College Basketball's Top Analyst Believes in the Texas Longhorns

Game one in the Sean Miller era did not go as the new Texas Longhorns head coach would've hoped for, with a loss in the season opener. However, the Longhorns' first matchup was not at all a walk in the park, taking on a talented Duke Blue Devils squad.

Texas took on the Blue Devils, who came off a trip to the Final Four a season ago, matching up with Duke for the Dick Vitale Invitational from Charlotte, North Carolina, at the Spectrum Center on Tuesday night. The Longhorns started the season with a one in the loss column, falling 75-60.

The Longhorns will look to get back on track and pick up their first victory under Miller, in their home opener, taking on what should be a more favorable matchup in the Lafayette Leopards on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. at the Moody Center. As the Longhorns continue to iron out kinks throughout the first few games of the season, one top college basketball analyst features Texas in a ranking of the top 68 teams in college basketball.

Where Does Jay Bilas Rank the Longhorns?

Texas Longhorns forward Nic Codie (10) blocks the shot by Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) during the second half of the Dick Vitale’s Invitational game at Spectrum Center. | Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images

ESPN analyst Jay Bilas released this season's edition of the "Bilas Index" earlier this week, which features the Duke legend ranking the best 68 men's basketball teams in 2025-26. And the Longhorns are right in the mix, ranked at No. 34, with Bilas going to bat for the track record of Miller and a few key returners for Texas from a season ago.

"Texas had a tough opening opponent in Duke, but expectations will rise as Sean Miller's first season in Austin unfolds -- he has won at least 20 games in 15 of his 20 seasons of coaching," Bilas wrote. "And though last season's leading scorers (Tre Johnson and Arthur Kaluma) are gone, the Longhorns do return Jordan Pope (11.0 PPG in 2024-25) and Tramon Mark (10.6)."

Texas finds itself sandwiched right in between two other SEC teams, slotted right above the Mississippi Tigers, who come in at No. 35 on the Bilas Index. Missouri has made the NCAA Tournament twice in head coach Dennis Gates' first three seasons. However, the Tigers lose their three leading scorers from a season ago, but have started strong with a win over Howard.

Listed right about the Longhorns are rivals, the Texas A&M Aggies, who, similarly to the Longhorns, begin their first season under a new head coach with the Aggies hiring Stamford head man Bucky McMillan in the offseason. The Aggies began their 2025-26 campaign with two commanding victories, winning both games by 30 points and holding their opponents to 70 points or less.

After a record-breaking season a year ago that saw 14 of the 16 SEC teams make the NCAA Tournament, which set a college basketball record. In Bilas's list, all but one team from the SEC made his index. 15 of the 16 teams from the Southeastern Conference were ranked, with the highest obviously being the defending champions, Florida Gators at No. 3, and two other teams in the top 10 in the Kentucky Wildcats at No. 8 and the Tennessee Volunteers at No. 9.