Five Texas teams have their dancing shoes on and are headed to March Madness.
The NCAA’s annual tournament kicked off with Selection Sunday. The First Four is underway, and the first round tips off on CBS Texas Thursday at 11 a.m.
The following Texas teams are playing in the tournament:
UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON
Houston’s Cougars are making their sixth straight appearance in March Madness this year. They have earned the No. 1 seed for the second season in a row and the third time in school history.
The Cougars top the country in scoring defense (57.0 ppg), field goal percentage defense (37.9%) and turnover margin (+7.1) and stand among the Top 10 in scoring margin (+16.1, 3rd), winning percentage (88.2%), steals per game (10.0, 7th) and offensive rebounds per game (13.7, 10th).
The Cougars will be trying to rebound after getting blown out by the Cyclones in the Big 12 title game. It was the largest margin of defeat for a No. 1 team since UCLA beat Houston by 32 in the 1968 Final Four. Houston was riding an 11-game win streak before the loss.
They finished this season 30-4 and face No. 16 seed Longwood on March 22.
Last season, Houston made it to the Sweet 16.
TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY
The Red Raiders are returning to the NCAA Tournament for the 20th time in program history, now under new head coach Grant McCasland.
Tech finished the season 23-10 and earned the No. 6 seed in the South Region. They will face No. 11 seed North Carolina State on March 21.
The team has been without 7-foot center Warren Washington for a month because of a foot injury, while Darrion Williams hurt his ankle in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tourney against BYU. Williams tried warming up before the semifinals but did not play in the loss to Houston.
Washington finished the season third in the Big 12, with 1.5 blocks per conference game, and fourth in rebounding. He is expected to return in time for March Madness.
Tech fell to the West Virginia Mountaineers in last season’s Big 12 tournament, keeping them out of the NCAA Tournament.
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor got bounced from the Big 12 tournament with a poor-shooting 76-62 loss to Iowa State, but did enough during the regular season to earn a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
This is the fourth straight year the Bears have earned a top-three seed in the tournament.
The Bears face No. 14 seed Colgate on March 22. If Baylor advances past the first round, they will face either sixth-seeded Clemson (21-11) or 11th-seeded New Mexico (26-9) in Sunday’s second round, with the winner advancing to the regional rounds in Los Angeles for games on March 28 and 30.
The Bears finished this season 23-10, 11-7 in the Big 12.
Last season, Baylor was knocked out of March Madness in the second round.
TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
The TCU Horned Frogs have made it to the NCAA tournament for their third straight year, making their 11th appearance overall, seeded No. 9 in the Midwest Region.
In the previous two seasons, the Horned Frogs advanced to just the second round. Last season, they fell to Gonzaga by just three points.
TCU head coach Jamie Dixon is in the tournament for the 15th time as a head coach, and the fourth time at TCU. He is one of nine active head coaches who have made the NCAA Tournament 15 or more times.
The Horned Frogs face Utah State in the first round on March 22.
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
The Texas Longhorns, who finished this season 20-12, 9-9 in the Big 12, earned the No. 7 seed in the Midwest region.
It’s the 38th overall appearance by the Longhorns in the tournament and the fourth in a row – the longest streak for the team since making 14 straight appearances from 1999-2012.
Texas will try to advance past the first round for the third season in a row, taking on Colorado State on March 21.
Last season, Texas was knocked out in the Elite Eight, falling to Miami by seven points.
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