For Texas Longhorns forward Brock Cunningham, an accomplishment as huge as winning the Big 12 Tournament title also comes with some moments he'd like to forget.
Cunningham and the rest of his Texas teammates wasted no time celebrating once the final buzzer sounded in Saturday's Big 12 Championship in Kansas City. The Longhorns had just stomped the defending national champion Kansas Jayhawks 76-56 to secure the program's second conference tournament crown in the last three seasons.
Cunningham is the only member of this year's team to be a part of the 2021 squad that won Texas' first-ever Big 12 tourney. But the thought of what happened after clearly leaves a sour and "terrible" taste in his mouth, one that he's likely to use as motivation as the Longhorns prepare for the NCAA Tournament.
"You only take this win for one night," Cunningham said after Saturday's win. "I've been a part of a team that won this tournament and then was on the receiving end of a terrible upset that first game. So we'll have this game for tonight and then we'll get back to work on Monday after Selection Sunday."
Of course, Cunningham is referring to the brutal 53-52 loss the third-seeded Longhorns suffered at the hands of the 14th-seeded Abilene Christian Wildcats in the Round of 64 in 2021. After winning the tournament for arguably the best conference in the nation, the Longhorns got a first-hand taste of the craziness that can happen in March.
A lot has changed in the two years since. Texas coach Shaka Smart was fired as a result of the loss, which brought in Chris Beard. But Beard was then arrested in December on third-degree felony assault charges, leaving Rodney Terry to fill in as the third head coach - interim or not - to lead the Longhorns in the past three seasons.
All of this goes to show how fragile things are, as the championship dream could end for the Longhorns in a blink if they let their guard down.
But as one of the leaders of the locker room, Cunningham will be there to remind his teammates of the pain he felt two years ago, and it's a safe bet this will be fueling his motivation as he and the Horns gear up for March Madness.
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