Texas picked third in Big 12 preseason poll

The expectations for the Texas Longhorns basketball program in its final season in the Big 12 are high after the coaches picked head coach Rodney Terry’s team third in the conference preseason poll released on Friday.

Texas (143 points) did not receive any first-place votes in finishing behind Kansas (168 points, 12 first-place votes) and Houston (153 points, two first-place votes).

In Terry’s first season as an interim coach filling for in Chris Beard, who was suspended and then fired, the Longhorns advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2008 before falling to the Hurricanes, finishing the season 29-9 and ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll, tied for the highest final ranking in the poll for Texas.

Four rotation players return from that team — guard Tyrese Hunter, guard Brock Cunningham, forward Dylan Disu, and forward Dillon Mitchell — as Terry retooled the roster through the NCAA transfer portal while making several late additions in the 2023 signing class. Former Oral Roberts guard Max Abmas highlights the transfer additions, along with former UCF guard Ithiel Horton, former UT-Arlington guard Chendall Weaver, former Virginia forward Kaden Shedrick, and former UTEP forward Ze’rick Onyema.

Texas tips off the 2023-34 season against Incarnate Word at the Moody Center at 7 p.m. Central on Longhorn Network on Nov. 5.