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Dancing! Texas makes the NCAA Tournament, will play in the First Four

Joe Cookby:Joe Cook•03/16/25•

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Rodney Terry
Jan 11, 2025; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Rodney Terry yells out to players during the second half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Moody Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

The Texas Longhorns are in the NCAA Tournament by the skin of their teeth. Texas (19-15, 6-12 SEC) earned an at large selection to March Madness, the third for Rodney Terry as head coach of the Longhorns.

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Texas will head to Dayton, Ohio to face Xavier in the First Four. If they defeat the Musketeers, the Longhorns head to Milwaukee on Friday as an 11 seed and will face Illinois. If Texas wins two games, they’ll face the winner of the matchup between Troy and Kentucky on Sunday.

Texas will play on Wednesday. Tip time is TBA.

This is the 39th NCAA Tournament appearance for the Longhorns and the third for Terry as head coach of Texas. Terry guided the Longhorns to the 2023 Elite Eight as interim and reached the second round last season before falling to Tennessee.

It’s the fifth straight NCAA Tournament for the Longhorns dating back to 2021. That streak includes three different coaches, with Shaka Smart responsible for one, Chris Beard responsible for one, and Terry credited with the other three.

The at large selection means that Tre Johnson, the SEC Freshman of the year, an All-SEC second-team selection, and freshman All-SEC honoree, will appear in the NCAA Tournament prior to the start of his professional career. Johnson, who averages 19.8 points per game, has been the Longhorns’ offensive catalyst this year and is the type of player the NCAA would love to promote in its largest event.

The Longhorns likely made the tournament thanks to their 10 wins in Quadrant 1 and Quadrant 2 games against the best competition in the SEC plus other quality opponents. Texas was undefeated in Quadrant 3 and Quadrant 4 games, meaning that Texas took care of business against teams it was world’s better than while they were a coin flip to win any other game. Other bubble teams did not have near as many Quadrant 1 wins as the Longhorns, who benefitted from being the SEC despite finishing 13th in the league.

Critical Quadrant 1 wins against Vanderbilt and Texas A&M earned during the SEC Tournament likely gave Texas’ resume enough juice to merit an at-large bid. The win over Vanderbilt avenged an earlier road loss to the Commodores, while the double-overtime win against the Aggies helped Texas take the season series from Buzz Williams’ program, 2-1.

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While the journey into the field of 68 was tumultuous, Texas did just enough to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament with hopes of a national title at the end.

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