Texas faces critical non-conference tests in Legends Classic

Since Tuesday, the Texas Longhorns have been in New York City in preparation for the UKG Legends Classic at the Barclays Center that begins on Thursday with an opening game against the Syracuse Orange at 6 p.m. Central on ESPN2 before facing the Saint Joseph’s Hawks or the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Friday.

With a current strength of schedule in the 300s, according to BartTorvik.com, the games in Brooklyn are critical for Texas because the non-conference schedule only features a handful of opportunities to notch quality wins as the Longhorns attempt to build an NCAA Tournament resume prior to SEC play, especially since a chance to secure that type of win went wanting in the season-opening…