The wait until Sunday surely will feel like forever for the Texas Longhorns, who left their home court just last week to Oklahoma fans chanting “NIT! NIT!” Now here they sit, a legitimate NCAA Tournament hopeful because of what they did in the SEC Tournament.

Michael Shapiro is a sports reporter for Chron, covering the Astros, Rockets, Texans and every team in town. Michael is a Denver native and graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, and a noted fan of pull-up threes, wide-receiver passes and a good hot fudge sundae.

Texas’ first SEC Tournament appearance had its moments, with wins over Texas A&M and Oklahoma marking a successful debut. But the Longhorns’ run ended Friday in an 83-72 loss to No. 8 Tennessee in the quarterfinals.