NCAA Tournament 2023: 5 teams with most pressure to make a Final 4 run

4. Texas Longhorns

It’s been a banner year for the program, despite everything that has happened off the court. Chris Beard, the head coach to start the season, was fired after an off-the-court arrest in the non-conference. Assistant Rodney Terry took over and the team was able to stay as a top-10 program and successfully navigated the Big 12.

The Longhorns have 26 wins entering the NCAA Tournament, the most in 13 years. And this is a roster that’s more than equipped to make a run, led by the backcourt trio of Marcus Carr, Tyrese Hunter, and Sir’Jabari Rice coming off the bench. And the senior frontcourt of Timmy Allen, Dylan Disu, and Christian Bishop can match up with just about everyone.

Texas was flying a bit under the radar until the Big 12 Tournament, where they won three games to get the title, including a beatdown of No. 1 seed, Kansas. Now all of a sudden, there’s some pressure to at least get to the second weekend and potentially a Final Four appearance for the first time in the Rick Barnes era in 2002.

Overall, the pressure is mostly on Coach Terry, who is auditioning to get the job permanently. An early exit likely ends that. But if they get to the Final Four, it’ll be hard for the program not to give him the gig.