No. 15 Longhorns Wrapping Up Las Vegas Classic Against Illinois

The No. 15 Texas Longhorns (8-1) hit the road and headed to Las Vegas riding an impressive six-game winning streak. After their first two games in the Las Vegas Classic they have pushed that streak to eight games thanks to wins over Washington and Texas Tech.

Their win over the Red Raiders saw the Longhorns almost firing on all cylinders. Once again the offense exploded for a big outing, riding a seven-run second innning and three-run fifth inning to its second straight game scoring 10 runs.

As for the pitching staff, starter Luke Harrison bounced back with five innings of one-run baseball while Dylan Volantis came on in the seventh and delivered a three-inning save to secure the 10-5 Texas win.

Texas Longhorns pitcher Max Grubbs (38) pitches in the sixth inning as the Texas Longhorns take on the University of Incarnate Word Cardinals at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin, Feb. 25, 2025. | Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Next up for the Longhorns is their final game of the Las Vegas Classic, a tough test agaisnt a strong Illinois Fighting Illini (6-3) squad looking to pull off a big upset win.

How to watch/listen:

Sunday March 2 at 1 p.m. CT - D1Baseball.com/TexasSports.com/Audio

Illinois by the numbers:

Record - 6-3

Runs scored - 85

Runs allowed - 57

Team Avg. - .305

Team Avg. against - .297

Team ERA - 5.78

Illinois wins this game if...

It can keep its offense rolling and knock Kade Bing out of the game early, forcing Texas to go to the bullpen. Through Bing's first two starts we've seen him only record two outs in his season debut against Oklahoma State and follow it with 4.1 innings of one-run baseball against Dartmouth.

The Fighting Illini will undoubtedly hope to bring out the version of BIng from his outing against the Cowboys. And they have a potent enough offense to do so. If they can rattle him early and force a quick pitching change, they could find themselves in a position to leave Las Vegas with a marquee upset win.

Texas wins this game if...

It can get another strong showing from its lineup. Through their first two games in Las Vegas, the Longhorns offense has come to life in a big way. Both wins saw them score 10 runs which marked their third and fourth games of the season so far putting up 10-plus runs.

Against Illinois they will look to find a similar level of success. While they may not put up 10 runs for the third straight game, they certainly have the bats to make life difficult for the Fighting Illini's pitching staff. If they can put together productive at-bats and pressure the pitcher, then the Longhorns could leave Las Vegas with a clean sweep of the field.

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