Texas basketball rolled out the red carpet for their Cajun visitors Tuesday.
From serving up gumbo and fried catfish in the media lounge to the talented jazz quintet playing music befitting of Bourbon Street at the half, the Longhorns were the picture of hospitality.
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Texas guard Jordan Pope (0) as he and teammates guard Tramon Mark (12), center Matas Vokietaitis (8), forward Camden Heide (5) and forward Dailyn Swain celebrate a foul call late in the SEC college basketball game against LSU on Feb. 17, 2026, at Moody Center in Austin.
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Generous almost to a fault, they nearly gave last-place LSU the ballgame.
Texas Longhorns forward Dailyn Swain (3) and guard Simeon Wilcher (7) smile after a run of points in the second half of the Longhorns’ game against the Ole Miss Rebels at the Moody Center in Austin, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. Texas won the game 79-68.
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Texas Longhorns head coach Sean Miller yells at his team to get back to defend in the second half of the Longhorns’ game against the Ole Miss Rebels at the Moody Center in Austin, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. Texas won the game 79-68.
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Texas Longhorns guard Tramon Mark (12) shoots in the second half of the Longhorns’ game against the Ole Miss Rebels at the Moody Center in Austin, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. Texas won the game 79-68.
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There is zero chance of the 88-85 win getting confused with a Picasso but at this time of the year, neither style points nor artistic value matter.
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Wins do, and the vital stats showed the Horns notching a fifth straight conference game for the first time in six seasons. Better yet, they improved to 17-9 overall and 8-5 in the SEC play, moving the program another step away from that troublesome NCAA bubble. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi has Texas as a No. 9 seed facing Iowa in the Greenville Regional with No. 1 Duke looming as a second-round opponent.
All of this good stuff happening despite a near collapse down the stretch.
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Texas entered the game as the best free-throw shooting team in the SEC with a .795 success rate but bricked seven of its final 11 attempts over the last four minutes, allowing the Tigers — playing without point guard DJ Thomas who is out for the season with a foot injury — to come oh-so-close to stealing one.
“We kind of choked a little bit at the free throw line but we were still tough down the stretch the last three four and we were able to get the win,” said guard Tramon Mark. “So I think that defines the character of our team.”
What Texas can learn from this
The Horns turned a 48-33 halftime lead — one that was largely built with Swain on the bench sporting a pair of fouls — into a nail-biter because they simply aren’t very good with prosperity. Their head coach knows better than most.
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“At halftime, you could have almost predicted what was going to happen ahead of time,” Miller said. “We had a big lead. You know, we have to guard against complacency. We have to set the tone. We have to be a two-way team, meaning we have to be able to connect defense with offense and offense with defense.”
Texas head Coach Sean Miller reminds players of one-an-one foul shots during the second half against LSU Tigers at Moody Center on Feb. 17, 2026 in Austin, Texas.
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The good news is they have figured out how to close out games during this win streak, and it hasn’t been just Swain leading the way. Mark and Pope have shown their experience and their mettle while the 7-foot Matas Vokietaitis, who can flash greatness in one instant — he had couple of sweet drop-step finishes at the bucket — but then flub a simple play as evidenced by a missed layup and a blown dunk down the stretch.
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As usual, any Texas struggle will start on the defensive end and it’s a large part of what allowed the Tigers to climb back into the game. Max Mackinnon was unstoppable for most of the night and 6-foot-10 post Michael Nwoko gave Vokietaitis all he could handle as the recipient of some nice screen-roll passes.
The Horns, to their credit, kept their poise, unlike the SEC opener at Mississippi State when they blew an 86-79 lead with 1:42 left and lost 101-98 in overtime.
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LSU guard Max Mackinnon(3) drives to the basket against Texas forward Nic Codie during the first half at Moody Center on Feb. 17, 2026 in Austin, Texas.
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Texas strengthened its case for NCAAs
The Horns are great position to make the NCAAs but they left Moody knowing the defense they played in the second half could easily get them beat at a desperate Georgia on Saturday or back home on Feb. 25 when the Florida Gators — in the midst of an 11-1 heater — arrive.
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The biggest two messages coming out of the LSU win are: No. 1, make your freaking free throws and No. 2, play smarter.
Miller shook his head when reminded of Jordan Pope, his most experienced guard, missing out on a defensive switch that freed up Mackinnon — who led all scorers with 29 points — for a triple that cut the lead to 82-76 with 3:15 left.
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Pope got the hook for the lapse because Miller and the coaches had reminded the guards to switch out to avoid just that scenario.
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The other head-shaker came at the 9:36 mark of the second half when Dailyn Swain, Texas’ best player, committed his fourth foul on far too aggressive defense while guarding Mackinnion above the 3-point circle. Miller advised his young charge that giving up a bucket at that point — Texas was up 67-61 — is far less painful than having to sit because of foul trouble.
Texas forward Dailyn Swain (3) turns away from the pressure by LSU guard Rashad King on Feb. 17, 2026, at Moody Center in Austin.
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These are all fixable issues but the Horns understand that the little miscues can add up to losses against better competition, especially on the road in this league.
Texas has shown the ability to win in different ways and with tournament veterans like Mark, Pope, Chendall Weaver and Cam Heide in the locker room, Miller likes the potential to do some damage in the postseason.
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“(The NCAA tourney) is a big reason why they’re here,” Miller said. “They’s what they’ve set their sights out to accomplish a long time ago. So they’re guys who show up every day and work, and I have no doubt that they’re determined and focused for for the stretch run.”
They have the look of a tournament team, having moved up to No. 29 in Ken Pom’s latest NET ratings. For all of the the imperfections, the Horns are just good enough to be dangerous.