NASHVILLE – There are no two ways about it, it’s do-or-die for the 2025 Texas Longhorns men’s basketball team.
Following the team’s 76-72 home loss to rival Oklahoma, Texas squarely find themselves on the outside looking in at an NCAA Tournament berth.
As Longhorns’ head coach Rodney Terry and his club arrive in Nashville, the understanding is clear that they have to play a complete 40 minutes of basketball – or else their season will come to a sputtering end.
“That’s been a challenge for us all season,” said senior guard Tramon Mark.
The Arkansas transfer has been banged up throughout the season, battling groin and ankle injuries. After struggling to find his rhythm in the offense, Mark has come on down the stretch. He’s averaging 14.2 points per game over his last five outings.
“I would say our mindset has been a challenge, but I feel like we have a great mindset. We have great practices, we have great shootarounds. So it’s just, we just have to do it. I don’t, we just have to do it.”
Another player facing the end of his collegiate career is sixth-year forward Kadin Shedrick.
He shared his thoughts on the team’s struggles to play a consistent 40 minutes of play.
“It starts in the first four minutes with setting the tone and then the guys off the bench,” Shedrick said.
The 6-foot-11 forward will have his hands full with Vanderbilt reserve big Jaylen Carey. In the team’s first meeting on Feb. 8, Carey muscled his way to 14 rebounds (nine offensive) compared to Shedrick’s six. Shedrick also fouled out in the 86-78 loss at Memorial Gymnasium.
“We have to make sure to keep that energy up. Then, we have to finish out the half right. Same thing in the second half, start in the first four minutes, strong finish in the last four minutes.”
If the Longhorns are going to avenge their loss at Vanderbilt earlier this season, they’ll have to account for Commodores’ star guard Jason Edwards.
The 6-foot-1 Edwards averages 16.9 points per game and poured in 17 in the win over the Longhorns in February.
“[Jason] Edwards, he’s a really quick guard and he’s an elite scorer,” Shedrick said.
“We have to make sure we’re locked in on him and it’s the same thing for all their guys. You know, they’re all really talented in different ways, and we have to make sure that we know our scout well and we’re ready for anything they might throw at us.”
On the flipside, Texas’ star guard in Tre Johnson will look to rebound from arguably the worst performance of his collegiate career.
Johnson, who was named to the Associated Press All-SEC First-Team scored just seven points and went 0-of-14 shooting from the field. While Johnson wasn’t made available to the media during Tuesday’s practice, Terry noted his belief in the SEC’s leading scorer.
“He’s had a short memory all season long, whether he’s making shots and not making shots,” Terry said.
“There are other ways that you impact the game. He’s done a great job all year, being consistent as a scorer and the one night where he did not do particularly well, he’ll be fine the next night.”
Game 32: Game 32: No. 13 seed Texas (17-14, 6-12 SEC) vs. No. 12 seed Vanderbilt (20-11, 8-10 SEC)
When: Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Where: Bridgestone Arena (19,395) – Nashville, Tennessee
Tipoff: 25 minutes following the conclusion of Game 1 of the Southeastern Conference Tournament (approx. 2:30 p.m. Central)
TV: The game will be televised nationally by SEC Network with Dan Shulman (play-by-play), Jay Bilas (analyst) and Jess Sims (reporter) on the call.
Radio: The Longhorn Radio Network broadcasts every UT game on the statewide network. Craig Way (pxp) and Eddie Oran (analyst) will call the action. Check TexasSports.com for a listing of affiliates carrying the game.
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Spread: Vanderbilt -1.5
INSIDE THE ALL-TIME SERIES
– SERIES: Vanderbilt leads, 5-4. Last meeting: Vanderbilt 86-78 (Feb. 8, 2025; Nashville).
HEAD COACHES
— Now in his third year as the head coach at Texas, Rodney Terry has guided the Longhorns to a 59-34 record, 221-191 overall (13th year).
Terry has posted a 4-2 record in NCAA Tournament contests as head coach of the Longhorns.
– Texas is 16-9 under Terry in games decided by five points or less OR in overtime. Terry has registered 14 victories against AP Top 25 opponents during his time at Texas.
— Mark Byington is in his first season as Vanderbilt’s head coach. The 48-year-old Byington began his coaching career at Charleston in 2002. He landed his first Division I head coaching job at Georgia Southern in 2013, where he led the Eagles to a 131-97 record over seven seasons. Following a four-year stint at James Madison, Byington took over at Vanderbilt and has led the Commodores to a 20-11 record. Overall, Byington has a record of 238-144 at the Division I level.
NOTABLES ENTERTING THE GAME
– POPE FINDS THE RANGE: Junior guard Jordan Pope recorded a game-high 21 points (7-10 FG, 4-6 threes, 3-3 FT) in 26 minutes during Saturday’s contest against Oklahoma. He topped the 20-point mark for the third time this year and first since Jan. 15 at Oklahoma.
– SEC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Guard Tre Johnson is the first player in program history to earn SEC Freshman of the Year honor and the 10th individual in school history to claim conference Freshman of the Year accolades. Texas previously had three Southwest Conference FOY winners and six Big 12 Conference FOY selections.
– FIRST SEC TOURNEY APPEARANCE: Texas has made a combined 48 previous appearances in league postseason tourneys (Southwest Conference and Big 12 Conference), but this year marks the first time the Longhorns will take part in the SEC Tournament.
