SEC Tournament Preview: There's only one way into March Madness for the Texas Longhorns

If Texas wants to make the NCAA Tournament, the Longhorns have no other choice but to win the SEC Tournament this week in the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.

[Pre-order THE LONGHORN ALPHABET today and teach your little ones the A to Z of Texas Football!]

In the most recent bracketology projection from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, the Longhorns (17-14, 6-12 SEC) were listed as one of the first four teams out of the field of 68. The Horns were behind North Carolina and Boise State, while the ranks of the “last four in” were comprised of Oklahoma, Indiana, Xavier, and Ohio State.

An at-large bid is extremely unlikely. While anything can happen on the court in March, the path the Horns will have to traverse in order to achieve their dream is a brutal one.

The 2025 SEC Tournament Bracket. pic.twitter.com/rqKcTtjQLD

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 9, 2025

First Round – Vanderbilt

Time: 25 minutes after the completion of the noon game on March 12 – SEC Network

Earlier this season, the Horns went into Nashville and lost by eight in a hard-fought battle. The Commodores outrebounded the Horns 44-40 and had two fewer turnovers. Texas played a very solid first half but was beaten soundly in the second period, outscored by 12 points in the final 20 minutes. Vanderbilt’s Tyler Nickel hit four threes while Jaylen Carey had an 18-point, 14-rebound game.

The Horns had all five of their starters in double figures, but had 11 fewer field goal attempts than the Commodores, a significant factor that points to the rebounding battle in a hard fought loss.

The Longhorns were down Tramon Mark and Chendall Weaver in that matchup, both important pieces who should be available tomorrow.

Second Round – Texas A&M

Time: 25 minutes after the completion of the noon game on March 13 – SEC Network

If Texas were to beat Vanderbilt, the Longhorns would go on to play the Aggies. The two rivals split the regular season series with each team winning on their home court. A&M dominated the first game, and Texas needed a 22-point comeback to win the second one. The Aggies are a horrible matchup for the Horns, with two of A&M’s biggest strengths being two of the Horns’ biggest weaknesses. The Aggies are one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the nation, while the Horns often struggle to gather rebounds altogether.

Plus, Texas A&M lives in the paint on offense, a place where the Texas defense has often crumbled this season. For Texas to win this game, the Longhorns will need major steps up in play from Kadin Shedrick, Ze’Rik Onyema, and Jayson Kent.

Quarterfinals – Tennessee

Time: 25 minutes after the noon game on March 14 – ESPN

If Texas somehow makes it through the first two games, the Longhorns will have to face Rick Barnes‘ Volunteers. In the only meeting between the teams in the 2024-25 season, Tennessee won 74-70 in Austin. The game was back and forth, but Tennessee found a way to hang on and win.

Since that game, the Volunteers have played a brutal schedule. The other UT has beaten six ranked teams, and is currently in the running for a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Barnes is a great coach, and players like Zakai Zeigler and Chaz Lanier will make the Volunteers a very tough team to beat, if the Horns can even get to that point.

Semifinals and Finals

Time: Noon on March 15 (Semifinals), noon on March 16 (Finals) – ESPN

If the Horns miraculously make it through those three games, they will either play Auburn or one of Ole Miss, Arkansas, or South Carolina at noon on Saturday. Texas lost to all four of those teams in the 2024-25 season, so there isn’t a palatable option for the burnt orange club. If Texas can win the first three games in Nashville, the prospect of winning five games in five days becomes slightly more realistic. But it remains the formidable mountain Rodney Terry‘s team will have to climb in order to make it into March Madness, as nothing less than the tournament title seems likely to get Texas dancing.

[Join Inside Texas TODAY for just ONE DOLLAR!]

2024-25 Texas Longhorns

Tre Johnson, 6-foot-6, 190 lbs, Fr., Link Academy (Mo.), 20.2 pts, 3.2 reb, 2.8 ast

Arthur Kaluma, 6-foot-7, 225 lbs, Sr., Kansas State, 12.7 pts, 7.8 reb, 1.9 ast

Jordan Pope, 6-foot-2, 175 lbs, Jr., Oregon State: 11.0 pts, 1.8 reb, 1.8 ast

Tramon Mark, 6-foot-5, 200 lbs, Gr., Arkansas: 10.0 pts, 3.8 reb, 1.4 ast

Kadin Shedrick, 6-foot-11, 231 lbs, Gr.: 8.4 pts, 6.2 reb, 0.6 ast

Chendall Weaver, 6-foot-3, 180 lbs, Jr.: 6.3 pts, 4.9 reb, 1.4 ast

Jayson Kent, 6-foot-8, 215 lbs, Gr., Indiana State: 5.7 pts, 3.2 reb, 0.4 ast

Julian Larry, 6-foot-3, 185 lbs, Gr., Indiana State: 5.0 pts, 1.6 reb, 3.3 ast

Devon Pryor, 6-foot-7, 185 lbs, So.: 3.6 pts, 2.3 reb, 0.6 ast

Ze’Rik Onyema, 6-foot-9, 235 lbs, Sr.: 3.3 pts, 2.6 reb, 0.4 ast

Jamie Vinson, 6-foot-11, 225 lbs, Fr., Oak Hill Academy (Va.): 2.2 pts, 1.1 rebs, 0.1 ast

Nic Codie, 6-foot-8, 200 lbs, Fr., Dallas (Texas) Newman Smith: 1.7 pts, 0.9 reb, 0.1 ast

Cole Bott, 6-foot-6, 195 lbs, Gr. (walk-on): 0.7 pts, 0.3 rebs, 0.5 ast

Preston Clark, 6-foot-6, 220 lbs, R-So. (walk-on): 0.3 pts, 1.5 rebs, 0.3 ast

Malik Presley, 6-foot-6, 200 lbs, So., Vanderbilt

Anthon McDermott, 6-foot-5, 185 lbs, Fr., Hallsville (Texas) (walk-on)

[Join Inside Texas TODAY for just ONE DOLLAR!]

Previous Game Starters for Vanderbilt

G Jason Edwards: 16.9 pts, 1.8 reb, 1.3 ast

F Tyler Nickel: 10.4 pts, 2.4 reb, 0.9 ast

G AJ Hoggard: 9.8 pts, 2.6 reb, 4.7 ast

G Chris Manon: 6.4 pts, 3.5 reb, 1.2 ast

F Devin McGlockton: 10.4 pts, 7.8 reb, 1.0 ast