8 Must-Watch Conference Tournament Games For Thursday
By Jacob Rude
Feb 21, 2015; Austin, TX, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard Bryce Dejean-Jones (13) drives against Texas Longhorns forward
Myles Turner(52) and guard
Kendal Yancy(0) during the second half at the Frank Erwin Special Events Center. Iowa State beat Texas 85-77. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY
3. Texas vs. Iowa State, 7:00 PM, ESPNU
If you enjoy confusing and/or frustrating yourself, try figuring out why this Texas team is not top-five ranked in the NCAA Tournament. They’re tops in the nation in shot-blocking, feature one of the top prospects in the NBA Draft in Myles Turner, and have a legendary coach in Rick Barnes (note: I said legendary, not good).
More from Busting Brackets
- San Diego State Basketball: Projected starting lineup and depth chart for 2023-24
- NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Analyzing top 4 teams for PF Jaxon Johnson
- NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Analyzing top 5 teams for top-100 SG Larry Johnson
- Oregon Basketball: Projected starting lineup and depth chart for 2023-24
- Big East Basketball: Ranking all head coaches going into 2023-24 season
Yet, the Longhorns are 20-12 on the season, sit in Lunardi’s last four in section, and are a loss today away from likely kissing their tournament chances goodbye. There’s a little room for hope, with Texas having won three straight games, but the last time that happened to them this year, they followed it up with a four-game losing streak. Even worse, they lost both games to the Cyclones this year, although both were by just single digits.
If you want to try to predict what version of Texas you’ll get tonight, you may as well just flip a coin. And even that might be too predictable. But because nothing in the Big 12 makes sense and, as Mark Titus of Grantland likes to joke, figuring out the second best team in the Big 12 is next to impossible (and in his latest piece, he has Iowa State as just that), I’m going for the upset.
Winner: Texas
Next: Baylor vs. West Virginia