{"id":196481,"date":"2026-03-09T09:57:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T09:57:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/196481\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T09:57:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T09:57:08","slug":"sec-tournament-texas-must-beat-ole-miss-in-nashville","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/196481\/","title":{"rendered":"SEC Tournament: Texas must beat Ole Miss in Nashville"},"content":{"rendered":"

If Texas men’s basketball <\/a>doesn’t\u00a0beat Ole Miss in its\u00a0SEC Tournament<\/a> opener, Sean Miller\u2019s first season could hit the hardwood skids. The Horns may find themselves back in Dayton for a First Four\u00a0matchup, or worse: on the outside looking in during March Madness.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s all because they blew an excellent opportunity Saturday.<\/p>\n

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The 88-85 overtime loss to surging Oklahoma<\/a> in the Longhorns’ home finale was quintessential Texas.<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas head men’s basketball\u00a0coach Sean Miller holds his hands on his head in frustration during a game against Oklahoma on March 7, 2026, at Moody Center in Austin.<\/p>\n

Icon Sportswire\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n

MORE CEDDY: Why the Muschamp hire makes sense for Texas football<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns forward Dailyn Swain (3) reacts after the Longhorns\u2019 84-71 loss to the Florida Gators at the Moody Center in Austin, Feb. 25, 2026.<\/p>\n

Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

And as usual, the Longhorns made it more difficult than needed. Saturday’s loss at Moody Center could have been characterized as a choke. Or a second-half collapse. Or even a meltdown. Call it what you want, but it was a loss the Horns could not afford.<\/p>\n

Texas isn\u2019t a Cinderella type of team. The Horns rely too much on offense and often they need a Herculean effort to get a win. This time, guard Jordan Pope delivered 30 points in what was hopefully his last game at Moody \u2014 we’re all too familiar with past NIT nightmares \u2014 but woeful defense and ill-timed turnovers conspired against the Horns, who went from being a favorite to finishing with a winning conference record in their sophomore SEC season to crashing face-first in front of a stunned home crowd.<\/p>\n

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\"Jordan<\/p>\n

Jordan Pope, left, of the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma’s Nijel Pack battle for a loose ball during the second half at Moody Center on March 7, 2026, in Austin. (Photo by Scott\u00a0Wachter\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Scott Wachter\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really had everything that we wanted here in our final home game,\u201d Miller said. \u201cAmazing crowd, evening start on a Saturday, and obviously we didn’t take advantage of that. You have to play well in March. You have to be good at what you do.\u201d<\/p>\n

TEXAS VS. OLE MISS<\/p>\n

When\/where:\u00a06 p.m. Wednesday in Nashville, Tenn.<\/p>\n

TV\/radio:\u00a0SEC Network; 1300 AM, 98.1 FM.<\/p>\n

Well, Texas is good on offense and little else, and to his credit Miller isn’t hiding behind platitudes about where this thing can go one day or what must happen over these next few weeks. Give the Longhorns gut points for forcing an overtime with a furious second-half flurry, but attaboys do not matter at this time of year. Wins do and the Horns came up short when it mattered most.<\/p>\n

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Oklahoma’s super backcourt tandem of Nijel Pack and Xzavier Brown delivered the goods with 27 points in the second half and overtime. Texas had no answers and as a result, its 2026 roller-coaster just took another dip.<\/p>\n

What it means for Texas entering SEC Tournament<\/p>\n

The loss sends Texas stumbling into the Ole Miss game as a No. 10 seed with uncertainty tailgating the team jet on its way to Nashville, Tenn., for the SEC Tournament. Texas finished the regular season 18-13 overall and 9-9 in league play, and it could have been so much more. The Longhorns effectively gave away some credibility with two straight losses after their Feb. 28 statement win at Texas A&M<\/a> and\u00a0are 2-4 in their last six games. They need to beat the Rebels to hopefully avoid another First Four trip to Dayton, or worse.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do believe we\u2019ve done enough,\u201d Pope said of the team’s tournament r\u00e9sum\u00e9. \u201cWe have a lot of big wins. We\u2019ve shown a lot of great things that would get us into the tournament, but that\u2019s out of our control, so we really don\u2019t want to worry about that. We\u2019re just focused on the present, the SEC Tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n

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MORE CEDDY: Late MLB great Don Baylor earns hometown honor<\/a><\/p>\n

Texas sits at No. 33 in the latest\u00a0KenPom.com rankings<\/a> and for my money will get into the NCAAs and avoid D-Town with a win over the Rebels, whose 64-61 loss to South Carolina dropped them to 12-19 and 4-14 in league play, easily their worst finish under former Texas coach Chris Beard.\u00a0The unranked Horns have seven Quad 1 wins, which will play well with the NCAA selection committee, but have picked a horrible time to play some of their worst ball.<\/p>\n

Texas didn\u2019t deliver Saturday with everything in its favor and a loss to one of the worst teams in the league on a neutral court could prove fatal. It\u2019s why taking care of business at the house against the Sooners whom they routed by 10 in Norman<\/a> should have been non-negotiable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no big picture,\u201d Miller said. \u201cI’m not giving any big picture here, because there is none. We lost a big game here tonight and we’re going to go to Nashville. We play Ole Miss, and that’s it. That picture is no bigger than that for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

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How it all fell apart for Texas<\/p>\n

They were fortunate to even be in overtime after they bumbled their way from a 55-55 tie to a 69-57 deficit with seven minutes left in regulation amid a flurry of turnovers and their usual welcoming defense on the other end.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not that Texas lost, but how the Horns lost. Moody was cooking, especially after Tramon Mark and Pope \u2014 who scored 30 points on senior night \u2014 resurrected their team with six consecutive free throws to force overtime after each both were fouled while shooting a 3-pointer.<\/p>\n

WOMEN\u2019S HOOPS: Madison Booker soars in SEC win<\/a><\/p>\n

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Texas gave it away in the extra frame and it was a total team effort in that department. Mark missed a wide-open layup and short-armed two free throws and the Horns failed to block out on a defensive possession after taking an 82-81 lead on a Pope triple. Mohamed Wague\u2019s tip-in evaporated Texas’ last lead.<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas quarterback Arch Manning claps during overtime in the SEC college basketball game between the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners on March 7, 2026, at Moody Center in Austin.<\/p>\n

Icon Sportswire\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Worse yet, Texas\u2019 best player, Dailyn Swain<\/a>, outside of a key offensive rebound and assist on a Pope 3-pointer that gave Texas its only lead of overtime, was a nonfactor at money time. Texas’ best bet for a first-team all-conference selection filled up the stat sheet with 18 points, eight assists and six rebounds, but spent too much time in overtime standing over in the corner while others attempted to keep the Horns in it on offense.<\/p>\n

After Swain’s jumper with 8:49 left in regulation, he took exactly one shot attempt for the rest of the second half and overtime. He was gassed and with resident football closer\u00a0Arch Manning<\/a> seated courtside, the Longhorns’ basketball version couldn’t summon the energy to do the same against the Sooners.<\/p>\n

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SOFTBALL: Horns nab series win over South Carolina<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cDailyn wore down,\u201d Miller before crediting the Sooners with doing a decent job of defending him. Of course he was not going to slam Swain at the end of a long regular season because the Horns wouldn’t even be in NCAA contention without him. No team in this league depends more on one player than the Horns. Swain runs the offense, guards every position and is the one player who cannot afford to have a bad night at the office, lest the Horns will get blown out in most instances.<\/p>\n

BASEBALL: Horns remain unbeaten with USC Upstate win<\/a><\/p>\n

That said, Texas will go nowhere if Swain becomes a wallflower when the game is on the line. He must be the central character in this play, or it will not work. He had zero juice when it mattered most Saturday. It will be up to this coaching staff to steal some rest minutes moving forward to make sure his battery is at least 70% at winning time.<\/p>\n

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It should not have come to this, but the Horns are backed into a corner again. They should beat the Rebels and are good enough to beat Georgia in a potential second-round match.<\/p>\n

Good enough doesn’t always cut it for this crew.<\/p>\n

Better would be the preference.<\/p>\n

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