Texas Longhorns Left Out of NCAA Tournament in Final Bracketology Update

The Texas Longhorns are on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament entering Selection Sunday.

Mar 14, 2025; Nashville, TN, USA; Texas Longhorns guard Tramon Mark (12) drives to the basket past Tennessee Volunteers guard Chaz Lanier (2) during the second half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Aside from the COVID year, the Texas Longhorns will more than likely be missing their first NCAA Tournament since the 2018-19 season.

ESPN's Joe Lunardi released his final bracketology update ahead of Selection Sunday and has Texas as the second team out of the field. The Longhorns are joined by other bubble teams like Xavier, Indiana, Boise State, North Carolina and Ohio State as teams that will nervous leading up to the bracket reveal.

The Longhorns boast seven Quad 1 wins, significantly more than any other team on the bubble, but had a weak non-conference schedule combined with a 6-12 finish in SEC play.

Mar 14, 2025; Nashville, TN, USA; Texas Longhorns guard Jordan Pope (0) drives to the basket past Tennessee Volunteers guard Zakai Zeigler (5) during the second half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Lunardi thinks that Texas' 19-15 record includes just too many losses for the committee to feel comfortable about putting the Longhorns in the field.

"Texas has too many losses and North Carolina doesn't have enough good wins for inclusion," Lunardi wrote.

The Longhorns' chances will be all but dashed if UAB (AAC) and George Mason (A-10) both win their conference tournaments on Sunday and earn an automatic bid. If even one of those teams win, it will take a potential at-large spot away from Texas.

Texas gave itself a fighting chance of being in tournament contention thanks to a solid week in Nashville at the SEC Tournament. The Longhorns picked up huge wins over Vanderbilt and Texas A&M before bowing out to the Tennessee Volunteers in the quarterfinals.

Texas head coach Rodney Terry, who could be on the chopping block if the team is left out, made his case for the Longhorns to be a tournament team.

"I think we play in the best league in the country," Terry said. "Every night it's like you are playing in an NCAA Tournament game."

During the regular season, the Longhorns secured impressive wins at No. 25 Mississippi State, vs. No. 15 Kentucky, vs. No. 13 Texas A&M, vs. No. 22 Missouri and at Oklahoma but dropped unranked matchups to Arkansas (twice) and at South Carolina along with two home losses to Georgia and Oklahoma to close out conference play.

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