2025 NCAA Tournament: Texas win vs. Texas A&M shakes up bubble in updated ESPN Bracketology
It took two overtime periods, but Texas defeated Texas A&M in the second round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday afternoon, keeping their conference championship hopes alive. Extending their season, could the win over the Aggies have secured the Longhorns’ spot in the NCAA Tournament?
“Entering the game, Joe Lunardi has Texas as the first team out,” ESPN commentator Dan Shulman explained as the Longhorns led the Aggies by one point in the final minutes of regulation. “He says that if they win, they will replace Indiana and become the last team in.”
During the 94-89 victory against the Aggies, Texas had six players score in double figures, including all five of their starters. Tre Johnson led the way with 20 points, while Jordan Pope and Arthur Kaluma totaled 25 combined points and 15 rebounds together. Kadin Shedrick scored 14 points, and Tramon Mark totaled 15 as well. Chendall Weaver erupted for 10 points off the bench to round out to double figure scoring effort for Texas.
With Indiana exiting the Big Ten Tournament in the second round on Thursday afternoon, the Hoosiers no longer control their own destiny. With the Longhorns still alive in Nashville, Lunardi’s projections now have Texas just on the inside of the bubble with an opportunity to improve their arguement to the selection committee.
Elsewhere in the SEC, both Vanderbilt and Arkansas are projected by Lunardi to be in the ‘last four byes’ section of the bubble. Having Texas join the Commodores and Razorbacks on the inside of the bubble, the SEC could now send as many as 13 teams to the NCAA Tournament.
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Before that, Texas still has business to take care of in Nashville. The Longhorns will now play No. 4 seed Tennessee in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET live on ESPN. It remains to be seen where the Longhorns stand if they lose to the Vols on Friday.
The Longhorns and Volunteers met one time during the regular season. Tennessee was No. 1 in the AP Poll at the time, and defeated Texas 74-70 in Austin on Jan. 11 despite seeing 26 points from Tre Johnson.
Tennessee’s veteran point guard Zakai Zeigler led the way for his team with 16 points and eight assists. Jordan Gainey and Darlinstone Dubar each had scored 12 points off the bench during the winning effort on the road.