Texas Longhorns Fall In AP Poll After SEC Championship Game Loss

Texas falls in the AP Poll after losing to South Carolina in the SEC Championship.

Mar 9, 2025; Greenville, SC, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks forward Chloe Kitts (21) shoots over Texas Longhorns forward Taylor Jones (44) during the second half at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Following their 64-45 loss to South Carolina in the SEC Championship game, the Longhorns fell from the top spot in the AP Poll to No. 5. With less than a week until Selection Sunday, the Longhorns are now out of the one-seed range in the AP Poll.

South Carolina jumped to the No. 2 overall spot and UCLA returned to No. 1. The Bruins defeated the USC Trojans for the Big Ten Championship. UCONN stayed in the No. 3 spot.

Despite the loss, senior point guard Rori Harmon is confident that her team has the resume to lock in a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament.

March 9, 2025; Greenville, SC, USA; Texas Longhorns guard Rori Harmon (3) brings the ball up court against South Carolina Gamecocks during the first half at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

"Obviously, we wanted to win the game, but one of the first things I said in the locker room was like, this is just one game," Harmon said. "We have a tournament ahead of us where we need to just learn from our mistakes like they have been saying and understand that this one's win or go home. So we just need to come ready and play for each other like we've been doing all season, and not hanging our heads for a second, because we're doing really well. We're 31 and three."

Texas is already looking forward to the NCAA tournament, and as soon as the bracket is announced, they will focus on their next opponent.

Head coach Vic Schaefer firmly believes that his team has locked up a one seed.

"I just think you're talking about one quarter," Schaefer said. "We beat them at home. They beat us at their place, and we lost another. To my mind, we've lost to them on the road again. Nonetheless, I think our body of work and our net, you know, speaks for itself. I think with what we've been able to do, you know. And again, I'm not in there. I'm not on that at this point. For me, it's just tell me what time the bus needs to load. We're from, and I'll make sure my team's on it. But I certainly think we've, we have established ourselves as one of the top two teams in the country when it comes to see and I know Dawn (Staley), I think they should be over us, because they beat us twice."

Now, Texas will await the decision of the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee.

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