The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Men’s Basketball picked third in Big 12 preseason poll
10.13.2022 | Men's Basketball
The Longhorns return five rotational players from last year’s team that advanced to the NCAA Round of 32.
IRVING, Texas — The University of Texas men's basketball team is picked to finish in third place in the Big 12 Conference in a preseason vote of the league coaches, the conference office announced Thursday. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams.
Baylor claimed the top spot in the poll, receiving five first-place votes and 77 points in polling for the upcoming 2022-23 season. Kansas tallied four first-place votes and 73 points, while Texas received the final first-place vote and 64 points. Rounding out slots four through 10 in the poll in descending order were TCU, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech (tied for fifth), Oklahoma, Iowa State, West Virginia and Kansas State.
Texas returns five rotational players from Chris Beard's first season in Austin, when the Longhorns posted a 22-12 mark, ranked No. 25 in the final AP poll and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Round of 32. UT won its first NCAA Tournament game since 2014 and registered its most victories in a season since 2013-14. Three of the five returning rotation players earned All-Big 12 Conference recognition, including Timmy Allen (second team), Marcus Carr (third team) and Christian Bishop (honorable mention).
The Longhorns add a pair of transfers in Tyrese Hunter (Iowa State) and Sir'Jabari Rice (New Mexico State), who both led their former teams to wins in the NCAA Tournament last year. Texas also welcomes a four-man freshman class that is ranked as the No. 5 recruiting class in the country by Rivals and 247 Sports, featuring a pair of McDonald's All-Americans in Dillon Mitchell and Arterio Morris.
Texas tips off the 2022-23 season with charity exhibition game against Arkansas on Saturday, Oct. 29. Tip is set for 3 p.m. Central at Moody Center. The Longhorns open the regular season with a home contest against UTEP on Monday, Nov. 7. Tip is scheduled for 8 p.m. Central at Moody Center.
2022-23 Big 12 Basketball Preseason Poll (coaches)
|
Rank |
Team (First-Place Votes) |
Points |
|
1. |
Baylor (5) |
77 |
|
2. |
Kansas (4) |
73 |
|
3. |
TEXAS (1) |
64 |
|
4. |
TCU |
58 |
|
5. |
Oklahoma State |
42 |
|
|
Texas Tech |
42 |
|
7. |
Oklahoma |
32 |
|
8. |
Iowa State |
30 |
|
9. |
West Virginia |
20 |
|
10. |
Kansas State |
12 |
