Texas men’s basketball head coach Sean Miller has not had trouble getting his team off to a quick start in the 2026-27 season, as the Longhorns sit firmly at No. 7 in the country with a 3–0 record.
Texas hasn’t faced many challenges through the first two weeks of the season, facing Chicago State, Gardner-Webb and Grambling State.
That’ll change on Sunday, as the Longhorns face their first true test of the season against the Baylor Bears. The former Big 12 foes will battle as part of the San Antonio Hoops Showdown at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas.
“In terms of Baylor, it’s an early season test, but it’s a big game,” Miller said after the win over Grambling State on Monday. “It’s a big game because we’re playing a really good team, I think, a team that will be in this year’s (NCAA) tournament. They’re always in the tournament.”
Baylor has had an identical start to Texas, with an unblemished record through its first three games of the season against weaker competition. Baylor won against Northwestern State, Arkansas Pine-Bluff and Yale.
The Bears haven’t been tested so far in the regular season, but their preseason results indicate the tough challenge Texas will face on Sunday.
Baylor took on No. 1 Florida and No. 3 Illinois in exhibition games and came out victorious against both teams, which are projected to be some of the best in the nation.
The Longhorns haven’t been challenged in the paint just yet. In their three wins this season, they have won the rebounding battle by double-digit boards and have outscored opponents 150-60 in the restricted area.
While it’s been easy pickings in the paint for the Longhorns so far, Miller knows his team won’t play with the same ease against the Bears.
“You have to start with their rebounding, their offensive rebounding in particular,” Miller said in a Wednesday media availability. “Historically, over almost two decades, (Baylor head coach) Scott Drew’s teams at Baylor have always taken a lot of pride in that area. They’re physical, they’re athletic, but you can tell that rebounding is a real emphasis in what they do.”
The Longhorns won’t be traveling far down Interstate-35, with about 80 miles separating the Moody Center from the Frost Bank Center. While Texas hit the road during the preseason, Sunday will be the first time they won’t play in friendly confines.
Miller doesn’t see that as a major drawback, choosing to see it as another unique opportunity for his team to learn more about themselves.
“It helps us because we don’t have the gift of experience, which I know I’ve talked about, but it’s just a fact,” Miller said. “When you have a lot of guys getting on that plane or bus for the first or second time ever, every time you do it, you get a little bit more settled and comfortable.”
Texas’ status as a potential Final Four team won’t be decided or sealed by a game played in mid-November, but Baylor presents the Longhorns with a way to gauge where they currently sit.
