Texas Longhorns Basketball NCAA Tournament

The Texas Longhorns loss to Baylor was hard to take, I'll admit it. Baylor seemed to be on the fast track to self destruction in the first half, and Texas was rolling. I was quite happy about the lead Texas had at the half, more than happy - confident.

In the second half, Baylor stepped up and started taking care of the ball, switched from zone defense to man-to-man, and became far more aggressive on both ends of the court. And then... you know what happened.

With two losses this week, Texas now sits with the rest of the teams on the NCAA tournament bubble, close but so far away from the dance. Texas does get several more opportunities to improve their resume, but one wrong step and its game over for the Longhorns.

For months now, Texas has declined opportunities to turn itself into an NCAA tournament team. Despite their best efforts to watch the tournament from their couches, the Longhorns might still have a couple chances anyway.

Monday's loss to Baylor, in which they wasted a 12-point second-half lead and once again victimized themselves with poor late-game decision-making and lapses of judgment, left the Longhorns 17-11 overall and 7-8 in the Big 12. A few years ago, a record like that would have had Texas laughed out of the committee room for the tournament selection.

This year, though, it seems the Longhorns have a shot. What they don't have is a quality win over a highly rated opponent. If they beat both Texas Tech and Oklahoma to clinch a .500 record in the Big 12, the Longhorns have two more chance to make an impression on the committee.

The Longhorns cap off their regular season at Kansas, and their Big 12 tournament opener could be a rematch with Baylor. A Longhorns victory over either of those two nationally ranked foes wouldn't guarantee an invitation, but it sure would help.