On Saturday evening, the No. 3-seeded Texas Longhorns will seek their first NCAA Tournament victory under sixth-year head coach Shaka Smart’s direction, and though they’ll enter as an 8.5-point favorite over the No. 14-seeded Abilene Christian Wildcats, the Horns will have their hands full in hopes of surviving and advancing.
Where the Wildcats will pose the biggest issues is on the defensive end. It’s fair to label them as a borderline elite defensive unit, with ACU ranking incredibly well nearly across the board. They’re No. 32 in KenPom.com’s adjusted efficiency metric, No. 1 in opponent turnover percentage (26.