February 25, 2026; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns guard Dalylin Swain (3) grabs a rebound in the second half against the Florida Gators at Moody Center. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Image Texas coach Sean Miller was candid about his team’s struggles on the defensive end.
Ahead of Wednesday’s first round of the Southeastern Conference tournament against 15th-seeded Ole Miss in Nashville, Miller is hoping the 10th-seeded Longhorns play on the right side of a “coin flip.”
Texas (18-13) dropped four of its final five regular season games and finished 10th in the conference. The Longhorns have given up 105 and 88 points in their last two losses to Arkansas and Oklahoma, respectively. Despite the upset, Texas is still on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble, ranked No. 42 in the NET heading into Monday’s game.
Miller knows that if his group can’t stop, it could be a short run.
“We have to keep flipping the coin,” Miller said of the defense. “I’ve been telling you this for about three months. I don’t think you fully understand how efficient our offense has been and how amazing it is because we get nothing on defense. We have no steals, we have no blocks, we barely get stop after stop.”
Texas posted one of its best defensive efforts in its lone meeting, a 79-68 home win over Ole Miss on Feb. 7. The Longhorns held the Rebels to a 41.4% shooting percentage from the field and a 29.2% clip (7-for-24) on 3-point attempts.
Texas is led in scoring, rebounds and assists by Dailyn Swain (17.7, 7.5 and 3.4, respectively) while Matas Vokietaitis adds 15.7 points per contest.
Ole Miss (12-19) will have a disappointing season coming to an end if it can’t pull off a comeback win in Nashville. The Rebels advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament last year for the second time in program history, but a 10-game losing streak led to head coach Chris Beard’s third year in Oxford.
Ole Miss has just one win since Jan. 17, losing 64-61 to South Carolina on Saturday. In the game, the Rebels made just 1 of 14 3-point attempts. Still, Beard understands what this week is about.
“No matter what season you’re in, conference tournaments provide opportunities,” Beard said. “Most teams across the country are playing to make the NCAA Tournament. That’s the situation we’re in this year. Our team will keep fighting.”
AJ Storr scored a team-high 15 points for the Rebels, followed by Malik Dia’s 14.1 points and Ilias Kamardine’s 11 points.
–Field level media
