Hook'em Headlines
Fansided

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) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – MARCH 14: David McCormack #33 of the Kansas Jayhawks shoots over Jaxson Hayes #10 of the Texas Longhorns 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: David McCormack #33 of the Kansas Jayhawks shoots over Jaxson Hayes #10 of the Texas Longhorns 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) /

4. Star power to compete with some of the nation’s best

As soon as Texas basketball had its opportunity to make some headway in the NCAA Tournament race in the Big 12 Tournament, the fans had some hope that it could pull off the upset against Kansas. Texas did hold strong with Kansas for most of the way in its first and only game in the Big 12 Tournament, but it was not enough when it was all said and done.

What Texas does have working for it heading into Selection Sunday is the ability to compete with some of the nation’s top programs through and through. Between the likes of freshman sensation forward Jaxson Hayes, senior shooting guard Kerwin Roach Jr., and the emerging guard combo of Matt Coleman and Courtney Ramey, the Horns should be set.

It looked as if Hayes was going to run into some injury issues after the Big 12 Tournament with a devastating knee injury against the Jayhawks. Yet, there aren’t any reports yet that emerged that indicated that Hayes will miss any extra game time from this knee injury. Hopefully, he is back and healthy for the Horns either for the NCAA Tournament or NIT.

Roach Jr. also made his return to the starting five for the Horns in the Big 12 Tournament. He missed the final five games of the regular season with a suspension due to a violation of team rules. Nonetheless, this group of standout starters for the Horns should also help them get some valued attention from the Selection Committee on March 17.

Home/Texas Basketball