No. 7 UT men's basketball team gears up for NCAA tournament

AUSTIN, Texas - These are exciting times for the No. 7-seeded Longhorns as they gear up for the NCAA Tournament.

"We believe in our team," said Dylan Disu/UT Forward/Graduate Student.

"Everybody wants to keep playing," said Max Abmas/UT Guard/Graduate Student.

"We want to make a run," said Disu.

But how long will that run last for Texas? The team has won 20 games and finished 500 in the best league in the nation, but also were bounced in the first round of their conference tournament.

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"We'd been playing great up until that point. We just didn't play the second half the way we needed to. But we've come a long way and I think again, we're playing as good as anyone in the country," said Rodney Terry/UT Men's Basketball Head Coach.

"We didn't want to lose to Kansas State... We had to sit with that last week. This past weekend, and we used that as motivation," said Disu.

Something else that's fueling Disu, who caught fire in last year's NCAA tournament, is that after helping lead Texas to just a win away from reaching the Final Four, he had to sit and watch his team fall to Miami in the Elite 8 because of a foot injury.

"It was difficult to watch that game. Not being able to help your teammates. Then actually seeing them kind of fall there at the end. That was tough. But feeling that feeling and getting to that point in the tournament. Definitely motivated me to want to get back there... It was the most fun time of my life for sure," said Disu.

"I'm excited. Last year to have the opportunity to compete in the NCAA tournament. You work all summer, and all fall for this moment right here. For March Madness," said Abmas.

"I said to our guys. It's not always the best team that wins this time of year. It's the team that shows up for 40 minutes. And they play their best on a neutral court for 40 minutes," said Terry.

The Lonhorns tip off on Thursday, March 21 in Charlotte.