I.S.O.: “In spite of.”
It’s been Texas men’s basketball’s mantra since the beginning of the season.
Displayed on graphics outside the practice court, perpetuated throughout the locker room and recounted endlessly by players, I.S.O. defined a Longhorn season that ended with a first-round exit out of the whirling March Madness dance, losing to Xavier 86–80.
For onlookers, this final loss is the most reasonable end to an up-and-down Longhorn season that just failed to be enough. But, to this team, the opportunity to even play in the NCAA Tournament marked a defiance against all expectations.
“I think if you watch this whole tournament, then you should understand why we should keep playing,” graduate guard Tramon Mark said after the Southeastern Conference quarterfinals. “We fought hard through all the dramatic stuff going on through the season, through all the injuries.”
There’s no doubt that Texas started moving differently entering the SEC Tournament after a lackluster regular season. For head coach Rodney Terry, the difference came with all players in full health.
“I think we’re a team that’d be a dangerous matchup in the NCAA Tournament because we’re finally healthy,” Terry said before playing Xavier. “We have our full lot with the guys, and we’re playing pretty good at the right time of year.”
This Texas basketball team isn’t the typical result of regular recruiting and transfers. Freshman guard Tre Johnson and Mark are part of a roster that was carefully selected in the off-season to be a super team of sorts. Apart from Johnson, a true freshman and candidate for the approaching NBA Draft, a sizable portion of the starting rotation was hand-picked from the transfer portal and had been the stars of their previous teams.
This created a Texas team studded with star power but lacking in the early chemistry that comes from playing with each other. This wasn’t as obvious in pre-conference play, going 11—2. But, conference play highlighted this disparity after junior guard Chendall Weaver fell out of play in a January game against Auburn. Going 6–12 in the SEC and grappling with losses to bottom-tiered South Carolina and Oklahoma, Texas needed a huge sprint in the conference championship to keep its season alive.
But Texas narrowly slipped into March Madness contention in the bottom four after an against-all-odds run during the SEC Championship tournament. After emerging from conference play with that abysmal record, the Longhorn team looked noticeably improved in games against Vanderbilt, Texas A&M and even in the loss to Tennessee, which were all favored to beat Texas.
“I think that we showed a completely different side of us these last few games, especially in the tournament,” graduate forward Kadin Shedrick said. “With us at full health, I think that we’ve shown we can play with anybody in the country.”
In spite of all the odds against them, the Longhorns made it to the SEC quarterfinals and fell to now-No. 4 Tennessee 83–72, playing with a strong offensive game against one of the best defensive teams in the nation. Texas looked bafflingly different from its standpoint just a week before when the team fell 76–72 to Oklahoma.
“I couldn’t be more grateful than what I am now, and I appreciate (the team) so much for all the hard work, blood, sweat and tears we went through from the ups and downs,” graduate forward Jayson Kent said after the selection. “It’s just an honor to win through those battles with these guys and see it come through to the light.”
Three days later? During the first half of the final game, the Longhorns maintained the momentum against Xavier and went into the locker room with a lead of 47–39.
But it wasn’t enough. The chemistry that this superteam had found fell apart, and the Musketeers, who couldn’t seem to miss a shot, took advantage of a last-minute Texas choke that fans found depressingly characteristic.
“It just got late, and we had a little miscommunication on some shots,” Johnson said afterward. “And they made big shots in big moments, I give that to them, but we played good defense as a team.”
Within the last two minutes of the game, Texas’ season ended and left doubts as to what the future would hold. The vast majority of this current team is made up of graduates and seniors, and NBA scouts have been visiting Moody Arena to look at Johnson since conference play started. The upcoming Texas recruiting class has just one player signed so far, Houston’s four-star center, John Clark.
But the biggest question of all concerns Terry’s fate as head coach. Terry slid his team into NCAA contention by the skin of his teeth twice in two seasons now, despite his advancement to the Elite Eight after taking over for Chris Beard midseason in early 2023. Now, Texas fans clamor for his replacement.
For Terry, though, I.S.O. still stands.
“At the end of the day, it’s in God’s hands,” Terry said after being asked about the status of his job. “At the end of the day, I live my life. … If God has plans for me to be here, I’ll be here.”
It is a disappointing end to a disappointing season, despite the Longhorns’ valiant, last-ditch effort to fight against the narrative preceding them. But in spite of the disappointment, all this Texas team can do is look ahead — and be grateful.
“We all have a really close connection on this team,” senior forward Arthur Kaluma said following the Tennessee game. “Love each other to death. We all have a really good relationship with each other. Through the ups and downs of this season, we’ve stayed together.”
