Are the Texas Longhorns Now in Danger of Missing March Madness?

The Texas Longhorns ended the regular season on a two-game losing streak, with the Oklahoma Sooners handing them a loss this past Saturday.

Led by sixth-year senior Nijel Pack, who scored 23 points, the Sooners bested the Longhorns 88-85 in overtime. A truly disappointing result, considering Oklahoma is a major rival for Texas, and the fact that the Longhorns aren't working with that much room when it comes to the NCAA Tournament.

Selection Sunday for the NCAA Tournament is on March 15, which means Texas has a chance to strengthen their resume. The Longhorns rank No. 41 in the Net Rankings with a 6-9 record against Quad 1 teams, a 1-3 record against Quad 2 teams and a combined record of 10-1 against Quad 3 and 4 teams.

While Sean Miller's group doesn't seem to have a path for title contention this year, they do seem on track to make the tournament, barring a disastrous showing in the SEC Tournament. On Sunday, ESPN's bracketologist Joe Lunardi released his updated NCAA Tournament prediction, and had the Longhorns as one of the last four teams to skip the first four play-in games.

He also had them slated to secure the No. 10 seed in the St. Louis region, which would pit them against a projected No. 7 seed in the Miami Hurricanes.

Texas Longhorns head coach Sean Miller. — Texas Longhorns head coach Sean Miller reacts during the second half. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

At 18-13 on the year and 9-9 in SEC play, the Longhorns clinched the No. 10 seed in the conference tournament. Ironically, they will begin their SEC Tournament journey against the No. 15 seed Ole Miss Rebels, who are notably coached by former Texas leading man (2021-23), Chris Beard.

Despite posting a 24-12 record last season and making a run to the Sweet 16 a year ago, Beard's Rebels have been on the struggle bus this season. They come into the SEC Tournament with a 12-19 record overall, and with a 4-14 record in conference play.

Although the Rebels are one of the bottom feeders in the conference this season, Texas is just a 5.5-point favorite according to DraftKings. However, ESPN's Matchup Predictor does give the Longhorns a 67.9% chance of winning.

Texas' first-round game against its old head coach will tip off at 7:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday and will be aired on the SEC Network. A win bolsters Texas' chances of making the big dance, while a loss could be the reason they don't hear their names called next Sunday.