Committee did Texas basketball ‘no favors’ by underrating VA Tech
With Selection Sunday now in the rearview mirror and the bracket for the NCAA Tournament set on the men’s side, we now know that first-year head coach Chris Beard and the Texas basketball program gets the six-seed in the East Region. Texas is now set to take on the 11-seed Virginia Tech Hokies and head coach Mike Young in the Round of 64 in Milwaukee, WI, on March 18.
Beard and the Longhorns didn’t get the most friendly matchup from the Selection Committee in the Round of 64. Texas getting the defending ACC Tournament champs Virginia Tech in their first game of the Big Dance is not an easy path forward.
Virginia Tech just went on a surprise run through the ACC Tournament, which included wins over top 25 teams such as the No. 25 North Carolina Tar Heels and No. 7 Duke Blue Devils. Since Young and the Hokies just won the ACC Tournament crown, they have won four straight games heading into the NCAA Tournament.
Yet, Texas is coming into the NCAA Tournament riding a three-game losing streak following their early exit from the Big 12 Tournament. Back on March 10, Beard and the Longhorns were upset by head coach Jamie Dixon and the TCU Horned Frogs to get knocked out of the Big 12 Tournament in the first round, which came by the final score of 65-60.
Selection Committee does Chris Beard and Texas basketball dirty with the Mike Young and Virginia Tech matchup
Moreover, Joe Lunardi of ESPN summed it up well in a piece that summarized some of his takeaways from the seeding from the Selection Committee on March 13, including a take on the Texas-Virginia Tech matchup in the East Region. Lunardi mentioned that the Selection Committee did Texas “no favors” by “under-seeding” Virginia Tech following their ACC Tournament victory.
Texas is definitely the team in this matchup in the Round of 64 that is trending down heading into the NCAA Tournament. Virginia Tech is riding a high coming off a convincing win in the ACC Tournament Finals over Duke on March 12.
Beard is going to have to find some of that magic he had when he led the Texas Tech Red Raiders to the National Championship Game a few years ago. There is a pretty established track record of success that Beard has in the NCAA Tournament from the time he spent in Lubbock as head coach of the Red Raiders.
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Beard and the Longhorns are heading into the NCAA Tournament with a record of 21-11 (10-8 Big 12) following their Big 12 Tournament loss to TCU on March 10. Meanwhile, Virginia Tech is heading into the Big Dance with a record of 23-12 (11-9 ACC) following their conference tourney triumph.