Athletic director Chris Del Conte was asked a tough question on Wednesday night about the status of Texas basketball head coach Rodney Terry in SEC play.
Amid the final stretch run of SEC play, Chris Del Conte discussed the direction of the Texas basketball program under Rodney Terry
Del Conte spoke at the annual Texas Town Hall on Feb. 26, which is held annually by the Longhorns' athletic director. One of the big topics Del Conte discussed at the town hall meeting yesterday was the direction the basketball program is going under Terry in Texas's first year playing in the SEC.
With the Longhorns having made the NCAA Tournament four years in a row, it sounds like Del Conte is still confident in the basketball program right now, especially with the strength of the SEC conference in Texas's first year.
"The direction of basketball. It ebbs and flows. Two years ago we were in the Elite Eight. Last year in the round of 32. Not having the year we all expect. I understand that. Some of our programs are at the top of the heap and they’re working their way through it."Chris Del Conte on Rodney Terry
Terry is in his third year as Texas's head coach. It's his second year as the full-time head coach of the Longhorns after he took over midseason after Chris Beard was let go amid the 2022-23 season.
In each of the past three postseasons, the Longhorns have won at least one NCAA Tournament game. Terry led the Longhorns to the Elite Eight in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Texas also won one NCAA Tournament game as a seven-seed in the Round of 64 over the 10-seed Colorado State Rams last postseason in the "Big Dance".
"That’s the reality of sport. I get it. At the end of the day, as we look at every one of our programs, I have those discussions at the end of the year."Chris Del Conte on Rodney Terry
But the Longhorns' tournament chances appear to be in jeopardy, with Texas having dropped five of its last six contests down the stretch in the regular season in SEC play.
According to On3's latest Bracketology update, Texas is one of the last four teams in the NCAA Tournament 68-team field. To ensure a spot in the NCAA Tournament, Texas probably needs to win at least three more games to close out this regular season and the SEC conference tournament in mid-March.
Texas's last three games of the regular season in SEC play come against the Georgia Bulldogs at the Moody Center this weekend (March 1), on the road against the No. 24 Mississippi State Bulldogs in Starkville next Tuesday, and the finale at home against the Oklahoma Sooners (March 8).