Did the Texas Longhorns climb off NCAA bubble with win?

By all accounts, Texas basketball made a big statement to the NCAA Tournament’s selection committee with Saturday’s 76-70 win at Texas A&M.

The Longhorns (18-11, 9-7 SEC) climbed up two spots to a comfortable No. 37 in the Tuesday’s NCAA’s NET rankings, which is a major component used by the selection committee when determining the March Madness field. They also improved to 7-8 in Quad One wins, another stat loved by those picking the 68-team field.

In comparison, A&M has just four Quad One wins. The Aggies and Texas entered Saturday’s showdown on equal footing based on the various NCAA Tournament projections, but the rivals’ shared path seemed to split after the game. While a tournament spot for the Longhorns looks all but locked up entering Wednesday’s game at No. 20 Arkansas, Texas A&M remains firmly on the bubble.

How do the NCAA Tournament prognosticators see the Longhorns entering this week? Let’s take a look.

According to Tuesday’s latest NCAA Tournament projection from ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi, the Longhorns remain a No. 10 seed despite the Quad One win in Aggieland. Lunardi projects Texas in the Midwest Region in Oklahoma City, where the Longhorns would face No. 7 Wisconsin in the first round. In this scenario, Texas would likely face No. 2 Houston in the second round with a win.    

In CBS Sports’ tournament projections, Texas remains a No. 9 seed for the second straight week. CBS currently projects the Longhorns facing off against No. 8 Utah State in a first-round Midwest Region contest. With a win, Texas would advance to a possible second-round meeting with No. 1 Michigan.

The SEC Tournament runs March 11-15. Selection Sunday is March 15.