Just tuning into March Madness? Here's what you need to know as Texas begins postseason play

Hello, friends, and welcome to the 2024 edition of Texas Longhorns Men’s Basketball: March Madness.

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It’s been a bit of a ride but with all of the excitement of Longhorns football making the College Football Playoff, Longhorns football coach Steve Sarkisian being associated with the Alabama coaching search, Sarkisian signing an extension with Texas, Longhorns football signing another stellar recruiting class, new Longhorns football players joining the program, Longhorns football players starting workouts, Longhorns football players having a Fortnite tournament, Longhorns football players…

Well, you get the idea.

Anyway, if you’re only a casual college basketball fan (read: Texas Longhorn basketball fan) and hold off on paying attention to the sport until the magic of March, we’re here to get you caught up on the season that has been and, hopefully, will be.

Non-Conference

11-2

Significant Wins: LSU?

Losses: UConn (neutral), Marquette (away)

In the spirit of his former boss, first year (full-time) head coach Rodney Terry’s pre-conference slate of games tended to fall into one of two categories: super tough (UConn and Marquette) and everything else (neutral games against LSU and Louisville might usually be high quality wins, but not this year).

This strategy is, likely, here to stay when considering how many teams will welcome almost entirely new rosters each season given recruiting and the portal. 

Texas was no outlier there as they looked to integrate five transfers (Max Abmas – Oral Roberts; Ithiel Horton – UCF; Kadin Shedrick – Virginia; Chendall Weaver – UT Arlington; and Ze’rik Onyema – UTEP) during the early portion of their slate.

Big 12

9-9 (Overall Record 20-11)

7th Place (out of 16)

Significant Wins: OU (away), Texas Tech (away), TCU (away), Baylor (home), Cincinnati (away)

Tough Losses: Tech (home), UCF (home), WVU (away)

In what can once again be described as the premier basketball conference in the country, the Big 12 has been a true gauntlet, with the inclusion of Houston, BYU, UCF, and Cincinnati only adding to the already stacked lineup.

For Texas, this year’s Big 12 race is largely a look at what could have been.

Namely, upset losses (at West Virginia and at home against UCF) that put Texas behind the eight-ball early, as well as two close home defeats to top-5 opponents (in OT against Houston and, later, against ISU) that could have catapulted Texas into a very different discussion nationally.

Instead, the Longhorns had to scratch and claw their way back to .500, which they did quite admirably including away wins at TCU, Texas Tech and OU.

Individual Player Highlights

Dylan Disu – 16.1 pts / 4.8 rbs – First-Team All-Big 12

Disu has proven that his scorching finish to last season was to no fluke as he’s been one of the best big men in the country, even adding an efficient three point stroke to his repertoire (51%). He was voted the Big 12’s most improved player this season.

Max Abmas – 17.0 pts / 3.0 rbs / 4.3 asts – Second-Team All-Big 12

Abmas’ reputation as one of the best scorers in college basketball history (he currently sits at eighth all-time in D1 points scored) has proven accurate. An incredible shooter and surprisingly capable lead guard, Abmas has been a rock for this team with his outside shooting and steady ball handling.

Tyrese Hunter – 10.8 pts / 2.9 rbs / 4.2 asts

Hunter’s season has been solid, if unspectacular. His struggles creating offense in the paint has been one of this season’s biggest offensive hurdles, but he’s still been effective and he remains one of Texas’ best on-ball defenders when he’s locked in.

Dillon Mitchell – 9.8 pts / 7.9 rbs

Mitchell’s athleticism and better fit in this 2023-24 version of UT hoops has seen his production more than double from last year. A tireless rebounder, and terrific help/switch defender, Mitchell has been consistent in his work rate and production. Still, his offensive limitations (raw, ineffective beyond eight feet) have seen him struggle in moments where his team needs scoring from him.

Kadin Shedrick – 8.1 pts / 3.2 rbs

In many ways, the biggest enigma of the season, Shedrick’s troubles with injuries kept him from establishing a consistent presence for Texas down low. A capable offensive player on lobs and low-post entry feeds, Shedrick’s biggest contribution has been as a scorer and as a rim-protector/shot-changer, defensively. Still, if Texas is to make a March run, they’ll need more from him as a rebounder.

Ithiel Horton – 6.1 pts / 2.6 rbs

Fairly or not, Horton’s struggles this year have arguably been the biggest disappointment of the season (which sucks because he’s pretty universally lauded as a great guy around the program). But struggled he has. While his percentages are solid, Horton hasn’t found the ability to create offense for himself as a scorer. Still, his biggest (negative) contribution was about a two-month stretch of some of the worst perimeter defense Texas fans have seen over the past 25 years. To his credit, his defense over the last five or six games has been significantly improved. Like Shedrick, Texas would love to get some production upticks from the UCF transfer this month.

Chendall Weaver – 6.0 pts / 3.1 rbs

Where Shedrick and Horton have struggled, Weaver has picked up the slack. The UT Arlington transfer has captivated Longhorn fans, functioning as a high-energy, surprisingly skilled human pogo-stick of a player. An excellent defender, Weaver’s constant motor and elite athleticism make him must-watch just about every game. Hard to find a Longhorn fan not stoked about him moving into next season.

Brock Cunningham – 4.5 pts / 3.8 rbs / 2.1 asts

After a slow start to the season saw Cunningham’s minutes, and effectiveness, dwindle significantly from previous years, the sixth-year senior has turned it on as a shooter and defender over the last month. Perhaps his biggest issue moving forward is that he’s cemented a reputation as an overly rough player and one that referees likely won’t give the benefit of the doubt to in judgment calls.

Prediction

Big 12 Tourney

With the conference schedule to make an 18-game league slate work for a 14-team league, the Longhorns faced Kansas State just once during the 2023-24 season. Texas defeated the Wildcats at home on February 19, 62-56, with Disu posting 10 points.

They’ll matchup again on Wednesday at approximately 6 p.m. on ESPN+

A win over K-State and Texas faces No. 2 seed Iowa State Thursday at 6 p.m. on either ESPN or ESPN2.

Texas seems assuredly in the Big Dance, but any wins would certainly help. Two or more wins could be seed-line changing).

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NCAA Tourney

Matchups where Texas could struggle: big, physical guards…efficient, physical post presence…teams that can score in bunches

Matchups Texas could exploit: teams that play at a slower pace… teams without a dominant big man…teams that don’t force a lot of turnovers