By Wendell Barnhouse
Big12Sports.com Correspondent
After sweating out making the bracket, Texas can now concentrate on making other teams perspire.
The No. 11 seed in the Midwest Regional, the Longhorns will start NCAA Tournament play facing No. 6 seed Butler. The Bulldogs have become everybody’s favorite underdog since making the Final Four in 2010 (losing the championship game to Duke) and 2011.
Texas rose No. 5 in the national rankings in December but once Big 12 play started, the Longhorns struggled. Sophomore point guard Isaiah Taylor missed 10 games before league play started while senior Jonathan Holmes and junior Jevan Felix each missed games with concussions.
The lineup inconsistencies contributed to UT struggling to an 8-10 record in Big 12 play. Taylor said the Horns “didn’t meet some of our expectations, but this time of year is the time to make that up.”
But over the last week of the season, Texas started to play like a team that has regained its confidence. The timing is perfect.
“When you get into this tournament, it's a new start for everybody,” UT coach Rick Barnes said. “I don't care if you're Kentucky or any team in this tournament, it's a new start and you realize it's a one game. It's a one-game tournament, every game or you don't get to move on.
Holmes appears to have snapped out of a slump that lasted most of February. He has scored 34 points over his last three games and has attempted 11 free throws. In the six prior games, he had scored 27 points and attempted just four free throws. Not surprisingly, Holmes’ improved play has coincided with the Longhorns playing well.
“You look at the last few weeks, we were more confident,” Holmes said. “We knew we were playing better. We were holding each other accountable so we could feel things turning a little bit.”
Midwest Regional
1:45 p.m. Thursday, Pittsburgh, Pa.
No. 11 Texas (20-13) vs. No. 6 Butler (22-10)
Longhorns update: Texas leads the nation in blocked shots with 260; top-ranked Kentucky, the overall No. 1 seed in the bracket, is second with 234 blocks. The Longhorns had the 22nd-toughest schedule, according to the NCAA rankings based on a team’s opponents’ winning percentage. Butler ranks 59th on the list.Texas’ No. 11 seed ties for the worst in Rick Barnes’ 16 NCAA tournament appearances as Texas head coach. That came in 2012 against another Big East team (Cincinnati), in a game the Longhorns eventually lost, 65-59. Texas’ opponents hit only 37.8 percent of their shots inside the 3-point line, an average which leads all of college basketball.
Bulldogs update: Chris Holtmann is Butler’s third coach in three years. Brandon Miller replaced Brad Stevens two years ago but then stepped down in October because of medical issues. Holtmann was promoted to take over. Butler sophomore Andrew Chrabascz suffered a broken right hand on Feb. 15. He returned to play the last two games of the regular season. Before being hurt the 6-7 forward had averaged 17.8 points over a five-game stretch. The Bulldogs led the Big East in rebounding and is second in the conference in 3-point shooting.
What’s next: Winner plays on Saturday against the winner of No. 3 Notre Dame and No. 14 Northeastern.