Texas Falls to No. 25 in Final AP Poll

Texas Longhorns men's basketball has fallen to No. 25 in the final AP Poll of the season, according to the official rankings release on Monday.
After an up-and-down season, the Longhorns dropped their first game of the Big 12 tournament to TCU Thursday in disappointing fashion. Texas was up by 20 at one point in the first half, but went on to lose 65-60 in Kansas City.
Texas vs. TCU
Texas vs. TCU
Texas vs. TCU
"I think we’ve got a bunch of guys who think they have the answers, but they really don’t," Texas coach Chris Beard said after the loss. "A part of winning play mentality is you’ve got to hate to lose."
Still, the Longhorns (21-11) earned the No. 6 seed in the East Region of the NCAA tournament and will face No. 11 seed Virginia Tech (23-12) on Friday at 3:30 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
The Hokies head into the tournament as ACC champions after taking down Duke in the conference championship on Saturday. The Longhorns will have a chance at redemption for last season's first-round loss against No. 14 Abilene Christian.
Texas is a much different team from a year ago, but the expectations of advancing past the first round remain the same.
"We’ve been in games with teams like (TCU) all year long," Beard said. "When it comes to winning time, you’ve got to make some plays."
Texas vs. TCU
Texas vs. TCU
Texas vs. TCU
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Zach Dimmitt is the Deputy Editor for Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI. He also contributes as a writer for the On SI channels of the Oregon Ducks, Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans. He was previously the editor-in-chief of Buffalo Bills on SI, Philadelphia Eagles on SI and Seattle Seahawks on SI. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Dimmitt received his Bachelor’s Degree in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin in 2022. He originally started with SI’s Fan Nation network in 2021, providing extensive coverage of the NFL and NBA along with college football and basketball. In that time, Dimmitt has published thousands of stories and has reached millions of people across multiple fan bases. You can follow him on X at @ZachDimmitt7
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