The fate of Texas basketball's 2024-25 season rests on the final stretch run of SEC play for the regular season's final five games over the next three weeks.
What are the biggest remaining SEC games for Rodney Terry in Texas basketball's remainder schedule?
Texas (16-10, 5-8 SEC) and head coach Rodney Terry snapped a three-game losing streak with a clutch win over the No. 15 Kentucky Wildcats at the Moody Center last week. Terry and the Longhorns got a full week off before the final stretch run of conference play in the SEC.
How the Longhorns close out this final five-game run during the regular season and the SEC Tournament in mid-March determines how the Selection Committee will rank Texas for this postseason.
The longer break this week between games can help the Longhorns rest up and get healthier before the regular season's final five contests in SEC play. Terry and Co. have been missing junior guard Chendall Weaver and senior forward Arthur Kaluma for the past couple of games due to various lower-body injuries.
Here are three must-win games for the Longhorns in late February and March during the final stretch run of SEC play for the regular season.
@ South Carolina (Feb. 22)
This upcoming weekend, the Longhorns face the South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia. Coming into this game, the Longhorns have seven Quad 1 and Quad 2 victories this regular season.
South Carolina is winless in SEC play, including two straight double-digit losses in conference play in the SEC. This past Tuesday, South Carolina fell to the LSU Tigers on the road by 14 points.
The Gamecocks should be a chance for the Longhorns to get its second straight win in SEC play and first road conference victory since Feb. 1 in Baton Rouge vs. LSU.
Georgia (March 1)
Texas and the Georgia Bulldogs meet in Austin for another high stakes SEC game that could determine the postseason fate for both programs. The Longhorns and Dawgs met twice, including for the SEC Championship on the gridiron this past fall in football conference play.
Georgia and Texas both had tough sledding in SEC play in the past few weeks. The Dawgs have dropped three straight games to ranked foes in the SEC during a gauntlet stretch of their conference slate in mid-February.
Since Georgia stands at No. 39 in the NET rankings, this would be a Quad 2 win for the Longhorns that would boost the resume for the postseason for SEC play.
Oklahoma (March 8)
After starting the season with an undefeated record through the non-con (13-0), the Oklahoma Sooners have dropped 10 of its past 13 games in SEC play, including a five-game skid following a convincing 22-point loss to the No. 4 Florida Gators this past Tuesday.
The Longhorns host the Sooners in the Red River Rivalry game on the hardwood for the regular season finale at the Moody Center on March 8.
Terry is a perfect 8-0 against the Sooners as Texas's head coach over the past few seasons. If Texas beats OU in the regular season finale in a few weeks, the Longhorns would have a program-record nine-game winning streak in Red River.