It's no secret that the Texas Longhorns were a feisty team during the regular season, and a few members of the national media have reiterated that fact when trying to predict different March Madness bracket outcomes. The most notable media member has been ESPN's Jay Bilas, who appears to be incredibly high on Texas heading into today's play-in game against North Carolina State.
In his most recent bracket prediction piece, Bilas mentions that despite the simple fact that the Longhorns played one of the toughest schedules in America this year, they still managed to lock up a tournament bid for 2026.
Getting back to tonight's game against the Wolfpack, he has Texas getting the "W" due to their size and physicality on the perimeter. This is a valid point, as Dailyn Swain and Tramon Mark are bigger players who can take advantage of smaller defenders in multiple areas of the court.
ESPN’s Jay Bilas has Texas winning the First Four, beating No. 6 BYU and then upsetting No. 3 seed Gonzaga to advance to the Sweet 16.
— Zach Dimmitt (@ZachDimmitt7) March 17, 2026
Predicts Longhorns will then lose to No. 2 Purdue. pic.twitter.com/EfSuTCbLJh
After that, he has Texas defeating the nation's leading scorer, A.J. Dybantsa, and the BYU Cougars to advance to the second round. This would be an incredible feat by Texas, as the Cougars have looked like an NBA team at times during the regular season when it comes to scoring ability. If the Longhorns make it past BYU, it'll be because they shut down Dybantsa, which would obviously be a tough task for any team.
Bilas has Texas facing Gonzaga in the second round, and guess what? He has the Longhorns handing them a loss and making it to the Sweet 16 as well. Once again, Bilas credits the Longhorns' size in the backcourt and Dailyn Swain's incredible scoring ability as the main catalysts for the second-round upset.
Though he has the Longhorns going on an incredible run to the Sweet 16, he finally has them losing to Purdue, with a one-liner for a description:
"The Longhorns have size and talent, but Purdue will win this game."
Every Texas fan in the world hopes that the Longhorns will have this type of "Cinderella" run in the 2026 NCAA Tournament because they undoubtedly deserve it. They had multiple big wins this year, including back-to-back victories against Alabama and Vanderbilt, and plenty of other upsets throughout the regular season. Go 'Horns!