Since taking over the Texas men's basketball program last year, Sean Miller has taken the Longhorns back to a place of prominence.
After a run to the Sweet 16, a dominant performance in the transfer portal, and an even better showing on the recruiting trail, Miller had taken the Horns back to where they wanted to be, with a No. 7 ranking in SportsCenter NEXT's way-too-early top 25.
Then, despite landing a commitment from five-star Marcus Spears Jr., in the latest preseason power rankings, Texas took a step back from the No. 7 spot.
Jon Rothstein, a national college basketball insider, released his ranking of the top 45 teams in the country, and despite all the hype around Texas, the Longhorns barely eked out a spot in the top 10.
Jon Rothstein didn't quite know what to do with Horns in power ranking
While Texas making it into the top 10 was a massive nod to Miller's job on the 40 Acres so far, Rothstein clearly hasn't been completely sold on the Horns ahead of the 2026-27 season.
- Florida Gators
- Duke Blue Devils
- Illinois Fighting Illini
- UConn Huskies
- Michigan State Spartans
- Arizona Wildcats
- Michigan Wolverines
- Virginia Cavaliers
- Texas Longhorns
- Tennessee Volunteers
Additionally, Texas was ranked as the second-highest team in the SEC, only trailing the Florida Gators, who received the No. 1 spot, and ahead of the Tennessee Volunteers, who were ranked 10th.
With the upcoming season being just the second under Miller's guise, it's almost understandable that Rothstein had Texas on the brink of missing the top 10 spots.
However, with Miller landing the No. 5 recruiting class of 2026 and the No. 4 transfer portal class, while retaining star center Matas Vokietaitis, it's a little hard to understand the Longhorns barely breaking into the 10.
Also read: Horns make major move on new 2027 No. 1 recruit Beckham Black fresh off Marcus Spears commitment
Closing out last season, after losing to the Purdue Boilermakers in the Sweet 16, the Horns earned the No. 22 ranking in the final AP Top 25 Poll, so earning the No. 9 spot from an expert like Rothstein is a great sign.
Ultimately, preseason rankings and projections are almost entirely based on opinion. When it comes down to the actual season, Texas's spot in the country will be based on in-game performances and the number of tick marks they put in the win and loss columns.
This year, the Longhorns will tip off their campaign at the Rady Children's Invitational, where they will face the Georgetown Hoyas as well as the UCLA Bruins or Saint Mary's Gaels. Then, Texas will take on the Louisville Cardinals and Memphis Tigers at the SEC-ACC Challenge.
Miller isn't backing down from any challenge, whether that be on the court or in the rankings, and right now, Texas is looking more up to the task at hand than it has in a long time.
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