Joe Lunardi diagnosis Texas tournament chances amid blowout by Georgia

Bubble game of the day resided in Austin, TX. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had Texas as the last projected team in the NCAA Tournament entering Saturday, with Georgia a spot behind as the first team out. The two meeting at the Moody Center had massive implications and from a Texas perspective, has gone poorly.

Georgia has held multiple 20-point leads and Rodney Terry‘s bunch appears to be heading for another big-time loss. Lunradi is going to be bumping Texas in his next projections and did not appear too impressed with the overall resume.

If there is any potential saving grace moving forward, it’s the SEC’s depth and plenty of opportunities still being out there.

“They’re going to have to get back to winning before we look back at their resume,” Lunardi said during the Georgia-Texas broadcast. “5-11? Really? I think there still needs to be some kind of standard. Having said that, in the SEC, all it takes is a two-game winning streak and you’re probably adding two Quad 1 wins or at worst, a Quad 1 and a Quad 2.”

Texas appears likely to drop their third game in a row and seven out of their last night. Once viewed as a team comfortably inside the NCAA Tournament, the tides have quickly gone south on the 40 Acres.

Mississippi State and Oklahoma are the two final games of the season. A Quad 1 opportunity will be available in Starkville but the Sooners are currently slated to be a Quad 2. And then attention will turn to the SEC Tournament in Nashville where Quad 1 games should be abundant.

Lunardi knows how conference tournaments can go. Players can go on legendary runs and get their team into March Madness after seemingly not having a prayer. Texas does have a potential top-five pick on the roster and while he has been amazing, another level might need to be found.

“What I would hold out hope for, if I was a Texas fan, I’d just think Tre Johnson is one of the top players in America,” Lunardi said. “…Maybe he still wants to play a little bit more in college and he’s the kind of guy that can carry you for two or three days in a conference tournament.”

Johnson entered the Georgia game as the leading scorer, being the lone player to average more than 20 points a night. Closing the regular season out strong is top priority but Johnson may need a special week on Broadway to extend his college basketball career.

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