What are Texas basketball's NCAA Tournament hopes entering the regular-season finale against OU?
Texas basketball enters the final weekend of the regular season safely off the NCAA Tournament bubble, based on Friday’s projections.
The Longhorns (19-11, 8-9 Big 12) host a team in Oklahoma on Saturday in a similar spot. Like Texas, Oklahoma has garnered projections as a No. 8 or No. 9 seed. Whichever team wins will further strengthen its case to the NCAA selection committee and set itself up for a run at a higher seed at next week’s Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
Here is where Texas stands in the latest NCAA Tournament predictions:
Texas basketball: Horns settling into projections
ESPN's Joe Lunardi still has Texas as a No. 8 seed, and he projects the Longhorns playing ninth-seeded Nebraska in the West Regional, which runs through Los Angeles. If Texas won its first-round game in this scenario, it would meet top-seed Tennessee and former head coach Rick Barnes in the second round of the opening weekend in Charlotte.
CBS Sports' Jerry Palm has consistently projected Texas lower than Lunardi, and he currently sees the Longhorns as a No. 9 seed in the West Regional. Palm has Texas playing eighth-seeded Boise State in the first round in Charlotte before a potential meeting with Tennessee.
More: Texas basketball updates Dylan Disu injury status ahead of Oklahoma game Saturday
Texas basketball's NCAA Tournament résumé
The Longhorns continue to strengthen their position in the NET rankings, which is a primary metric used by the selection committee as it wades through the 362 Division I basketball programs to determine the 68-team field. Texas rose to No. 26 in the latest NET ratings Friday, which is the highest since nonconference play.
The NET ratings lean heavily on a quadrant system to determine quality wins and losses, with “Quad 1” wins especially valued. Texas has a 5-8 record against Quad 1 teams, including road wins at TCU, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Cincinnati as well as a home victory over Baylor.
Seven of Texas’ 11 losses have been to teams projected as top-three seeds by Lunardi: Houston (twice), Connecticut, Marquette, Kansas, Baylor and Iowa State.
More: With one game left, three things we saw in Texas basketball's stumble at No. 15 Baylor
Has Texas locked up an NCAA bid?
At this point, not even a home loss to Oklahoma and an opening defeat in next week’s Big 12 Tournament would likely knock Texas out of the NCAAs. The Longhorns’ body of work remains impressive while competing in the nation’s highest-rated conference, and only 15 teams have more Quad 1 wins.
The Longhorns still harbor hopes of improving their seeding, however. With a win over Oklahoma and a run to the Big 12 semifinals would give Texas a strong argument to move out of the No. 8 or No. 9 spot in the bracket and avoid a possible second-round matchup with a top seed.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas bracketology update: Latest NCAA bracket predictions for Horns
