Where latest ESPN Top 25 preseason poll ranked Texas basketball

Where did the latest set of ESPN preseason college hoops top 25 rankings slot the Texas basketball program during the 2020 offseason?

The 2020-21 college basketball season is going to be filled with notable storylines that are ever-changing based upon how the novel coronavirus pandemic impacts sports as a whole for this calendar year. And the Texas basketball program has a lot on the line for how the potential alterations play out for the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Big 12 is usually one of the more difficult Power Conferences to play in year in and year out. And there’s a lot of programs that are bringing back very talented teams. This conference could be even deeper than usual this coming season, as long as it holds to form.

Head coach Shaka Smart has a good team he’s bringing back this season. He returns essentially every starter, including the standout backcourt combination of Matt Coleman and Courtney Ramey. Rising senior big man Jericho Sims is also a notable returning player for the coming college hoops season.

How does the national media portray this Longhorns team in the midst of the 2020 offseason?

According to the latest ESPN top 25 preseason poll for the 2020-21 college hoops season, the Longhorns rank at No. 18 in the nation (up two spots from the last set of rankings). The other Big 12 teams included in the top 25 included the Baylor Bears (No. 3), Kansas Jayhawks (No. 7), Texas Tech Red Raiders (No. 13), and West Virginia Mountaineers (No. 17).

Texas is the last team from the Big 12 that made it inside the top 25. Here’s what this latest set of ESPN preseason rankings had to say on the Longhorns placement.

"How Shaka Smart figures out his lineup and rotation next season will be fascinating to watch. If he goes by who started the most games, it would be Matt Coleman III, Courtney Ramey and Andrew Jones in the backcourt, with Jase Febres as a wing shooter and Jericho Sims down low. But when Texas went on its winning streak toward the end of the season, it was Kai Jones and Royce Hamm Jr. starting together down low. Gerald Liddell started 10 games before suffering an injury, and Kamaka Hepa started 10 games in the second half of the season. After playing 27 minutes the first 24 games of the season, Brock Cunningham saw a huge role late in the season. Former top-40 recruit Will Baker also played sparingly as a freshman. Oh, and the Longhorns are bringing in top-10 prospect and likely one-and-done forward Greg Brown. Very few teams can say that all 13 guys on their roster have proven that they deserve minutes; Texas is one of them."

ESPN projected as the lone new piece of the Longhorns starting five as the highly touted five-star Vandegrift power forward commit Greg Brown. He was projected to be in the starting frontcourt alongside Sims. And the only other piece of the projected starting five that isn’t already listed here is small forward Jase Febres.

Texas rounded up the 2019-20 season before they got to play in their first game of the Big 12 Tournament, or even reach Selection Sunday. They posted a record of 19-12 (9-9 Big 12) with a hot streak to end the season. Texas could’ve ended the season on a winning streak if not for falling short at the hands of the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the regular season finale back on March 7.

Other notable players to watch for the Longhorns this season includes rising sophomore center Will Baker, senior shooting guard Andrew Jones, sophomore forward Kai Jones, and junior forward Gerald Liddell. This is a very deep and proven Longhorns team that Shaka needs to be successful come next season.