The Texas men’s basketball team was named a No. 11 seed in the Midwest Region of the 2015 NCAA Championship. Texas (20-13, 8-10 Big 12) plays No. 6 seed Butler (22-10, 12-6 Big East) in their opening game. The Longhorns and Bulldogs will play at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pa. on Thursday, March 19 at 1:45PM* (Central).
Other teams in the Horns’ ‘pod’ include No. 3 seed Notre Dame and No. 14 seed Northeastern. The winner of the Texas/Butler game will face the winner between the Fighting Irish and the Huskies on Saturday, March 21.
Immediately following the NCAA’s announcement, Head Coach Rick Barnes and the Texas players met with the media to talk about being selected.
(* actual game time will be 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game of the day which starts at 11:15AM.)
Head Coach Rick Barnes
On his first reaction at being selected: “I’m excited for our guys.”
On being a bubble team: “You don’t aspire to be in this position. Some things happened beyond our control.”
On Isaiah Taylor’s injury early in the season: “Isaiah missing 10 games was a huge thing for him. He came back with the weight of the world on his shoulders.”
On the team’s defense: “Our ball screen defense has gotten so much better in the last 2.5 weeks. It’s gonna have to be good next time out.”
About this group of players: “These guys care. They want to win.”
On why Myles Turner’s role was reduced against Iowa State: “Myles had a good freshman year. Physically it was a big adjustment for him.”
On whether the team is healthy: “We had a good workout today.”
Cameron Ridley
On Texas’ prospects in the tournament: “If we play to the best of our ability, we can make a run.”
Isaiah Taylor
On the team’s mindset for the tournament: “As an 11 seed, we can play with that chip on our shoulder.”
Javan Felix
Javan Felix says he was confident that Texas would make the tournament.
Jonathan Holmes
On the team’s mental approach: “We put a message around the locker room that we’ve gotta take it one game at a time.”
Myles Turner
On the team’s confidence level: “We’ve just gotta play the way we know we’re capable of.”
Connor Lammert
Connor Lammert says it was “kinda hard not to worry about it” on making the field.
