How Texas and Texas Tech are approaching their ‘play-in game’ at the Big 12 tourney
Texas coach Shaka Smart isn’t into labels. Neither is Texas Tech coach Chris Beard.
Both brushed off the notion that their teams are essentially in a play-in game when they square off on Thursday afternoon in a quarterfinal matchup at the Big 12 tournament. Tipoff is set for 11:30 a.m. at the Sprint Center.
Both programs are squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble and most prognosticators believe the winner will secure an at-large bid.
“It’s not like if we write that on our whiteboard that all of a sudden our guys are going to play harder,” said Smart, who has taken the Longhorns to two NCAA appearances in his first four years.
“For us, it’s more about focusing on how we can win. What are the things we need to do to be successful? Then putting 100% of our attention into that.”
Beard has a similar message for his team, focusing solely on winning a conference championship rather than the “bracketology” implications. Texas Tech failed to defend its regular-season championship, so the focus has shifted to the conference tournament.
“Our priority is to win championships,” said Beard, who made an Elite Eight run in 2018 and a Final Four run last season.
“This is our second opportunity this year to try and win the Big 12 conference tournament. This is the only thing we talk about internally.”
Texas and Texas Tech split the season series with each winning on the road. The Red Raiders had a 62-57 victory over the Longhorns in Austin on Feb. 8, and the Longhorns avenged that with a 68-58 victory in Lubbock on Feb. 29.
Both teams are in Kansas City, though, with much to prove to the selection committee. Each had solid non-conference wins such as Texas winning at Purdue and Tech knocking off then-No. 1 Louisville.
But both seem to have more bad losses than good wins at this point.
Texas (19-12, 9-9 Big 12), the four-seed in the Big 12 tournament, appeared to be a NCAA Tournament team with a five-game winning streak until it ended abruptly with an 81-59 loss to Oklahoma State in the regular-season finale on Saturday.
“The way our guys have played of late, excluding Saturday’s game, we’ve certainly played like an NCAA Tournament team,” Smart said. “Our guys have had that kind of fight and that kind of aggressiveness on the floor.”
Tech (18-13, 9-9 Big 12), the five-seed in the Big 12, seemed like a lock for the Big Dance as a ranked team much of the season and last year’s runner-up.
But the Red Raiders are riding a four-game losing streak and it’s hard to envision the committee giving an at-large bid to a team that finished the season with five straight losses.
Again, though, Beard stressed the importance of winning the conference tournament, something that’s never been done in school history.
“We are where our feet are right now,” Beard said.
The winner, outside of likely clinching a March Madness berth, will advance to the semifinals on Friday night.
UT’s Cunningham questionable
Texas forward Brock Cunningham rolled his ankle during Wednesday’s practice. Smart said the ankle “swelled up pretty good” and didn’t give any indication whether Cunningham would be available for Thursday’s game.
This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 1:34 PM.
