On Selection Sunday, No. 11 seed Virginia Tech drew No. 6 seed Texas in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament. The Hokies and Longhorns will face off for the first time ever on Friday in Milwaukee.
The ACC Tournament Champions, Tech is winner of 13 of its last 15 games. Texas lost three straight contests to end the season, and four of the final six.
The Longhorns (21-11, 10-8 Big 12) are No. 15 in KenPom, No. 17 in the NET and No. 18 in the BPI. For reference, the Hokies rank 23, 27 and 19.
Head coach Chris Beard is in his first season with Texas after coming from Texas Tech. In 2019, he took the Red Raiders to the NCAA Tournament Final where they lost to Tony Bennett and Virginia.
The Longhorns don't have a scorer that stands out, though senior Timmy Allen (6-6, 210) leads them in that category with 12.3 points per game. 6-2 senior Marcus Carr averages 10.9, while 6-4 senior Andrew Jones averages 10.7. It's a very veteran group in Austin, one that ranks 12th in roster experience, per KenPom.
Texas's defense is its rock. No. 13 in adjusted defensive efficiency, Texas is No. 14 in turnover percentage, No. 12 in defensive free throw percentage and No. 18 in non-steal turnover percentage.
While being a good offensive team in terms of efficiency, the Longhorns don't jump off the page. They turn the ball over 11.8 times per game, only shoot 32.3% from behind the arc and are only top-70 in two categories: Offensive rebounding percentage (59) and free throw percentage (70).
The game will be televised at 4:30 p.m. ET (3:30 CT - local time) on TBS. Spero Dedes, Debbie Antonelli and AJ Ross have the call.
