The 68-team field for the 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament was revealed Sunday night, and the state of Texas was well-represented.
Six schools from the Lone Star State made the field, most of whom will play on Friday. Here is who made the cut:
To no one’s surprise, the University of Houston is a No.1 seed for the second straight year, playing in the South Regional, which will come to the American Airlines Center for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds next Friday and Sunday (March 29 and 31). The Cougars will face Longwood University at the FedEx Forum in Memphis at 8:20 p.m. CT on Friday.
There is a chance Houston will face a fellow Texas team in the second round, as Texas A&M, considered a bubble team by many, earned the No.9 seed in the South Regional. The Aggies will play Nebraska, the former home of recently hired athletic director Trev Alberts, in the first round in Memphis at 5:50 p.m. CT on Friday.
Texas Tech is also in the South, earning the No.6 seed and taking on No.11 seed North Carolina State on Thursday at 8:40 p.m. CT in Pittsburgh. The Red Raiders are back in the NCAA Tournament after failing to qualify last season.
TCU is also in the NCAA Tournament, making a school-record third consecutive appearance. The Horned Frogs are the No.9 seed in the Midwest Region and will take on No.8 seed Utah State at 8:55 p.m. CT on Friday in Indianapolis. It is the second time in the last three years that TCU has been a No.9 seed, still seeking a Sweet 16 appearance.
“Excited for our players,” TCU head coach Jamie Dixon told the media on Sunday. “They’ve done remarkable. In talking to the guys that have been here a couple of years and being the third year in a row, it says a lot. … Very few schools have done what we’ve done to get to the tournament three times and win some games in the tournament each year, and we need to win some this year.”
The Horned Frogs will likely face No.1 seed Purdue with a win, and the mission for one of the program’s most accomplished senior classes is clearly to get over the hump and rack up multiple tournament wins.
“From the start, my group, we came in, and we wanted to accomplish something special here at TCU,” senior forward Emanuel Miller told the media after the field was announced. “We wanted to do things, not only the right way but the TCU way, right? … We’ve created something special in a sense that we’re trending in the right direction. We’re doing something that’s never been done before, and we’ve continued to do that as the year progresses.”
“I’m just incredibly proud of this group, and I’m incredibly proud of how we respond,” Miller continued. “I’m incredibly proud of just the players we’re becoming. … For the past two years, we failed [at] winning the second game. … I’m just excited that they gave us a chance, and we can make something out of it.”
Baylor also made the tournament as the No.3 seed in the West Regional, facing No.14 seed Colgate at 11:40 a.m. CT on Friday in Memphis.
The Texas Longhorns are the last team representing the state in the field as the No.7 seed in the Midwest. They will play the winner of the First Four play-in game between Colorado State and Virginia at 5:50 p.m. CT on Thursday. It is the second appearance for the team under current head coach Rodney Terry, who took them to the Elite Eight as the interim coach last season.
While the NCAA Tournament is the big one that will get all the attention, other postseason tournaments will be happening as well. SMU, doubling its win total from a year ago, has accepted an invitation to the NIT and will travel to Indiana State for a first-round game at 6 p.m. CT on Wednesday night.
