Cent. Arkansas-Texas Preview (Mar 14, 2017)
Three weeks ago, Texas was riding a 19-game winning streak, was in line for a Big 12 Conference championship and, perhaps, one of the top seeds in the NCAA tournament.
Two regular-season conference losses and a dismissal setback in the semifinals of the league tournament dropped the Longhorns to a No. 3 seed, but they still did enough this season to host the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament, beginning Friday afternoon against Southland Conference champion Central Arkansas at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Tex.
The Texas-Central Arkansas winner will face the winner of Friday's first game in Austin between No. 6 seed North Carolina State and No. 11 seed Auburn.
The Longhorns are making their 30th NCAA Tournament appearance, which is fourth-most of any program in NCAA Division I women's basketball history. Texas (23-8) posted its fourth consecutive 20-win season and tied the school record for most Big 12 Conference wins in a single season with 15, finishing the league in second place behind Baylor.
"This team is a lot of fun -- they probably didn't like being around me the past few practices," Texas coach Karen Aston said. "They get along. They don't take a whole lot serious. The biggest thing that's been my challenge as a coach has been to continue put a finger on them and get them to reach their potential. It's a new season and a chance for us to reset."
Aston gave the Longhorns four days off after the Big 12 Tournament to rest their legs and begin to concentrate on the task ahead.
"When you reach this time of year, the season takes a toll," Texas' Ariel Atkins said. "This team has needed the break, especially mentally."
The Longhorns are 38-28 (.576) all-time in NCAA tournament play, including a 6-3 mark under Aston. Texas is seeded No. 3 for the fifth time in school history and is 4-4 all-time when playing as a No. 3 seed in the NCAAs.
Central Arkansas, the No. 14-seed in the Lexington Bracket, earned its second consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament after a 60-35 win over Stephen F. Austin in Sunday's Southland Conference tournament championship game.
"We are excited to be going back to the NCAA tournament," Central Arkansas coach Sandra Rushing said. "Texas has great guard play and inside presence and they are going to run up and down the floor and press us. We just have to go play our game."
The Sugar Bears (26-4) are riding a 17-game winning streak, the fourth-longest active streak in the nation. Central Arkansas enters the tournament among the national leaders in scoring defense, scoring margin, field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense.
It is the second appearance in the Division I championship tournament for Central Arkansas in just its seventh year of postseason eligibility in D-I after completing its four-year reclassification period from Division II in 2010.
"We will settle in a little bit because we've been there before," Central Arkansas' Raquel Logan said. "It a big stage but we have some experience and just want to do all we can to win this game and go farther than we did last year when we lost in the first round."
The Sugar Bears made four appearances in the Division II tournament between 1993-2005, advancing to two Elite Eights including a national semifinal appearance in 2005.
It is their fourth postseason appearance in Division I, having also appeared in the 2012 WNIT where they lost to eventual champion Oklahoma State; and the 2011 WBI where they lost to eventual champion UAB.
Texas and Central Arkansas will meet for the first time in the history of the two programs. The Longhorns are 48-9 (.842) all-time against teams from the Southland Conference.
