Texas Basketball: Big 12 Title could be imminent after Chris Beard hire

Very exciting news arrived for the Texas basketball program and its fans on the morning of April 1, and it’s not a joke. On April Fool’s Day, Texas landed the now former Texas Tech Red Raiders head coach Chris Beard to replace Shaka Smart as their next head coach. The hiring is now confirmed by multiple sources, but Jeff Goodman of Stadium was on it initially.

Following a disappointing early exit in March Madness two weekends ago, Smart was on the hot seat again entering the offseason. The three-seed Longhorns fell short in the Round of 64 back on March 20 at the hands of head coach Joe Golding and the upset-minded 14-seed Abilene Christian by just a one-point margin.

After a mostly successful regular season and a Big 12 Tournament crown for the first time in program history, Smart still managed to enter this offseason on the hot seat. Texas would wind up finishing up the 2020-21 campaign with a record of 19-8 (11-6 Big 12) following the loss to ACU in the Round of 64.

Moreover, Smart would actually wind up taking the head coaching job with the Marquette Golden Eagles back on March 26 before the Longhorns even got a chance to buy him out. That was still a good situation for all parties involved, though, since Smart got to leave on his own terms and Texas didn’t have to buy him out.

The hire of Chris Beard to be the next Texas basketball head coach

The really exciting news of the day doesn’t have to do with Smart so much as it does the future of the Texas men’s hoops program and what Beard brings to the table individually. Beard is one of the most well-respected head coaches in the entire college hoops landscape right now, and that could bode well for the direction of this program.

The last National Championship Game that was played in college basketball saw Texas Tech nearly top the Virginia Cavaliers, back in 2019. And Beard turned the Red Raiders into one of the most formidable programs in the entire country year in and year out.

Beard looked like he was at the top of the Longhorns wish list as to who they would hire next as head coach following Smart’s departure. But it didn’t take long for the Longhorns to get the guy they wanted.

Texas nabs a head coach with a career record of 142-60 (.703 winning percentage) between his time with Texas Tech and Arkansas-Little Rock. In each of the last four years, Texas Tech found itself ranked in the AP Top 15 for at least three weeks out of the regular season. And Beard has three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances under his belt.

The only two seasons where Beard was a head coach and he didn’t make it to the “Big Dance” was last year, when the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the event anyway, and his first year at the helm with the Red Raiders back in 2017.

Beard and the Red Raiders finished up the 2020-21 campaign after falling short against the three-seed Arkansas Razorbacks in the Round of 32 with a record of 18-11 (9-8 Big 12). One of their last games of the season actually saw them get ousted in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament by the Longhorns.