While most people filling out their NCAA Tournament brackets are looking to have the sneakiest sleeper in the bunch, there may be an obvious double-digit seed that's staring them in the face. The Texas Longhorns may not be the most fun upset pick, but they're well-equipped to advance to the Sweet 16.
Texas is only 3-10 vs. Top 10 opponents, but they were not at full strength for several of those. The biggest reason for potential Texas success will be their size and rebounding. The Longhorns grabbed the fourth-most defensive rebounds in the nation this year, and 39th in the country in points allowed per game (60.4).
Texas is battle-tested as well. They were 5-1 on neutral courts this season, and played the 85th strongest non-conference schedule this year. There's no arguing around the fact that Texas was a woeful 2-10 against teams ranked inside the Top 25, but picking them over Butler would be a bet on their size and upside.
Jonathan Holmes is a difficult two-way player for any team in college basketball to deal with. This year Holmes was third on the Longhorns in scoring (10.2) second in rebounding (6.2) and near the top in points allowed per 100 possessions (95).
Freshman forward Myles Turner is the most important Longhorn. At 6'11, he will be a load for the smaller Butler Bulldogs to handle in the opening matchup, and he's been the Longhorns' premier player all season long, so force-feeding him the rock won't be anything new. Turner leads Texas in rebounding (6.4) and is second in scoring (10.4), doing it all in 22 minutes per game. Texas is one of the deeper teams in the country, with eight players averaging more than 20 minutes.
Junior guard Javan Felix will be crucial in this tournament because for all their defense and scoring, shots need to be made. Felix is not Texas' primary playmaker, but Isaiah Taylor will be drawing plenty of attention, and Felix (8.7 points per game) must knock down shots when he gets his inevitable opportunities.
Finally, Texas is a sneaky good upset pick because of the respect that Butler commands. They may not be a power like Kentucky or Duke, but come tournament time they've made enough deep runs (including back-to-back championship game appearances) that people filling out their brackets are terrified to pick against them.
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