Texas Longhorns forward: No team in the country wants to play us

Texas Longhorns forward: No team in the country wants to play us

1:12 AM Mon, Mar 15, 2010 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
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Texas limps into the NCAA Tournament as a former No. 1-ranked team that has lost its way. But the Longhorns are still confident they can turn things around quickly.

"I don't think there's a team in the country that will want to play Texas," senior forward Damion James told ESPN's Andy Katz before Selection Sunday. "We're so talented. At one point, we were the best team in the country. We lost our focus and enthusiasm and passion, and we have to get that back.

Starting the season 17-0, the Longhorns have since fallen to 6-9, heading into the most important part of the year.

"We're out of the Big 12 now, and we can play some other teams, teams that have never seen us play," James said in the interview.

No. 8 seed Texas (24-9) faces No. 9 Wake Forest (19-10), 8:45 p.m. Thursday at New Orleans. The winner will likely get No. 1 seed Kentucky in the second round.

Texas coach Rick Barnes thinks that gives Texas an advantage should it face Kentucky.

"If you're a 1-seed [or 2-seed], if you win that first game, you're going to probably play a team from a power conference," Barnes said. "The pressure then shifts to the higher-seeded team."

If the Longhorns play to their potential, a win over a No. 1 or No. 2 seed is not a wild prediction.

"We are dangerous; we've proven to be dangerous," Barnes said. "I know people think we've had a disappointing season because of the expectations, but that's because of how far our program has come."

Since losing to Baylor in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship tournament, the Longhorns have less than a week now to turn things around.

What Texas does with this opportunity will suggest a lot about its mentality.

"We've tried to push every button that we can," Barnes said after Texas lost in the Big 12 tournament to Baylor. "But by this time of year, honestly, I think if it gets flipped, they're going to have to decide, 'We're going to do this thing together.' Because I'm not sure what else I can tell them.

"We have truly tried everything. I don't think we have any selfish guys on the team -- it's just the (lack of) understanding of what goes into consistent winning and being a good team. And I think it's more mental than it is physical."

http://collegesportsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/03/texas-longhorns-forward-no-team-in-the-c.html

Nobody wants to play us either.

Not even Kansas, who is waaaaaaaay better than us.