Senior Night clash. Texas fights rivals Oklahoma for NCAA Tournament hopes, aiming to finish strong amidst a high-stakes Red River Rivalry showdown.
There's so much at stake for Texas in its final regular-season game on Saturday night against Oklahoma.
For one, it's another edition of the Red River Rivalry, a game always circled on both teams' calendars. It's also senior night for six Longhorns: Jordan Pope, Chendall Weaver, Tramon Mark, Lassina Traore, Brandon Taylor and Cole Bott.
"There's a lot at stake this weekend, across the board, in our conference and beyond," Texas head coach Sean Miller said on Friday. " Our team has a number of players that will never play college basketball again, and an opportunity for our team this year to win 10 SEC games, which is no easy feat."
But perhaps the most important aspect of Texas' Saturday night matchup is its NCAA Tournament hopes.
Right now, the Longhorns sit as an 11 seed, and the last team with a bye into the first round, according to ESPN's Joe Lunardi. That means there's little margin for error for them to screw up.
And the Sooners aren't a pushover by any means.
Lunardi has them as a team still considered for a spot in March Madness, meaning they still have lots to play for in their regular-season finale.
Oklahoma has had an adventurous journey in Southeastern Conference play, to say the least.
It opened SEC play with a win over Ole Miss, and then proceeded to lose nine(!) straight games. However, in their last seven games, the Sooners have gone 5-2, including wins at No. 15 Vanderbilt and at home to Georgia and Missouri.
Oklahoma is one of the hottest teams in the conference, and they're certainly not the same team Texas beat in late January.
The Sooners hot streak is thanks, in large part, to their emerging offense, which has averaged 88 points per game in their last five victories.
Oklahoma guard duo Nigel Pack and Xzayvier Brown do most of the damage for the Crimson Red, both averaging over 15 PPG.
That could be a big issue for the Longhorns, who struggle defensively, specifically against dynamic guards.
A positive for Texas - the Sooners' defense may be even worse than its own. Oklahoma allows 77.2 PPG, ranking 269th out of 365 teams in Division I college basketball.
So yeah, don't be surprised if Saturday's game is fairly high scoring.
The Longhorns have been working towards this moment all season. If they can get across the finish line unscathed, they'll have likely secured a spot in the Big Dance.