Texas faces uphill climb in SEC first-round sport vs. Vanderbilt

No. 13 Texas will be playing for its NCAA Tournament life when it squares off against No. 12 Vanderbilt on Wednesday afternoon in a first-round game in the Southeastern Conference tournament in Nashville, Tenn.

The winner of that game plays fifth-seeded Texas A&M in the second round on Thursday afternoon.

The Longhorns (17-14) are on the outside of the NCAA Tournament field and must defeat Vanderbilt (20-11) and probably Texas A&M to garner consideration for an at-large bid. Texas has lost seven of its past nine games, including a 76-72 setback against Oklahoma at home on Saturday.

Jordan Pope led the Longhorns with 21 points in the loss to the Sooners while Tramon Mark and Arthur Kaluma each added 12. Tre Johnson, the SEC’s leading scorer and the conference’s freshman the year, finished with a career-low seven points while missing all 14 of his shots from the floor.

“There is no game two in the SEC tournament if you don’t win game one,” Texas coach Rodney Terry said. “It’s a one-game season right now, in terms of competing this time of year. So that’s where our focus is going to be in terms of controlling what you can control.”

Vanderbilt is considered a lock to be an at-large team in the NCAAs.

The Commodores beat Texas at home 86-78 on Feb. 8 but head to the SEC tourney with two straight losses to unranked teams. The most recent setback was a 79-68 road loss against Georgia on Saturday.

Jason Edwards led Vanderbilt with 24 points in the loss to Bulldogs, while Chris Manon and Jaylen Carey finished with 10 points apiece. If the Commodores make the NCAAs it will be their first appearance since 2017.

“We won eight games in the toughest league in the history of leagues,” Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington said. “Every game is a battle and we’re a little bit beat up right now. I’m proud of the way (my team) played, and (they’ve) done a lot of good things. There’s more to come. The regular season is over — onto tournament time.”

With the SEC tournament in Nashville, the clash with Texas can be construed as a home game for Vanderbilt.

–Field Level Media