Texas basketball: In aftermath of First Four loss to Xavier, Rodney Terry's future uncertain

DAYTON, Ohio – The cleaning crew at UD Arena had barely swept up the confetti following Xavier’s thrilling 86-80 win over Texas in a First Four matchup Wednesday when the online reports began trickling in about the future of Texas coach Rodney Terry.

“Texas is likely to make a move on Terry after two straight years of barely making the NCAA tourney and getting bounced in the First Four this year,” tweeted Jeff Goodman of the Field of 68

“Sources tell Horns247 that Terry is expected to be let go after three seasons on the job after taking over for Chris Beard,” tweeted Chip Brown of Horns247.

Others followed suit, but no official word came from Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte, who didn’t make the trip to Dayton because of a family matter.

Xavier guard Dailyn Swain, right, tries to shoots the ball over Texas forward Kadin Shedrick in the second half of the Xavier's 86-80 in a NCAA Tournament First Four game Wednesday at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio.

But the uncertainty about the future of the Texas program swirled in the postgame press conference as well as in the Longhorns’ locker room. When asked if and when he would meet with Del Conte, Terry didn’t have an immediate answer.

“When you talk about evaluating the season, you do that when the dust settles, just like you would have any season,” he said. “So, I'm sure there'll be an opportunity where we'll get a chance to sit down and talk about the season and what our thoughts are about the season.”

But when the dust settles from a tumultuous first season in the SEC for Texas (19-16), will Terry still be the coach after going 62-37 since taking over for the fired Chris Beard in January 2023? Will star freshman Tre Johnson return for one more season although all signs point to his impending departure for the NBA? And who will return for a team that loses six players in its regular rotation because of the end of their eligibility?

Junior guard Chendall Weaver seemed to speak to the uncertainty surrounding the Longhorns when he said “you never know what the future holds.”

If the loss to Xavier (22-11) signals the end of Terry’s two full seasons as the head coach, the coach and his players went down swinging. The Longhorns played perhaps their most complete half of the season while racing to a 47-39 lead at the break, but they cooled off as Xavier heated up before a partisan crowd of more than 12,000 fans about an hour north of the Musketeers’ campus in Cincinnati.

“They had a really good crowd,” said Texas post Kadin Shedrick, who had 11 points and seven rebounds in his final collegiate season. “I’m sure it gave them a lot of energy. We’ve played in environments like this all year long, so I wouldn’t say it affected us too much. But I’m sure they fed off it and it probably helped them.”

The crowd reached a crescendo when 7-foot, 270-pound reserve center John Hugley IV gave Xavier its first lead, 75-74, of the second half with a 3-pointer with 5 minutes, 7 seconds left in the game. Texas tied the game at 78-78 on a layup by Jayson Kent at the 2:53 mark, but the Longhorns wouldn’t make another shot from the field.

Johnson capped his freshman season with a team-high 23 points and six rebounds, and Tramon Mark ended his collegiate career with 16 points.

“It was two teams going at it,” Terry said. “It was kind of a heavyweight fight down the stretch. The last one standing was going to walk out of here with a win.”

But now, Texas must figure out if Terry will still be standing as the head coach as the Longhorns get ready for an offseason full of change.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas basketball: UT falls to Xavier, Rodney Terry's future uncertain

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