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The Texas Longhorns men's basketball team is set to begin the second season under head coach Sean Miller this fall.
And after making it to the Sweet 16 this past season, it's safe to say that the expectations have been raised this offseason with Miller putting together an elite roster with multiple future NBA players.
This kind of talent is required if the Longhorns want to compete for a national title, but it will first have to get them through the brutal schedule of the SEC.
Texas already knew which conference opponents it would be facing next season, but now the team knows exactly what that schedule will look like.
Texas Set For Brutal Stretch in the SEC The SEC released the full conference schedule for all 16 teams on Monday, and the Longhorns are certainly in for some tough outings.
Texas opens up conference play on Jan.
2 at home against the Florida Gators, the likely preseason No.
1 team in college basketball.
The Longhorns will close out the regular season on March 6 in College Station against the new-look Texas A&M Aggies in the second year under head coach Bucky McMillan.
And in between it all, Texas will face many tough tests on the journey back to the NCAA Tournament.
Here's a look at the full SEC schedule for the Longhorns: - vs.
Florida Gators, Saturday, Jan.
2 - at Georgia Bulldogs, Jan.
5 OR Jan.
6 - at Ole Miss Rebels, Jan.
9 - vs.
Auburn Tigers, Jan.
12 OR Jan.
13 - vs.
Oklahoma Sooners, Jan.
16 - at LSU Tigers, Jan.
19 OR Jan.
20 - vs.
Arkansas Razorbacks, Jan.
23 - at South Carolina Gamecocks, Jan.
26 OR Jan.
27 - vs.
Kentucky Wildcats, Jan.
30 - at Florida Gators, Feb.
6 - vs.
Alabama Crimson Tide, Feb.
9 OR Feb.
10 - at Vanderbilt Commodores, Feb.
13 - vs.
Texas A&M Aggies, Feb.
16 OR Feb.
17 - at Oklahoma Sooners, Feb.
20 - at Mississippi State Bulldogs, Feb.
23 OR Feb.
24 - vs.
Tennessee Volunteers, Feb.
27 - vs.
Missouri Tigers, March 2 OR March 3 - at Texas A&M Aggies, March 6 The Biggest Problem With Texas Basketball's SEC Schedule The Longhorns already knew that they would be facing Florida twice during SEC play, but Texas got the wrong end of the stick when it came to the placement of the matchups.
Texas' home game against the Gators, who could very well be the No.
1 team in the country heading into Austin, comes on Jan.
2.
This means that many of the students that fill "The Corral" at Moody Center might not be on campus for the potential Top-10 matchup since it comes in the middle of winter break after the first semester.
Sure, the hype surrounding Miller and the Longhorns has improved from the Rodney Terry but it's an unfortunate reality that many students simply won't be in town for the game.
With Texas being an internationally-recognized university, students attend from all over the country and the world, and will use the winter break as a time to go see home to see their families.
Perhaps the student section and crowd environemnt will be electric and all of this was a bit overblown.
But it's easy to imagine that the Longhorns would have preferred hosting Florida further into conference play.
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Zach Dimmitt is the Deputy Editor for Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI.
He also contributes as a writer for the On SI channels of the Oregon Ducks, Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans.
He was previously the editor-in-chief of Buffalo Bills on SI, Philadelphia Eagles on SI and Seattle Seahawks on SI.
Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Dimmitt received his Bachelors Degree in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin in 2022.
He originally started with SIs Fan Nation network in 2021, providing extensive coverage of the NFL and NBA along with college football and basketball.
In that time, Dimmitt has published thousands of stories and has reached millions of people across multiple fan bases.
You can follow him on X at @ZachDimmitt7 Follow ZachDimmitt7.