Texas Is Heating Up at the Right Time - But Can They Finish the Job?
With Selection Sunday creeping closer, the Texas Longhorns are walking the tightrope that is the NCAA Tournament bubble. They’re not out, but they’re not in either - at least not yet. Right now, they’re squarely in that “work to do” category, where every possession, every game, and every run down the stretch could tip the scales.
What’s keeping hope alive in Austin? Momentum.
Under first-year head coach Sean Miller, the Longhorns have started to find their footing after a bumpy start to SEC play. They’ve now ripped off three straight wins and four out of their last five, and more importantly, they’re starting to look like a team that believes in itself again.
The turning point? A gritty, come-from-behind win over Ole Miss where Texas closed the game on a 14-0 run - turning a late three-point deficit into a double-digit victory.
That’s the kind of finish that doesn’t just win games - it builds belief.
From a resume standpoint, Texas is a bit of a mixed bag. The predictive analytics like them - ranking them somewhere in the mid-30s nationally - which suggests they can hang with tournament-level teams.
But the more traditional metrics tell a more cautious story. The Longhorns are floating around 10th in the SEC and sit near the 50th mark nationally.
In a deep, unforgiving conference like the SEC, that leaves a razor-thin margin for error.
Still, there are some key checkboxes already marked. Texas has three Quadrant 1 wins on the board, including two in the ultra-valuable Quadrant 1A tier - the kind of wins that carry real weight with the selection committee. Those victories help balance out some of the early stumbles in conference play and, more importantly, keep Texas in the conversation.
But here’s the reality: the road ahead is brutal. The Longhorns’ remaining schedule jumps from a strength-of-schedule ranking in the mid-60s to one that sits inside the top 20 nationally.
That’s both a challenge and an opportunity. Every game left is a chance to make a statement - or suffer a setback.
It starts with a road trip to Missouri, a matchup that might not scream “must-win” on paper, but for Texas, it absolutely is. In bubble territory, there’s no such thing as a throwaway game.
The formula for Texas is simple: keep stacking wins, especially against quality SEC opponents, and they’ll play their way into the bracket. Slip up, and they’ll be sweating it out on Selection Sunday.
The good news? They’re trending in the right direction.
The energy is there. The belief is building.
Now it’s just about execution.