Fans picking VA Tech more often than Texas basketball for their brackets

Following Selection Sunday on March 13, Texas basketball fans now wait for their team’s first game in the NCAA Tournament, set for March 18. Texas got the six-seed in the East Region, which pits them against the 11-seed and reigning ACC Tournament Champion Virginia Tech Hokies in the Round of 64.

Head coach Chris Beard got a tough draw from the Selection Committee in the Round of 64 with the Longhorns getting matched up against one of the most under-seeded teams in the 68-team pool. Virginia Tech just plowed through a deep ACC Tournament field to win their first conference tournament crown in program history.

To win the ACC Tournament crown, the Hokies had to upset the likes of the No. 25 North Carolina Tar Heels and No. 7 Duke Blue Devils along with the Clemson Tigers and Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Texas basketball picked less than Virginia Tech in Yahoo and ESPN fan brackets

Virginia Tech comes into the NCAA Tournament with plenty of confidence and momentum. Meanwhile, Texas comes into the Big Dance sitting on a three-game losing streak dating back to their home finale loss to the Baylor Bears back on Feb. 28.

Texas was also knocked out of the Big 12 Tournament early on by head coach Jamie Dixon and the TCU Horned Frogs back on March 10. In their first game of the Big 12 Tournament, Beard and the Longhorns fell short to the Horned Frogs by the final score of 65-60.

Moreover, it’s easy to see why there is such a disparity in momentum heading into the NCAA Tournament between Texas and Virginia Tech. That has also played a role in how college hoops fans are picking their brackets for March Madness ahead of the start of the festivities later this week.

In the ESPN Men’s Tournament Challenge, just over 52 percent of fans are picking the Hokies over the Longhorns.

And in Yahoo Sports Tourney Pick’em, Virginia Tech is getting picked nearly 54 percent of the time to beat Texas in this Round of 64 matchup.

Considering the fact that both ESPN and Yahoo Sports have Virginia Tech getting picked a little more than half of the time to beat six-seeded Texas in the Round of 64, it’s not surprising that Longhorns fans are pessimistic about their team’s odds to even win one game in the NCAA Tournament.

This is a difficult situation for Texas to fall in as Virginia Tech is one of the hottest major conference schools heading into the Big Dance. Meanwhile, Texas is looking to snap their three-game losing streak heading into the NCAA Tournament. Texas is also trying to snap their four-game losing skid for the program dating back to 2014 in the Big Dance.

Texas comes into this Round of 64 matchup against Virginia Tech sporting a record of 21-11 (10-8 Big 12) following their conference tourney loss last week to TCU. Tip-off time between Texas and Virginia Tech is set for 3:30 p.m. CT on March 18 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, WI.