Bohls: Could the Longhorns have their one shining moment? In my bracket, you betcha

Suspense, schuspense.

Who needs it?

The Oscars have been handed out, Tom Brady has retired (for now) and Alex Murdaugh will star as Pinocchio in the prison theater class.

Here’s the real madness.

I’m picking Texas. To win it all.

There it is. I’ve said it, written it, spoken it into reality.

Before you call 911 and die of shock, know that I believe it. Yeah, maybe it won’t happen. But there are lots and lots and lots of reasons it can. Seriously.

Not the least of which is that Texas is a complete team. A very, very, very good team.

Not a team without weakness. It gets out-rebounded on the regular, seven straight games at one stretch. It can go through some scary scoring droughts. Marcus Carr may or may not be out of his shooting slump. It’s not a great 3-point shooting team but can be a real good one at times. Rodney Terry has never coached a team to an NCAA Tournament win. Yet. But he’s never had a talented team like this.

But every team has its warts and weaknesses. We just happen to be more aware of the Longhorns’ because we see their every step and misstep. Every Arterio Morris sensational dunk and every air ball.

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Some bracket-winning tips from my bracket to yours

And before we explain exactly why I have lost my mind and gone all-burnt orange in a Final Four with Alabama, Marquette and UConn, some advice for those wanting another criteria to fill out their winning brackets besides just picking teams because they like their uniforms.

So here are some tidbits.

∙ Alabama has the best team. On paper. Bama’s also got the best player in the nation with Brandon Miller. With all due respect to Zach Edey, Miller’s the next Kevin Durant.

But you know, distractions and all, and the Crimson Tide is in love with 3-pointers — they make 10 a game but rank 195th in accuracy at 33.9% — and will go cold and lose to the Longhorns 76-73 in the title game. Alabama doesn’t always shoot with accuracy, but for Pete’s sake it had 12 on Sunday to ease by Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament championship game.

∙ Speaking of the Aggies, please, please, please, Lord. Let A&M-Texas happen in the second round. Will it into happening, Greg Sankey. God bless the selection committee for its sense of drama by putting the very underrated Aggies in the Longhorns’ path. It’d be for bragging rights until the 2024 SEC football season, and, yes, it would mean more … animosity. And TV ratings. And fan engagement.

∙ I’m all in with the Big 12, and why not? Best the league has ever been from top to bottom. That doesn’t guarantee anything in March, and a few might be mentally and physically exhausted, but I’ve got all seven Big 12 teams winning at least one game and Texas, Kansas, Kansas State and TCU advancing to the Sweet 16 or beyond.

That said, Kansas is a tad overrated and too small. But I think the West region is very weak, and the Jayhawks will make it to the Elite Eight before losing to UConn, which too many people are sleeping on. The Huskies, remember, have beaten Alabama, Marquette, Creighton and Iowa State to name a few, and they own the boards.

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∙ Memphis intrigues the hell out of me. The Tigers, with former SMU star Kendric Davis and DeAndre Williams, looked impressive in taking out banged-up Houston. I got Memphis beating a good mid-major Florida Atlantic team and then knocking off Purdue, which just doesn’t have the backcourt to help out Edey.

∙ With its balanced scoring, Furman’s my sleeper and will beat Virginia and Charleston to advance to the Sweet 16.

∙ UCLA could have won it all before guard Jaylen Clark got hurt. And so did Adem Bona. A full-strength Bruins team could have cut down the nets.

∙ OK, here’s your 12-5 upset. I’ll tepidly take Drake over Miami whose star forward may be out and who may not have enough of ACC player of the year Isaiah Wong.

∙ Duke haters, beware. The Blue Devils are on fire, and we can’t even get mad at Coach K. I've got Duke getting to the Elite Eight before bowing out to Marquette.

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∙ I’m rooting for the Golden Eagles. Shaka Smart is one of my favorite people. I’m tickled that they won the Big East. George Mason transfer Tyler Kolek will become a household name.

They’re a 2 seed and will knock off Duke in the East region. Wouldn’t it be great to see a Marquette-Texas matchup in the national championship game?

It would, but Alabama will take out Shaka’s men in the semifinals.

∙ At least one Big 12 team will reach the Final Four, and I’ve already given that away. The other Big 12 teams that will go the furthest are Kansas State and Kansas. Love me some Markquis Nowell of the Wildcats.

∙ Something’s not right with Baylor. I don’t know what it is because Scott Drew’s backcourt is dynamite. I expect the Bears to be eliminated by Creighton in the second round.

∙ My potential big-time sleeper is Xavier. I got the Musketeers winning twice before colliding with Texas.

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Texas checks lots of boxes this year, so pick accordingly

And why not Texas to win it all?

The Final Four is in Houston, and the last time Texas was there for a second-weekend basketball tournament in 2008, it came within a whisker of getting to the Final Four before Memphis’ No. 1 seed ousted the Longhorns. Yes, you might say, that locale favors the Houston Cougars, but they’re not at full strength with Marcus Sasser’s strained groin. That could flare up again at any time, but a Texas-Houston matchup is marquee stuff.

Terry’s bunch has so much going for it.

Texas has momentum.

It ran through the Big 12 Tournament with ease, ripping apart Kansas for the second time in eight days and riding a four-game winning streak now. “We’re playing really well right now,” Terry said Sunday night.

Texas got Carr straight. We think.

He came through in the title game with 17 points against the Jayhawks. Even though he struggled big-time before that, he’s a confident dude. As Terry said, “There’s only going to be so many games when he’s not (on). But even when he wasn’t scoring, he’s still doing all the little things that sometimes don’t show up in the box score. He was defending, he was being a great leader and a great teammate.”

Texas’ frontline showed up.

Take a bow, Dylan Disu, the Big 12 Tournament MVP and the most improved player in the entire league since Christmas. He killed it in KC and has become an offensive threat. Christian Bishop showed he and Disu can play together in a very effective big lineup that could pay dividends.

Texas’ bench is one of the best in America.

Have you met Brock Cunningham? How about Morris, who had his coming-out party in Kansas City and is a budding star for next season. Oh, and don’t forget that Jabari Rice guy, who will return to his role as college basketball’s best sixth man now that Timmy Allen has been pronounced healthy.

The moment will not be too big for Terry. With a 19-7 record since taking over for Chris Beard, he has proven totally up to the task.

Texas’ defense has come around.

Its effectiveness has been up and down during the Big 12 season, but the Longhorns seem locked in. Their defensive efficiency rating has climbed all the way to No. 11 nationally, which coupled with a No. 18 offense tells you everything.

Texas is old.

This is inverse logic and one of the few times that old is good. The Longhorns have six super seniors, transfer seniors, graduate seniors. Heck, Cunningham’s older than dirt, and he’s coming back again next season.

Texas has guards.

Lots and lots of guards. If Carr isn’t truly out of his scoring funk, it might not even make a difference. Tyrese Hunter is peaking at just the right time. Rice has peaked all year long. And then there’s Morris.

Exactly how many reasons do you need? Seriously.

It’s a storybook season, and the final chapter may be best of all.

Coach gets fired at midseason. Assistant takes team on big run. Team wins its first national championship. Assistant coach gets full-time job. Cut down the nets. Cue the song.

It could happen.

If it doesn’t, I’ll go with Scottie Scheffler and four other guys to win it all. He always wins.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas at the top? Longhorns have the look of an NCAA champion