As we slog through this offseason, the heat continues to melt us like a Vic Mackey interrogation. You’d be hard pressed to find a hotter state in the nation than Texas. Relentless heat is what you can expect not only from Mackey and Texas summers but also Texas basketball this upcoming season.
Now I’m not just talking about Beard’s boys in the capital. I’m talking about the whole state. Longhorns, Cougars, Bears, Frogs, Red Raiders, Aggies, and Mean Greens(?? That didn’t really roll off the tongue). These are all teams that I think not only will make the tournament but will have a serious chance at making the 2nd weekend. Damn near half of the sweet 16 field could be representing Texas and I wouldn’t raise my all too furry brow.
These teams are a bountiful plate of Texas bbq. Houston and Baylor are the brisket. The best item on the menu. Absolute staples. The fattiest if fatty were a positive in the basketball space like it is in the brisket space. These are must haves and they’re going to carry the plate to a Final 4. Texas and Texas Tech are the bbq beans with brisket burnt ends. While they aren’t on the same level as the brisket, they will satisfy you and are tasty choices for making a deep run this upcoming season. TCU, TAMU & North Texas are your sides. You don’t want to fill up on these guys but they’re absolutely necessary for a complete meal. They’re the guys that you say pleasantly surprised you when you weren’t chowing down on the main course. “The brisket and beans were the best part but that yellow potato salad could make a rancher shake in his boots.” That’s TCU, TAMU & North Texas.
I have very high hopes for all of these teams and if these 7 can make it to the Sweet 16, well then baby you got a stew goin!
Houston: Joey Brackets has Houston as a 1 seed and that shouldn’t come as a shock. On the heels of defeating a 1 seed last year, the Cougars are bringing back Jamal Shead and Marcus Sasser. Couple them with one of the best coaches in the game today, Kelvin Sampson, a relatively light schedule and the inspiration of playing the last 2 games of the college basketball season at home… well that’s a beautiful brisket you can sink your teeth into.
Baylor: The big dogs on the block. The culture, the pedigree, the wins, the title, it’s all there. It’s set. We talk about what a great rebuilding job Sampson has done with Houston but many would argue that Drew has done the greatest rebuild in college basketball history with Baylor. They’re a perennial player when it comes to cutting down nets these days. The last few seasons they’ve posed serious threats to making it to the Final 4 and last year they almost pulled off a miraculous comeback against the national runner up and potential top ranked team entering this year. They still have key players from their title run who are poised and have proven themselves. Meat just fallin' off the bone in Waco.
Texas: Year 2 under Chris Beard is gonna be a blast. I can feel it in my plums. Beard has Final 4 experience and did a pretty solid job with the Horns in his first campaign considering he brought in a bunch of new players. I always thought the national perception of the team was a bit much considering there were so many new ingredients thrown into the beans but now he has some continuity. He’s got Timmy Allen, Marcus Carr and Dylan Disu all coming back as well as Van Wilder House nominee, Brock Cunningham. I swear he’s been there since the Major Applewhite days. Courtney Ramey is gone which is a blow but I’m a big believer in Beard. I think a lot of people turned on him and sneaky rooted for his failure because they thought he screwed over Texas Tech. It’s time for the Longhorns to make a deep push in March and I believe they will. Really nice flavor in Austin.
Texas Tech: Mark Adams aka The Accountant aka Mr. Human Resources aka your favorite Sales Manager is back with a group of solid new faces. They battled Duke last year in the tournament and are always tough defensively. It can’t go without saying that they lose a good amount of talent in the likes of Shannon, McCullar, Santos-Silva and Arms but they do replenish with the likes of Kerwin Walton from UNC, Kevin Obanor is back and the guy I think is going to make a monster splash in the Big 12, Fardaws Aimaq. Not familiar? Look him up from Utah Valley. Much like Baylor, the Red Raiders have a culture that is set in stone and can’t be broken. They’re a consistent tourney team that has a recent track record of deep runs. It will continue. Lovely aroma emanating from Lubbock.
TCU: These frogs are FRIGHTENING! They put a scare into the 1 seed Arizona Wildcats last year in the tournament and very well could’ve (should’ve?) beat them if not for a controversial no call. They return pretty much everyone. Mike Miles and Eddie Lampkin are going to spearhead this purple posse into a stratosphere Frogs fans haven’t seen in quite some time. This is a team that rarely gets blown out. They put together a great season last year and it’s a story about everyone coming back to school for unfinished business. We all know Jamie Dixon can coach his tail off so this is the year that the Frogs take their greatest leap. I would not put it past them to finish top 3 in the Big 12. A remarkable medley of ingredients down there in Fort Worth.
TAMU: Something about Buzz I simply can’t quit. They were a bubble team last year and many thought they had a legitimate gripe about not getting in. That should change this year mainly as a result of Buzz’s coaching but also because of my anticipation of Henry Coleman III. People forget this kid was good enough to get minutes at Duke. He’s a powerful forward that will be the alpha for this team. Laugh all you want. Scoff. I don’t care. The NIT matters to some. The way you end a year after not making the tournament matters. TAMU lost a heartbreaker to Xavier in the title game so I expect them to carry that loss and the pain of not getting into last years tourney into this season.
North Texas: Don’t sleep on the Mean Green or Conference USA for that matter. This is a conference that boasts UAB, Western Kentucky and of course North Texas. All 3 could be tourney bound. Grant McCasland has had recent success in Denton including an upset over Purdue a few years ago (who hasn’t upset the Boilermakers at this point?) This is certainly the worst of the teams that I’ve mentioned here. Kinda like turkey I suppose. I wouldn't order it willingly at a bbq joint but if it's on my plate? Well the big dog's still gonna eat. If they get into the tournament, they’re capable of winning 2 games.
As for SMU, well they're like coleslaw. I understand that they're there. I see you, SMU. I understand and acknowledge your presence on the plate and in Texas. But I am not touching you. They'll finish top 5 in their conference but that probably won't be enough for a tourney bid.
At the end of the day, as it stands right now, I’m confident in saying there will be 5 teams from the state of Texas in the Sweet 16 (Houston, Baylor, Texas, Texas Tech & TCU). Barring schedule I could see 4 of these teams in the elite 8. That’s a haul. That’s a helluva season. That’s a full plate worthy of a Final 4 in the Lone Star State.
