Texas Longhorns basketball: UT atop the Big 12 with a 1 or 2 seed in play

The No. 10 ranked Texas Longhorns made a statement last week with wins over No. 11 Baylor in Austin and at No. 7 Kansas State Saturday to stay atop the Big 12 standings.

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The wins over Baylor and Kansas State were also important for future NCAA Tournament seeding. Texas improved to 8-4 in Quadrant 1 games this season. Only Kansas, with nine, has more Quadrant 1 wins this season among Big 12 teams

Texas (19-4, 8-2) now faces another huge road test with a Big Monday game at No. 8 Kansas before returning to Austin to host West Virginia February 11. A win Monday would place the Longhorns as the favorite to take the Big 12 crown should they hold serve at home.

The Longhorns are 12-3 under interim head coach Rodney Terry, including three wins over ranked opponents. Texas is 4-1 on the road in Big 12 play under Terry.

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Big 12 conference race​

No. 10 Texas Longhorns (19-4, 8-2)
Longhorns games this week: at Kansas, West Virginia

No. 13 Iowa State Cyclones (16-6, 7-3)
Cyclones games this week: at West Virginia, Oklahoma State

No. 15 TCU Horned Frogs (17-6, 6-4)
Horned Frogs games this week: at Kansas State, Baylor

No. 8 Kansas Jayhawks (18-5, 6-4)
Jayhawks games this week: Texas, at Oklahoma

No. 7 Kansas State Wildcats (18-5, 6-4)
Wildcats games this week: TCU, at Texas Tech

No. 11 Baylor Bears (17-6, 6-4)
Bears games this week: Oklahoma, at tCU

Oklahoma State Cowboys (14-9, 5-5)
Cowboys games this week: Texas Tech, at Iowa State

West Virginia Mountaineers (14-9, 3-7)
Mountaineers games this week: Iowa State, at Texas

Oklahoma Sooners (12-11, 2-8)
Sooners games this week: at Baylor, Kansas

Texas Tech Red Raiders (12-11, 1-9)
Red Raiders games this week: at Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas Longhorns Big 12 schedule

December
Dec 31 at Oklahoma (70-69 win)

January
Jan 3 Kansas State (116-106 loss)
Jan 7 at Oklahoma State (56-46 win)
Jan 11 TCU (79-75 win)
Jan 14 Texas Tech (72-70 win)
Jan 17 at Iowa State (78-67 loss)
Jan 21 at West Virginia (69-61 win)
Jan 24 vs. Oklahoma State (89-75 win)
*Jan 28 at Tennessee (82-71 loss)
Jan 30 vs Baylor (76-71 win)

February
Feb 4 at Kansas State (69-66 win)
Feb 6 at Kansas
Feb 11 vs. West Virginia
Feb 13 at Texas Tech
Feb 18 vs. Oklahoma
Feb 21 vs. Iowa State
Feb 25 at Baylor

March
March 1 at TCU
March 4 vs. Kansas

Big 12 2023 Pomeroy Ratings

9. Texas
11. Kansas (plays twice)
13. Baylor (plays at Baylor)
15. West Virginia (plays in Austin)
17. TCU (plays at TCU)
19. Iowa State (plays in Austin)
26. Kansas State
29. Oklahoma State (Texas beat twice)
56. Oklahoma (plays in Austin)
69. Texas Tech (plays at TT)

Texas non-conference in the 2023 Pomeroy Ratings

2. Tennessee (road loss)
12. Creighton (Home win)
19. Gonzaga (Home win)
24. Illinois (Neutral loss)
91. Stanford (Neutral win)
94. Louisiana (Home win)
168. Rice (Home win)
175. UTEP (Home win)
257. UT Rio Grande Valley (Home win)
261. Northern Arizona (Neutral win)
305. Texas A&M-Commerce (Home win)
315. Arkansas Pine-Bluff (Home win)
351. Houston Christian (Home win)

NET

• Quadrant 1: Home 1-30, Neutral 1-50, Away 1-75
• Quadrant 2: Home 31-75, Neutral 51-100, Away 76-135
• Quadrant 3: Home 76-160, Neutral 101-200, Away 135-240
• Quadrant 4: Home 161-353, Neutral 201-353, Away 241-353

Quadrant 1 games

Record: 8-4

Wins: Gonzaga, Creighton, at Oklahoma, at Oklahoma State, TCU, at West Virginia, Baylor, at Kansas State

Losses: Kansas State, vs. Illinois, at Iowa State, at Tennessee

The Gonzaga and TCU home wins and the road victories at Oklahoma State and West Virginia are in good shape to remain Q1 games throughout the year. Same with the losses to Kansas State, Illinois, at Iowa State. Creighton is currently No. 16 in NET, while the Sooners are No. 61. Both those games are more borderline than the others.

Quadrant 2 games

Record: 2-0

Wins: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State

Losses: N/A

Should the Red Raiders fall any farther from their current No. 70 ranking, this game could turn into a Quadrant 3 game. Oklahoma State is likely to remain a Quadrant 2 win.

Quadrant 3 games

Record: 3-0

Wins: vs. Stanford, Louisiana, Rice

Losses: N/A

Texas managing to hang on versus the Owls on the day Chris Beard was fired looks better with each passing game. Rice is currently No. 152 in NET. Louisiana is currently No. 86. Stanford is No. 107.

Quadrant 4 games

Record: 6-0

Wins: UTEP, Houston Christian, vs. Northern Arizona, UT-RGV, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Texas A&M-Commerce

Losses: N/A

UTEP is currently No. 174 in the rankings, placing the Miners on the precipice of becoming a Quadrant 3 opponent. Going undefeated in Quadrant 4 games is a must. Only one team in the top 25 of NET, TCU, have a Quadrant 4 loss.

Where the remaining schedule ranks as of January 25
Feb 6 – at Kansas – No. 10 – Quadrant 1 game
Feb 11 – West Virginia – No. 20 – Quadrant 1 game
Feb 13 – at Texas Tech – No. 70 – Quadrant 1 game
Feb 18 – Oklahoma – No. 61 – Quadrant 2 game
Feb 21 – Iowa State – No. 12 – Quadrant 1 game
Feb 25 – at Baylor – No. 13 – Quadrant 1 game
Mar 1 – at TCU – No. 17 – Quadrant 1 game
Mar 4 – Kansas – No. 10 – Quadrant 1 game