Texas Basketball: 3 reasons why Longhorns will upset Purdue

In the first Round of 32 game for the Texas basketball program in nearly a decade, this team will be looking to prove a point once again on the night of March 20. First-year head coach Chris Beard will be getting his team ready to take on the three-seed Purdue Boilermakers out of the Big Ten in their Round of 32 matchup in the East Region.

Beard and the six-seed Longhorns got to the Round of 32 by knocking off the 11-seed and reigning ACC Tournament Champion Virginia Tech Hokies on March 18. Texas snapped their four-game losing streak in the NCAA Tournament by beating the Hokies on March 18 by the comfortable final score of 81-73.

But that game did get a bit too close for comfort near the end of the second half thanks to a late rally from head coach Mike Young and the Hokies.

How Marcus Carr and the six-seed Texas basketball upset Purdue in the Round of 32?

Nonetheless, Texas is entering this Round of 32 matchup against Purdue as the decided underdog. Texas is nearly a four-point underdog roughly 24 hours ahead of tip-off between these two teams.

Purdue is riding a high entering this game too. They have won four of their last five games heading into this one. The first game of the NCAA Tournament for the Boilermakers resulted in a more than 20-point victory over the 14-seed Yale Bulldogs.

Texas will need to beat one of the most well-rounded teams left in the NCAA Tournament field to upset Purdue on March 20. But it is doable for Beard and his squad.

Here’s a look into three reasons why the Longhorns can upset the Boilermakers in the Round of 32 on March 20.