NCAA Tournament Projections: Texas Longhorns 'Big Mover' in Latest Update
AUSTIN -- The Texas Longhorns are starting to put it together at the right time after facing questions about their legitimacy during non-conference and early in Big 12 play.
There's still a long way to go if the Longhorns (14-5, 3-3 Big 12) want to make it to their fourth straight NCAA Tournament, but they've given their resume a stamp over the past four days with back-to-back wins over top-11 opponents.
Texas beat then-No. 9 Baylor at the buzzer in a 75-73 finish on Saturday in Austin before stifling No. 11 Oklahoma in Norman on Thursday in a 75-60 win.
As a result, ESPN's Bracketology is giving the Longhorns a big projections boost in the latest March Madness bracket predictions.
© Steve Sisney, The Oklahoman
ESPN's bracket expert Joe Lunardi tweeted the latest movement in the projections on Wednesday following Tuesday's results, and the Longhorns are the "big mover" this time around.
"Texas was the big mover last night, winning at Oklahoma to vault from NEXT FOUR OUT to LAST FOUR BYES and knock Big 12 compatriot Cincinnati to the wrong side of the bubble," the results read.
In this scenario, Texas would earn a No. 10 seed while avoiding a trip to the First Four. The Longhorns would join New Mexico, Boise State and Kansas State as teams that could sneak in while last four in would be TCU, Northwestern, Colorado and Gonzaga.
The Longhorns have essentially saved their season over the past week following two tough losses to West Virginia and UCF, the latter of which resulted in some outside distractions due to Rodney Terry's "Horns Down" debacle with the Knights.
But things have changed in a blink, and Texas will look to ride this momentum in Provo on Saturday against No. 21 BYU for what would be a third straight top-25 win.
