Texas basketball’s March Madness opponent is Virginia or Colorado State in 2024 NCAA Tournament

As expected, the opening week of the NCAA Tournament won’t be easy for the Texas basketball team.

The Longhorns landed as a No. 7 seed in the Midwest Region and will face either Virginia or Colorado State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Charlotte, N.C., on Thursday, they found out during Selection Sunday. With a win, Texas could meet second-seeded Tennessee in the second round, barring a stunning upset. Tennessee is coached by Rick Barnes, the former Texas coach and a longtime mentor of Texas coach Rodney Terry.

But Terry refused to look ahead at any possible meeting with Barnes and the Volunteers, saying either Virginia or Colorado State would be a worthy opponent. Those teams play Tuesday night, with the winner advancing to Thursday's game against Texas.

"Coach (Tony) Bennett has done a great job at Virginia and won a national championship (in 2019)," Terry said. "His team has always played great defense. And don't leave out Colorado State; I've seen Colorado State several times this year, and they're playing well.

"You just have to be happy with being in a tournament and having another opportunity. I mean, you really can't complain about where you are, when you play or who you play. We have another opportunity to go out and try to play our best basketball this season."

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The Texas players, gathered at their practice facility next to Moody Center, greeted the news with smile and backclaps for forward Kadin Shedrick, who transferred from Virginia to Texas in the offseason. The seeding came as a bit of a surprise, since the Longhorns (20-12) had consistently been projected as a No. 8 or No. 9 seed for several weeks before a loss at last week’s Big 12 Tournament to to Kansas State.

But according to Terry, the Longhorns' 9-9 record in the Big 12 justified a No. 7 seed. The Big 12 has been ranked as the toughest conference in the country by virtually every analytical measurement.

"I know there's lot of respect for our league, so (a No. 7 seed) speaks volumes in terms of what the committee thought about the body of work that we were able to do over the course of the season and what we were we able to do in league play," he said. "We played in the best conference in the country."

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The Longhorns qualified for a fourth straight NCAA Tournament, but this will be the lowest seed for Texas in that stretch. Texas has been a No. 7 seed three times, most recently in 2014.

After four consecutive first-round losses from 2015-21, Texas has won two straight NCAA Tournament openers. Last season, the Longhorns reached their first Elite Eight since 2008.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Longhorns to take on Colorado State or Virginia in NCAA Tournament