Texas might have punched its ticket to next week’s NCAA Tournament with a rousing 94-89 double overtime win over Associated Press No. 14 Texas A&M in the second round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday.
Firmly on the bubble, the Longhorns entered the day as the last team out of the 68-team field, according to ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi.
Afterward, SEC Network’s Peter Burns noted that the Longhorns had moved to Lunardi’s last team in.
Texas (19-14, 6-12 in SEC) had a rocky first season as an SEC member, suffering three separate three-game losing streaks in conference play. It went 2-7 in its final nine regular season games entering the SEC Tournament, including a 15-point loss to South Carolina (12-20, 2-16 in SEC), the conference’s worst team, on Feb. 22.
But the Longhorns notched five regular-season Quad 1 wins, maneuvering through the toughest conference in men’s college basketball history and two more in the first two days of the SEC Tournament.
On Wednesday, Texas defeated Vanderbilt (20-12, 8-10 in SEC), one of 13 teams from the SEC in Lunardi’s Thursday morning bracket projection. With Texas moving into the field, the SEC could have as many as 14 teams qualify for the Big Dance, which would be an NCAA record.
While the Longhorns have built a decent resume, they could remove themselves from the bubble by claiming the SEC’s automatic berth with a conference tournament win. However, that’s much easier said than done.
On Friday, Texas plays No. 8 Tennessee (25-6, 12-6 in SEC) in the SEC quarterfinals. In January, the Longhorns lost to the Vols, 74-70, at home as part of an 0-3 start in SEC play.
A win would boost Texas’ profile, but it shouldn’t be necessary to its quest for a tourney bid. Thursday’s win over Texas A&M should be enough.