Texas-Baylor game important to NCAA Tournament seed — what to know

AUSTIN (KXAN/AP) — The No. 21 Texas Longhorns dropped a spot in this week's Associated Press poll despite a 2-0 week with wins against TCU and West Virginia.

At this point in the season, the voters' rankings don't mean all that much — especially with the week of games ahead for the Longhorns. Texas will close out the regular season this week against the best teams in the Big 12.

The Longhorns host No. 3 Baylor Monday night in the final men's basketball game at the Frank Erwin Center. On Saturday, Texas is on the road at No. 6 Kansas in the regular-season finale.

Even one win this week will boost Texas' NCAA tournament seed, which is the main focus as the calendar turns to March for the sport's most-important month.

Texas suffered its worst loss of the season in the first meeting against Baylor on Feb. 12. The Longhorns weren't competitive, losing 80-63 in Waco.

Baylor is eyeing the conference title after a massive win against Kansas over the weekend moved the Bears a half-game behind the Jayhawks. After the win, Baylor was pushed up to the No. 1 seed line, according to the bracket experts. Texas is currently projected as a No. 4 seed in the tournament, according to ESPN expert Joe Lunardi.

Lunardi wrote on Twitter that whichever team loses Monday will drop a seed, meaning Texas would fall to a No. 5 seed and Baylor to a No. 2 seed.

You can watch Texas take on Baylor Monday at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

Next week, both teams will head to Kansas City for the Big 12 Tournament. Currently, Baylor is second in the conference, while the Longhorns are fourth. Selection Sunday is 13 days away.

AP Poll - Feb. 28

1. Gonzaga (46)	24-3	1504	1
2. Arizona	25-3	1360	2
3. Baylor (4)	24-5	1342	10
4. Duke (11)	25-4	1306	7
5. Auburn	25-4	1268	3
6. Kansas	23-5	1224	5
7. Kentucky	23-6	1215	6
8. Purdue	24-5	1129	4
9. Providence	24-3	1021	11
10. Wisconsin	23-5	865	13
11. Villanova	21-7	861	8
12. Texas Tech	22-7	850	9
13. Tennessee	21-7	770	17
14. Houston	24-4	759	14
14. Arkansas	23-6	759	18
16. Southern Cal	25-4	557	16
17. UCLA	21-6	498	12
18. UConn	21-7	480	21
19. Saint Mary's (Cal)	24-6	449	23
20. Illinois	20-8	383	15
21. Texas	21-8	364	20
22. Murray St.	28-2	333	19
23. Ohio St.	18-8	191	22
24. Iowa	20-8	99	25
25. Alabama	19-10	90	24

Others receiving votes: Boise St. 56, Davidson 20, Colorado St. 19, South Dakota St. 12, Notre Dame 9, LSU 7, Michigan St. 6, San Diego St. 5, Marquette 4, Iowa St. 4, North Texas 3, Vermont 2, N Iowa 1.