Winning record in SEC play in January
To say that the Longhorns face a gauntlet of a first-month schedule to start SEC play in January doesn't really describe how challenging Terry's squad upcoming slate is over the next four weeks.
In a span of two weeks, Texas faces five teams ranked in the top 15 in the AP Poll to start SEC play. Texas faces the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams in the country in conference play against the No. 1 ranked Tennessee Volunteers (Jan. 7) and No. 2 Auburn Tigers at the Moody Center (Jan. 11) right in the middle of road rivalry games against No. 13 Texas A&M (Jan. 4) and the No. 12 Oklahoma Sooners (Jan. 15).
Some of the issues the Longhorns had with rebounding the basketball against lengthier major conference frontcourt opponents and finding consistent offense and ball movement on that end of the floor can be magnified if Terry doesn't make the necessary adjustments before the New Year in 2025.
Terry expressed the desired goals for the Longhorns on the defensive end of the floor before SEC play begins.
"Then sitting down, playing Texas Basketball defensively. You know, we try to protect the paint, we try to keep the guys off the glass, physical block outs. Then try to get out and play to a strength of ours, which I think we’re a fast team but you’ve got to be able to get stops to be able to do that and play in transition."Rodney Terry
The SEC is as tough and deep as the conference has been in the past decade, going into conference play in about a week or so. Texas and Oklahoma joining the conference have added even more depth and postseason NCAA Tournament contenders to the SEC this season for 2024-25.