilliance. The only problem is they are inconsistent and have large gaps in games where their offense just goes dormant. With that said, it is no secret that the defense has been the cornerstone of the team this year. They lead the country in blocks by just over a whole block per game, and that was on showcase this past weekend when they tied the school record with 14 against Kansas State. While it is a big IF, if the Longhorns can continue to play with energy and not turn over the ball as much, look of for Texas come tournament time. I am not ready to say that they are back to where they were for the first 10 games, but they will certainly be a team that can make some noise.
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