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The Texas Longhorns stumbled down the stretch, losing five of the last eight games, but somehow they still wrangled an NCAA tournament berth. The Butler Bulldogs, on the other hand, are heading into the tourney on a slightly different trajectory.
After a season away from the Big Dance, the Bulldogs come into the 2015 tournament on a 22-10 record and with quality wins over the East region’s No. 6 seed Providence Friars, the Seton Hall Pirates and the North Carolina Tar Heels.
If you really believe the Big 12 is Division I men’s basketball’s most competitive conference, then you could justify Texas’ 20-13 record satisfying a sufficient tournament resume. The Longhorns have been up in wins over the Connecticut Huskies, West Virginia Mountaineers and the Baylor Bears. The Longhorns have also hit bottom in losses against the Stanford Cardinal and in being swept by the Iowa State Cyclones, Kansas Jayhawks and Oklahoma State Cowboys. Whether this grueling gauntlet will have prepared the Longhorns or worn Texas thin will be evident this Thursday.
What To Watch For
Watch Texas try to clean the glass against Butler and keep the ball from getting there in the first place. The Longhorns are fourth in the nation in defensive rebounding and lead all Division I programs in blocks per game.
Prediction
I won’t concede that the Big 12 was college basketball’s best conference, but I will wager it’s within the top-three and this consistent strength of competition helps foresee a favorable outcome for the ‘Horns. Look for Texas to overwhelm Butler with size and for Rick Barnes to coach for his Longhorn livelihood in leading Texas to the upset.
Texas 64, Butler 57
Jerry Landry is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow Jerry on Twitter at @Jerry2Landry, “Like” him on Facebook or add him on Google.
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