NCAA Tournament First Round Preview: Texas vs Abilene Christian

March Madness Preview: The Texas Longhorns take on the Abilene Christian Wildcats in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament

In the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, March 20th, the No. 3 seeded Texas Longhorns will face off against No. 14 Abilene Christian.

While Texas is feeling strong following its first-ever Big 12 championship, the Wildcats also are carrying momentum after winning 12 of their last 13 games. Abilene Christian possesses one of the nation's tougher scoring defenses, leading the country in turnover margin.

Head coach Shaka Smart has had the Longhorns playing their best basketball this season. Texas is coming off a five-game win streak, including the Big 12 title. Guard play has been consistent for Texas, with Andrew Jones, Matt Coleman III, and Courtney Ramey all averaging double-digit scoring totals for the season.

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Texas’s offensive rebounding has also improved substantially, with Greg Brown, Jericho Sims, and Kai Jones crashing the boards consistently giving the Longhorns second-chance opportunities.

HITTING THE ROAD: Texas has won its past five games all on the road/neutral sites

ODDS: Texas -9.0, o/u: 140

RECORDS: Texas Longhorns (19-7) vs. Abilene Christian (23-4)

WHEN: Saturday, March 20, 2021, at 8:50 p.m. CT

LOCATION: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis

TV/RADIO: truTV

FINAL WORD: Shaka Smart on respecting the opponent:

“Nowadays, I’ve already had two people send me statistical analytical breakdowns on Abilene Christian that are not a part of our program.”

He continued, “I think the first thing is just gaining a level of respect for the opponent… For us to be at our best, we’ve got to do A, B, and C. The teams that advance here are going to do that.”

CONTINUE READING: Longhorns Finish No. 9 in Final AP Poll

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