If the Texas basketball program could land a single digit seed in the NCAA Tournament next season it would be acceptable for Shaka Smart.
There is a very good roster that head coach Shaka Smart and the Texas basketball program is set to bring back for the coming season. Texas brings back essentially their entire core part of the rotation from last season. They also get to add the highly touted five-star Vandegrift power forward and Austin, TX, native Greg Brown to the mix next season. It is also worth noting that the Longhorns ended their 2019-20 campaign on the right foot. That is at least outside of the regular season finale romping at the hands of the Oklahoma State Cowboys back on March 7 at the Erwin Center.
Texas finished up the 2019-20 season with a record of 19-12 (9-9 Big 12). And the season was cut short prior to Selection Sunday thanks to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Most pro sports leagues were either shut down completely for their current seasons or put on pause.
The Longhorns saw their season cut short prior to their first game of the Big 12 Tournament. They were supposed to face the Texas Tech Red Raiders in their first game of the Big 12 Tournament back in mid-March.
However, the Longhorns could use that hot streak they rounded out the 2019-20 regular season with to bring momentum into next season. They surely have the roster to do so, and numerous media outlets seem to agree. According to the latest ESPN Bracketology from Joe Lunardi, the Longhorns are projected out as a three-seed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
Lunardi had that updated set of projections for next year’s NCAA Tournament released back on June 24. It had three-seed Texas taking on the 14-seed New Mexico State Aggies out of the Mountain West. There were also five other teams from the Big 12 included in this edition of Bracketology.
Other key players to watch for the Longhorns next season includes junior guard Matt Coleman, sophomore guard Courtney Ramey, and senior big man Jericho Sims. This might be the most loaded roster Smart’s had in his time on the Forty Acres to date. He needs to make the most of it.