What Texas players are saying ahead of Thursday’s NCAA Tournament tilt with BYU
Texas guard Simeon Wilcher lines up a jump-shot during a practice the day before a first-round college basketball game against BYU in the NCAA Tournament held at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News PORTLAND, Ore. — Texas doesn’t want your sympathy.
It’s been an exhausting 24 hours for the Longhorns, who played in the First Four round of the NCAA Tournament Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio, then caught a red eye flight after the game and arrived in Portland, Oregon at 6:30 a. m. on Wednesday.
A round of 64 matchup with BYU awaits Texas on Thursday. The Cougars have had a week of rest and landed in Oregon before the Longhorns had even tipped off in Ohio. Texas, in the span of 48 hours, will have played two win-or-go-home games with a cross-country flight sandwiched in between.
But the Longhorns don’t want you to feel bad for them. They don’t want to hear any excuses about their situation. None of their seemingly unfavorable circumstances matter to them.
“We’re all adults. We’re grown men. We know what we signed up for,” Texas guard Dailyn Swain told reporters Wednesday.