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Texas Basketball: 2019-20 season preview for the Longhorns

By Brian Rauf

AUSTIN, TX - NOVEMBER 16: Head coach Shaka Smart of the Texas Longhorns reacts as his team plays the Citadel Bulldogs at the Frank Erwin Center on November 16, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TX - NOVEMBER 16: Head coach Shaka Smart of the Texas Longhorns reacts as his team plays the Citadel Bulldogs at the Frank Erwin Center on November 16, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images) /
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PITTSBURGH, PA – MARCH 19: Bevo, mascot for the Texas Longhorns performs in the first half against the Butler Bulldogs during the second round of the 2015 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Consol Energy Center on March 19, 2015 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – MARCH 19: Bevo, mascot for the Texas Longhorns performs in the first half against the Butler Bulldogs during the second round of the 2015 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Consol Energy Center on March 19, 2015 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

Texas Basketball won the NIT last year, but they have much higher expectations and a head coach on the hot seat entering the 2019-20 season.

The 2019-20 college basketball season is going to be a pivotal one for the future of Texas basketball.

Head coach Shaka Smart was hired to help push the Longhorns past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, which is a wall they were unable to get past during the last few seasons of the Rick Barnes era. Smart hasn’t been able to do that, making the Big Dance in just two of his four seasons in Austin, failing to win a single tournament game. He is also just five games over .500 (71-66) since taking over.

It’s been over a decade since Texas made the Sweet 16 and three years since they even finished with a winning record in Big 12 play. Sure, the Longhorns won the NIT last year, but Texas is not the kind of program that is satisfied with making the NIT every year.

All that has put Smart firmly on the hot seat to start the season. He admitted as much in March, and the athletic director told Horns247 the same thing following that NIT title.

"“We’re not where we want to be, but we’re making progress. Our goal is to win the NCAA championship. But we won the NIT championship, and that locker room is cohesive.”"

Texas seemingly has to make the NCAA Tournament – at the very least – in order for Smart to keep his job, and he has a talented roster that is capable of earning a bid a winning a game or two. They return a talented backcourt headlined by Matt Coleman and Courtney Ramey, a big man with tremendous upside in Jericho Sims, and welcome in a top 20 recruiting class featuring three top 75 players.

Of course, this isn’t the first time Smart has had a talented team in Austin. What can we expect out of this group? Here is a full season preview for the Longhorns:

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