3 bold predictions for Texas vs. Colorado St in Round of 64

Texas goes +10 in the battle on the boards

Rebounding the basketball has been a challenge at times for the Longhorns this season. Texas tied for 12th in the Big 12 during the regular season in rebounding differential (+32).

As you would expect when you enter Big 12 play, winning the battle on the boards became even more difficult for the Longhorns this year. Texas had a -22 rebounding different in conference play this season, ranking 10th of 14 Big 12 teams.

If Texas wants to win games in March and April, it has to get the job done on the glass to get back some of those critical extra offensive possessions and to win the battle of second-chance scoring.

When Texas is motivated to box out and hit the glass hard, the Longhorns can seemingly hang with any team on both ends of the floor. Texas is a resounding 15-2 this season when it ties or wins in the rebounding margin (per Sports Reference).

One of the reasons why Colorado State is a pretty decent matchup for the Longhorns is rebounding. Colorado State doesn't have much length in the frontcourt, with the 6-foot-7 Scott playing most of their minutes at the five down the stretch this season. The Rams have lost the battle on the boards in 19 of its 34 games during the 2023-24 campaign.

Due to that lack of size in the starting frontcourt, Colorado State has had issues hanging with some of the bigger and more physical teams on the glass.

Texas has the size advantage in the paint, with the 6-foot-9 senior big man Dylan Disu and 6-foot-11 redshirt junior center Kadin Shedrick being the biggest of the bunch in Terry's frontcourt rotation.

If the rebounding margin continues to be an overall indicator of Texas's success in the win column, a big day on the glass could be the Longhorns' ticket to the Round of 32 against the smaller Colorado State lineup.