Where Texas basketball stands: Current forecast on Longhorns' NCAA Tournament chances
Will the Texas Longhorns Men's Basketball team get into March Madness? That's the big question that will be answered this evening during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show. While Texas had been trending the right way on Friday, Saturday's forecasts have turned darker.
Last week, USA TODAY Sports Bracketology said Texas needed to make a run in the SEC Tournament to have a chance.
"The Longhorns need to beat Vanderbilt in the SEC tournament first round, beat rival Texas A&M again and possibly take down Tennessee in the quarterfinals. A verry difficult path for Rodney Terry's team." - Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY Sports
UT was able to beat Vandy and the Aggies, but fell to Tennessee, The latest Bracketology has UT as one of the last four teams into the tournament.
"The Longhorns leaped back into the bracket by beating rival Texas A&M 94-89 in double overtime in second round of the SEC tournament. That gives the SEC 14 teams in our projected field, which would shatter the previous record for any conference in one tournament. The record is 11 set by the Big East in 2011." - USA TODAY Sports
ESPN's version of Bracketology paints a darker future. Writer Joe Lunardi updated his bracket forecast late Saturday evening has Texas as one of the first four out of the Big Dance. ESPN's Neil Paine has a slightly different take, Texas has a 63% to get into the field.
"Texas' run through the SEC tournament ended Friday with an 83-72 quarterfinal loss to Tennessee, a defeat that dropped the Longhorns' odds of making the NCAA tournament from to the low 60s% in the ESPN Analytics model. In truth, that might be overstating their case somewhat if we compare with other forecasts. On the plus side, Texas' NET ranking is around the top 40, and it has six wins against top-50 BPI teams (11 against the top 100), the foundation for a good tourney résumé. But its SOR and WAB still rank just outside the top 50, giving the Longhorns a tougher case to make than some other bubble squads. ... Texas ranks 11th both in NET and ESPN Analytics' tourney odds, so the Longhorns might have done enough -- but they'll have to wait until Sunday to find out." - Neil Paine, ESPN
CBS Sports forecasts a similar end to the Texas season. Writer Jerry Palm thinks the Longhorns miss out on March Madness because of the team's struggles during the SEC season.
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