Who Texas basketball would face it it makes it to the Sweet 16?

Before the two-seed Texas basketball and interim head coach Rodney Terry can worry about who it would be in the Sweet 16 in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament, they must get through a tough opponent in the Round of 64 in the 10-seed Penn State Nittany Lions. Texas will take on Penn State in the second round of the Big Dance after it won its fifth straight game a couple of days ago to get past the Round of 64.

Terry and the Longhorns beat the 15-seed Colgate Raiders and head coach Matt Langel in the Round of 64 on March 16, by a final score of 81-61. That is the second consecutive win for the Longhorns in the Round of 64, dating back to a win last postseason over the 11-seed Virginia Tech Hokies.

Texas is set to face a Penn State squad that is streaking heading into this weekend. Penn State has won nine of its last 11 games.

Head coach Micah Shrewsberry and the Nittany Lions looked great in a dismantling of the seven-seed Texas A&M Aggies in the Round of 64 on March 16, in a game that ended by a score of 76-59. All-American senior guard Jalen Pickett and the Nittany Lions will surely be a handful for the Longhorns to deal with on March 18 in the Round of 32.

Texas basketball would face the winner of No. 3 Xavier vs. No. 11 Pitt if it tops Penn State to make it to the Sweet 16

However, if Terry and the Longhorns are able to advance past the Round of 32 by beating Penn State on March 18, who would they face in the Sweet 16?

Texas would wind up facing the winner of the three-seed Xavier Musketeers and the 11-seed Pitt Panthers in the Sweet 16 if it tops Penn State at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, IA.

The Round of 32 matchup between Xavier and Pitt will be decided on March 19, with a tip-off time of 11:10 a.m. CT. Kenpom currently gives Xavier a 67 percent chance of beating Pitt, projecting the final score to be 81-76 in favor of the Musketeers.

If Texas does beat Penn State on this night, it would be the first time that the Longhorns made it to the Sweet 16 since 2008. Texas has faced Pitt three times in program history (1-2 record) and Xavier five times (3-2 record), including two in the NCAA Tournament in the last two decades.