Where Texas basketball stands in updated March Madness bracket predictions
Texas basketball has positioned itself for a fourth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament entering Saturday’s game at Kansas despite playing in the highest-ranked conference in the country in the Big 12. But how high in the seedings can the Longhorns (17-9, 6-7 Big 12) climb?
Based on the quality and quantity of their remaining regular-season opponents, Texas has room to improve on its current projections.
Here is where Texas stands in the latest NCAA Tournament predictions:
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Texas basketball is projected as a No. 8 or No. 9
ESPN's Joe Lunardi has Texas as the No. 8 seed in the West Regional, which runs through Los Angeles. He has UT facing ninth-seeded Boise State in the first round, with a potential meeting with top-seeded Arizona in the second round of the opening weekend in Salt Lake City.
CBS Sports' Jerry Palm has Texas as the No. 9 seed in the West Regional. According to Palm, Texas will open the tournament against eighth-seeded New Mexico in Charlotte, N.C. A win would mean a likely meeting with top-seeded North Carolina in the second round.
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Texas basketball's NCAA Tournament résumé
The Longhorns remain in a strong position in the NET rankings, which is a primary metric used by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee as it wades through the 362 Division I college basketball programs to determine the 68-team field in March. Texas moved up one spot to No. 38 in the latest NET ratings after its win over Kansas State Monday.
The NET ratings lean heavily on a quadrant system to determine quality wins and losses, with “Quad 1” wins especially valued. Texas has a 4-7 record against Quad 1 teams, including road wins at TCU, Oklahoma and Cincinnati as well as a home victory over Baylor.
Five of Texas’ seven Quad 1 losses have been to teams projected as top-three seeds by Lunardi: Houston (twice), Connecticut, Marquette and Iowa State.
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Can Texas improve its seeding?
Without a doubt. The Longhorns currently have four games against Quad 1 teams remaining on the regular-season schedule, starting with Saturday’s trip to Kansas (No. 17 in NET). Texas also travels to Baylor (No. 14 NET) and Texas Tech (No. 29 NET) before hosting Oklahoma (No. 39). Texas also hosts struggling Oklahoma State.
If the Longhorns can hold serve at home and win at least one of their remaining road wins, they could make a push for a seventh seed. However, four losses in the final five regular-season games could knock Texas off an eighth or ninth line and toward bubble status.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas bracketology update: Latest NCAA bracket predictions for Horns
