No. 9 Baylor (14-3, 3-1) at Texas (12-5, 1-3), Saturday, January 20, 12:00 PM ET, ESPN
Saturday in Austin is a huge chance for the Texas Longhorns as they play host to No. 9 Baylor. This game is a perfect example of why polls and rankings have nothing to do with a team’s placement in the bracket. Even though the Longhorns are just outside the top 25, most prognostications have them hovering around the bubble.
This is a huge game for the Longhorns after falling out of the top 25 thanks to losses to West Virginia and Central Florida in their last game. The game begins a stretch for Texas that very well may decide their at-large hopes. This begins a four-game stretch against ranked teams for a team in desperate need of a resume boost. After their loss to Central Florida, the Longhorns' average NET wins ranking is just 217.
The rest of Texas’ resume could sure use some boosting, in addition to the NET win average, their strength of schedule sits at just 201 thanks to a non-conference slate that ranked just 253rd. It doesn’t get much better when you look at their quad record. Nine of their 12 wins are quad 4 wins and they have just two wins over the first two quads. Their predictive metrics are slightly better with an average of 43 and this game with Baylor kicks off six straight against teams currently in the top 25. The chance for Rodney Terry’s team to turn their resume in a hurry begins Saturday.