Texas should eye Big 12, NCAA seeding

The Texas men’s basketball team earned a much-needed win Wednesday night, snapping a two-game losing streak and regaining some momentum as the regular season draws to a close.

(Also Read: Texas Survives Baylor’s Comeback, Earns 10th Conference Win)

With its 74-69 win over Baylor, as detailed [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]by Brian Davis for the Austin American-Statesman, Texas remained very much in the race to finish second in the Big 12. It’s an important race for seeding, and not just for the upcoming NCAA Tournament, where ESPN’s Joe Lunardi figures Texas to be a 6-seed heading into Saturday’s game at Norman against the 25^th ranked Sooners.

Texas will be playing in the NCAA Tournament regardless of how it finishes the regular season. But plenty of big carats remain, and finishing with momentum could go a long way to helping out. Javan Felix and Isaiah Taylor shook off recent shooting slumps by combining to make 12 of 23 shots (including seven threes from Felix) and Cameron Ridley provided 20 points, 10 rebounds and a game-saving block.

“I think it was a big game because of the way we played,” coach Rick Barnes said after watching Texas nearly squander a 15-point halftime lead. “We haven’t given ourselves a chance in two games. I don’t think we mentally have done the details the last couple of weeks and I think it showed up when things weren’t going perfectly well tonight. We did a good job when they pushed back…. When we had to come down in the end and execute, we did.”

The Longhorns may not be able to catch Kansas and share the Big 12 regular season crown. At 13-2, Kansas doesn’t play a team with a winning conference record, though Saturday’s game in Stillwater has ESPN College Gameday’s attention.

Though Texas owns a win over the Jayhawks, no one is eager to play Kansas any sooner than they have to. Ideally for Texas, a third meeting with the Jayhawks would come in the Big 12 tournament final. To make that happen, Texas must finish either second or third in the final standings and avoid KU in the semifinals. To do that, Texas must win at least two of its final three games (TCU and Texas Tech follow Oklahoma as the Horns close the regular season).

Iowa State, tied with Texas for second, faces a tough task to stay there. The Cyclones finish with games at Kansas State and Baylor before hosting Oklahoma State to close the season. Despite the loss at Texas, Baylor has won four of five and is desperately trying to play its way back into NCAA contention.

Oklahoma, though currently a game behind the Longhorns and Cyclones, may have the inside track to second place. If the Sooners win out – their toughest test comes Saturday when Texas visits – they’d finish 12-6.

Kansas State can also play its way into the top three by winning out, though that would mean beating desperate Oklahoma State in Stillwater as well as holding serve in the Octagon of Doom against Iowa State and Baylor.

Not only is Texas playing for second in the Big 12 to avoid Kansas in the conference tournament semifinals, the Longhorns are looking to impress the selection committee in order to get a more favorable seeding, and possibly location, for the NCAA’s opening weekend. Lunardi currently has Texas headed to Raleigh, N.C. While Tobacco Road has its charm, Texas would much rather make the short drive south to San Antonio to open the tournament.

Texas hasn’t had a winning March since 2010-11, which coincidentally was the last season in which Texas won an NCAA Tournament game. Being able to take the momentum from the home win over Baylor and display it in Norman is the first step.

“I mean it’s easy to play at home; taking it on the road is a whole different challenge,” junior forward Jonathan Holmes said after the win. “We are stoked to play on Saturday and bring our best game like we do here.”

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