Longhorns Brace for Season Opening Challenge against UTEP

Texas Longhorns are set to begin the season with a stiff test against UTEP.

The 2022-2023 college basketball season is just days away. For the Texas Longhorns, the time is now. The Longhorns have all the intangibles to possibly go on a deep run into March. In Year two of head coach Chris Beard, the Longhorns bring back a senior lead lineup highlighted by top transfers from a season ago.

The Longhorns will be thrown into the fire pretty earlier. The season opener will be against a solid mid-major in UTEP. The Miners bring back one of the oldest teams in all of college basketball. The Miners are also led by head coach Joe Golding, who led his former school, Abilene Christian, to a historic upset over the Longhorns a few seasons ago.

Golding’s teams are known strictly for their defense. In the 2021 NCAA Tournament, his Abilene Christian club forced Texas to 20 plus turnovers and held the Longhorns to a season-low 52 points. In his first year at El Paso, he led UTEP to 20 wins in one of the best mid-major leagues in the country.

“Older team, don’t believe they have a freshman in their rotation,” Beard said. “UTEP has a chance to be an NCAA tournament team they are talented, old, and experienced.

The Longhorns will need to lean on veteran leadership to pull out a season-opening win. Guards Marcus Carr and Tyrese Hunter will look to be the catalysts on both sides of the ball. Texas will also hope to get crucial production from returning big men in Forwards Christian Bishop, Dylan Disu, and Timmy Allen. Texas brings back one of the oldest teams in the country in terms of the Power Five.

Expectations remain sky-high in Beard’s second season in Austin. The Longhorns are ranked the No.12 team in this year's preseason AP. Texas will also be playing its first-ever regular season game inside the new arena Moody Center.

“We can’t let the glitz of the first game ever in the Moody Center become more important than the forty-minute game,” Beard said. "The Basketball is what we are trying to stay focused on internally.

As the college football season enters the 4th quarter, college basketball is quickly going to take a front-row seat in Austin. Texas begins its quest for the first-ever NCAA Basketball Championship Monday against UTEP.

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You can follow Adam Glick on Twitter @adamglick39

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