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Texas Basketball: 5 reasons Longhorns deserve NCAA Tournament bid

By Andrew Miller

AUSTIN, TEXAS - JANUARY 19: Kerwin Roach II #12 of the Texas Basketball Longhorns reacts as his team defeats Oklahoma Sooners 75-72 at The Frank Erwin Center on January 19, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TEXAS - JANUARY 19: Kerwin Roach II #12 of the Texas Basketball Longhorns reacts as his team defeats Oklahoma Sooners 75-72 at The Frank Erwin Center on January 19, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images) /
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KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – MARCH 14: Dylan Osetkowski #21 of the Texas Longhorns shoots as David McCormack #33 of the Kansas Jayhawks defends during the quarterfinal game of the Big 12 Basketball Tournament at Sprint Center on March 14, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – MARCH 14: Dylan Osetkowski #21 of the Texas Longhorns shoots as David McCormack #33 of the Kansas Jayhawks defends during the quarterfinal game of the Big 12 Basketball Tournament at Sprint Center on March 14, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

5. Rankings back the Longhorns, despite the record

There’s a few areas that the Selection Committee for the NCAA Tournament will refer to when determining who are the most worthy teams that are “on the bubble” for Selection Sunday. Among those should be KenPom’s rankings, which sit among the go-to rankings in the world of college hoops for quite a while now.

KenPom.com’s rankings at the outset of Selection Sunday have the Horns at No. 30 in the nation, which is much better than the .500 record would indicate. That should put the Horns well within reach of the NCAA Tournament field, considering there will definitely be some at-large bids handed out to teams ranked below them there. A few of the teams ranked lower than the Horns there includes the NC State Wolfpack, Syracuse Orange, Cincinnati Bearcats, and Oregon Ducks.

A few other rankings have Texas basketball in good position to make the 68-team field for the NCAA Tournament when it’s all said and done. ESPN’s Basketball Power Index also has the Horns within the top 35 teams in the nation despite the poor record. ESPN’s BPI for college hoops this season places the Horns at No. 32.

The most recent Massey Ratings also have the Horns at least among the nation’s top 40 teams. When it comes down to it, record doesn’t mean everything in the eyes of the Selection Committee for Selection Sunday. Texas has more than enough backing in terms of the advanced ranking systems that the Selection Committee should be referring to get into the 68-team field.

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