Texas to face Louisville in Empire Classic semis
The Texas basketball team will face traditional powerhouse Louisville in the opening of the Empire Classic on Nov. 19 at Madison Square Garden in New York City according to an announcement Monday from the Gazelle Group.
The Longhorns and Cardinals will square off in the second semifinal of the prestigious event, which is presented by Continental Tire and will benefit the Wounded Warrior Project.
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Defending national champion Connecticut will battle Indiana in the other semifinal, with the losing teams dropping to the semifinals on the afternoon of Nov. 20 and the winners playing later that evening.
It will be Texas’ seventh appearance in the Empire Classic and continues a run of Longhorns appearances in or around the Big Apple. Texas also played in the classic in 1997, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2019 and won the event in 2014 with a 71-55 victory over California in the championship game.
The Longhorns carry a losing all-time record against both Louisville (1-4) and Connecticut (3-6) into this year’s Empire Classic. Texas is 2-1 all-time against Indiana, with a 66-44 win over the Hoosiers in 2020 marking the most recent game between the Longhorns and the three other teams in this event.
Texas begins play in its first full season under coach Rodney Terry on Nov. 6 with a home contest against Incarnate Word. The Longhorns will play Delaware State on Nov. 10 and Rice on Nov. 15, both at home, before competing in the Empire Classic.
The Longhorns finished 29-9 (12-6 Big 12) last season in a spirited run to the NCAA Elite Eight, winning the Big 12 Conference’s postseason tournament. The 29 wins marked the third-most victories in a season in program history and Texas’ appearance in the Elite Eight was its first since 2008.
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The Longhorns were ranked No. 5 in the final Associated Press poll, which was a tie for the program’s highest ranking in the final AP poll in history, tying a mark set after the 2002-03 season in which Texas reached the Final Four.
