Texas basketball pegged as a team on upset alert in Round of 32

Among the more intriguing matchups in the Round of 32 this weekend pits the two-seed Texas basketball and interim head coach Rodney Terry against the 10-seed Penn State Nittany Lions and head coach Micah Shrewsberry. Texas will look to advance to its first Sweet 16 since 2008 if it can top Penn State in the Round of 32 on March 18.

This will be no easy test for Terry and the Longhorns, though, as Penn State is streaking coming into this game. Penn State has won nine of its last 11 contests, including a very convincing 76-59 upset win over the seven-seed Texas A&M Aggies in the Round of 64 on March 16.

Penn State is led by one of the nation’s best players, in consensus First-Team All-American and star senior guard Jalen Pickett.

Pickett will be looking to lead the Nittany Lions to their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2001. And there are plenty around the college hoops media landscape that are picking Pickett and the Nittany Lions to put the Longhorns on upset alert on March 18.

Does Penn State have Rodney Terry and Texas basketball on upset alert?

FanSided’s Busting Brackets actually pegged Texas as the top team on upset alert in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Busting Brackets noted Penn State’s hot play in the last couple of months along with the threat that Pickett poses to Terry and the Longhorns as some of the reasons why Texas could be on upset alert in the Round of 32.

And Busting Brackets isn’t the only site that believes the Longhorns could be put on upset alert by the Nittany Lions this weekend.

Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine named Texas among the five teams in the most danger of being put on upset alert on Day 3 of the NCAA Tournament. BR’s Ballentine cited similar reasons as to why the Longhorns could be put on upset alert by the Nittany Lions.

"The Nittany Lions’ offensive capabilities are going to make them a dangerous team as long as they are in the tournament.That’s even true for a Texas team that won the Big 12 tournament championship game by 20 points and did the same to Colgate."

Texas heads into this matchup in the Round of 32 Midwest Region against Penn State as a 5.5-point favorite a couple of hours ahead of tip-off at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, IA. If Texas is able to top the Nittany Lions on March 18, it would be the 28th win of the season for Terry’s squad.

The tip-off time between the two-seed Texas and 10-seed Penn State is set for 6:45 p.m. CT on March 18. The winner of this game will move on to face the winner of the Round of 32 matchup on March 19 between the three-seed Xavier Musketeers and 11-seed Pitt Panthers.