Texas basketball gets difficult Round of 64 draw in 15-seed Colgate

On the evening of March 12, interim head coach Rodney Terry and No. 7 ranked Texas basketball figured out their fate for the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday. Texas got a two-seed in the Midwest Region, which pits them against the 15-seed Colgate Raiders in the Round of 64, which will take place in Des Moines, IA, on March 16.

Terry and the Longhorns will take on a team in Colgate that won the regular season and conference tournament titles in the Patriot League. Meanwhile, the Longhorns came up with the Big 12 Men’s Tournament title with a dominant 76-56 win over the top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks on March 11.

Texas comes into this Round of 64 matchup against Colgate with a record of 26-8 (12-6 Big 12), riding a four-game winning streak dating back to the regular season finale win at home on March 4 over No. 3 Kansas.

Meanwhile, Colgate is also sporting a record of 26-8 (17-1 Patriot) following a convincing 79-61 win over the Lafayette Leopards in the Patriot League Tournament final on March 8. Colgate has won eight games in a row dating back to early February.

So, what type of test does the 15-seed Colgate present for the two-seed Texas in the Round of 64 in the NCAA Tournament?

Texas basketball to face a challenging, high-octane opponent in the 15-seed Colgate

According to Kenpom, Colgate ranks as the No. 114 team in the country. Colgate’s biggest strength, though, is its offense. Although it ranks at No. 114 in adjusted efficiency by Kenpom coming out of the conference tournament, Colgate does rank in the top 50 in adjusted offense.

And it ranks seventh in the nation in offensive rating (115.1).

Colgate is a team that can really stroke it from beyond the arc, shooting the three-ball at a nation’s best clip of 40.8 percent. And the Raiders have an impressive five players all shooting the ball at least around 37 percent from deep (all of which are attempting more than one three-pointer per game).

And four of those five players that are shooting better than 37 percent from deep are at a clip north of 40 percent on the season.

It’s clear what Texas must be able to do to take care of business in the Round of 64. Texas’ perimeter defense must be on point. Being able to limit Colgate’s effectiveness from deep is obviously going to be key, and it shows in the splits for the Raiders on the season.

When Colgate shoots at least 45 percent from beyond the arc this season, it is 11-0. Yet, when Colgate is held under 45 percent shooting from deep, it is a much different team, boasting a record of 15-8 on the season.

Texas does have the defensive chops to handle Colgate

The good news is that in the last four outings, Texas did a pretty good job defending the three-ball. TCU was the only team to shoot better than 33 percent from deep against the Longhorns during its four-game winning streak heading into the NCAA Tournament.

Texas has done a pretty good job defending the three-ball on the season. It ranks in the 72nd percentile in the NCAA in terms of points per possession allowed on three-point attempts (per Synergy), at a mark of .969.

Opponents are shooting the three-ball at a clip of 32.7 percent on the season against the Longhorns, good for 110th in the country.

Another area where Texas must be stout against Colgate is in the turnover department. Texas is a team that forces a lot of turnovers out of its opponents, tying for 18th in the country in opponent turnover percentage on the season (per Sports Reference).

Yet, Colgate is a team that doesn’t turn the ball over much at all. Colgate ranks 23rd in the country in turnover percentage (13.7).

Colgate is led by two standout guards in freshman Braeden Smith and senior Tucker Richardson that both average at least 4.5 assists per game. Both Smith and Richardson also have an assist-to-turnover ratio better than two-to-one on the season, so they don’t make many untimely errors handling the basketball.

If Texas wants to be able to comfortably win this Round of 64 matchup against the Raiders, it must be able to contain the threat it presents in terms of efficient ball-handling and movement along with three-point shooting. The key for the Longhorns will be the likes of senior guard Marcus Carr, sophomore guard Tyrese Hunter, senior shooting guard/wing Sir’Jabari Rice, etc., playing some disruptive defense on the perimeter and the wing.

When Colgate turns the ball over more than a dozen times this season, it owns a record of just 2-4. Getting Colgate out of sorts early and often will clearly be a way for Texas to take control of this game on both ends of the floor.

All in all, this is a very winnable game for the Longhorns. Texas has the defensive ability to take care of business against Colgate. But when you’re facing one of the most efficient offensive teams in the country as a two-seed in the Round of 64 in the NCAA Tournament, that can always be a scary proposition.

The fact of the matter is that Terry and the Longhorns staff obviously must not take this game lightly. Texas fans saw what happened the last time that the Longhorns didn’t come out fully prepared and ready to face a lower-seeded opponent in the NCAA Tournament when it was upset by the 14-seed Abilene Christian in the Round of 64 in 2021.

Texas will take on Colgate in the Round of 64 in the Midwest Region on March 16, and the tip-off time is still to be determined. This Round of 64 matchup between Texas and Colgate will take place at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, IA.