Texas men's basketball battles for a March Madness bid, leveraging recent Quad One wins and strong rankings to secure their spot.
Texas men's basketball is on the brink of clinching an NCAA Tournament appearance in year one of the Sean Miller era, thanks to another Quadrant One victory over rivals Texas A&M on Saturday.
According to ESPN's Joe Lunardi, the Longhorns had one of the "Last Four Byes" in his March Madness bracket, but another good win on the resume should give them some breathing room.
Out of 94 brackets visible on bracketmatrix.com, Texas is included in 93 of them. Some brackets have it as high as an eight or nine seed, but the consensus among bracketologists is that the Longhorns sit as a 10 seed.
Important Metrics
Two important metrics used by the committee are the NCAA's NET ranking and the KenPom rankings.
Texas saw itself jump in both metrics.
After its win over the Aggies, the Longhorns jumped from 40 to 36 in the NET rankings and from 31 to 29 on KenPom.
Texas' high rankings in both metrics are likely due to its strong wins throughout the season. The Longhorns are 7-8 against Quad One opposition, a solid record for any bubble team.
Compare that with A&M's 4-7 record against the first quadrant, and you understand why Texas has the leg up on its rivals going into the last week of the regular season.
Jobs Not Finished
The Longhorns are safely into the tournament at the moment, but two straight losses and an early exit at the Southeastern Conference in Nashville could change that.
However, a 1-1 or even 2-0 finish to SEC play likely clinches that beautiful tournament berth they've been dreaming about.
But it certainly won't be a walk in the park.
Texas' first roadblock is a Wednesday trip to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to take on No. 20 Arkansas in a hostile road environment.
A loss here wouldn't kill the Longhorns, but a win would likely jump them a seed line or two.
Their real trap game comes on Saturday against Oklahoma on senior night. The Sooners (15-14, 5-11 SEC) have had a rough season thus far, but they'd love nothing more than to end it by putting a dent in their rivals' March Madness hopes.
It wouldn't qualify as a Quadrant Three or Four loss, but it's one the tournament committee would probably hold against Texas come Selection Sunday.
The Longhorns are in a unique position.
On one hand, they'll still be wary of the bubble lurking around them. On the other hand, they have a chance to jump up higher in the bracket, making their potential March Madness run a bit easier.
It's not a particularly comfortable position for Texas to be in, but it's a whole lot better than where it stood at the beginning of conference play.