Where Texas basketball stands in March Madness bracket predictions after loss to Kansas
Texas basketball finds itself firmly on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament after a blowout loss to Kansas, based on Tuesday’s projections.
That means Tuesday night’s game at Texas Tech and Saturday’s home contest against Oklahoma State have added meaning for the Longhorns (17-10, 6-8 Big 12), who are trying to move back toward a No. 8 or No. 9 seed and away from the dreaded bubble.
Here is where Texas stands in the latest NCAA Tournament predictions:
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Texas basketball: A No. 10 seed by some, out by others
ESPN's Joe Lunardi dropped Texas from a No. 8 seed to a No. 10 in the West Regional, which runs through Los Angeles. He has UT facing seventh-seeded Utah State in the first round, with a potential meeting with No. 2 seed Kansas in the second round of the opening weekend in Omaha, Neb.
CBS Sports' Jerry Palm has Texas as one of the first four out after projecting them as a No. 9 seed on Friday.
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Texas basketball's NCAA Tournament résumé
The Longhorns remain in a strong position in the NET rankings, which is a primary metric used by the NCAA Tournament's selection committee as it wades through the 362 Division I college programs to determine the 68-team field. Texas fell two spots to No. 40 in the latest NET ratings after its loss to Kansas.
The NET ratings lean heavily on a quadrant system to determine quality wins and losses, with “Quad 1” wins especially valued. Texas has a 4-7 record against Quad 1 teams, including road wins at TCU, Oklahoma and Cincinnati as well as a home victory over Baylor.
Six of Texas’ seven losses have been to teams projected as top-three seeds by Lunardi: Houston twice), Connecticut, Marquette, Kansas and Iowa State.
Why has Texas fallen?
A road loss at a top-10 team in Kansas isn’t that costly on the surface, but the Longhorns are playing perhaps their worst basketball at the worst possible time, since the selection committee does factor in recent play when determining tournament teams. The Longhorns have dropped three of their past four games, including blowout road losses to Kansas and Houston.
Texas does have a chance to reverse that course with two games against Quad 1 teams remaining on the regular-season schedule, starting with Tuesday’s trip to Texas Tech (No. 34 in NET). Texas also travels to Baylor (No. 13 NET) and hosts Oklahoma (No. 39). Texas also hosts struggling Oklahoma State.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas bracketology update: Latest NCAA bracket predictions for Horns
