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Texas starts its campaign as one of the newest members of the Southeastern Conference while seeking to secure its fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
Now in his second year as Longhorns coach, Rodney Terry aims to duplicate or surpass his successful first season where he led Texas to the second round of the tournament. He brings in a retooled roster composed of seven returnees, six transfers and three freshmen for the 2024-25 college basketball season.
Let's explore Texas' biggest games this season, key players to watch out for and its projected ranking at the end of the tournament.
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Texas' biggest games in the 2024-25 season
Texas released its complete non-conference schedule for the season on Aug. 1. Among the notable non-conference games of the season are against Ohio State on Nov. 4, NC State on Dec. 4 and defending champion UConn on Dec. 8.
The Longhorns' game against the Buckeyes is part of the Hall of Fame Series Las Vegas Opening Night, while the clash against the Wolfpack is included in the ACC-SEC Challenge. Texas is also slated to take part in the Legends Classic, which features other Division I teams such as Saint Joseph's, Syracuse and Texas Tech.
Last May, the SEC revealed its 2024-25 regular season conference schedule, and the Longhorns will play home-and-away games against Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M.
The team will play home-only games against Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee and is set to visit Florida, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
The SEC will release the complete dates of the regular season games at a later date.
Key Texas players to watch out for in the 2024-25 season
The Texas Longhorns venture into the 2024-25 college basketball season with seven returnees, six transfers and three freshmen. Here are the players fans should keep an eye on this coming season.
#1. Arthur Kaluma
Arthur Kaluma played for three seasons with Creighton and Kansas State before signing up for Texas. In his third season, with Kansas State, Kaluma averaged 14.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, while shooting 42.7% from the field and 74.7% from the free throw line.
Kaluma is expected to boost the forward spot and fill the void left off by Dylan Disu, who signed a rookie deal with the Toronto Raptors.
#2. Tramon Mark
Tramon Mark played for 31 games with Arkansas this past season, averaging 16.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 steals per contest. He shot 48.0% from the field, including 36.4% from the 3-point line.
Mark will bring the needed offensive spark from the backcourt for Texas and is capable of playing defense as well, reaching a career-high 24 blocks in the 2023-24 season.
#3. Tre Johnson
Tre Johnson was the consensus top overall recruit by various college basketball recruitment sites for the class of 2024 until he was replaced by Dylan Harper last year. The 6-foot-6 Johnson is a five-star shooting guard who chose to play for Texas after considering an offer from Baylor.
The Link Academy product is projected to be in the starting five for the Longhorns this season and will team up with Kaluma and Mark in executing the team's offense in the 2024-25 season.
Texas' predictions for the 2024-25 season
Texas is set for a rude welcome in the strong SEC as it will play against top teams such as Alabama, Kentucky, Florida, Arkansas, Tennessee and South Carolina.
Expect the Longhorns to have a rough start in the regular season as they acclimatize with the conference, but once they finally get going, the transfer-heavy squad will surge to a 22- to 24-win season, which grants them a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Johnson, Kaluma and Mark must provide vital contributions for the Rodney Terry-coached squad to go beyond the second round and possibly the Elite Eight.
Will Texas make it to their fifth straight NCAA Tournament this coming season? Let us know your views in the comments section.
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