For Texas Longhorns forward Brock Cunningham, the 2023 NCAA Tournament brings some eerily similar feelings that he likely wants to forget.
But instead, he's choosing to remember the brutal loss he and his former Longhorns teammates experienced in 2021 when 14th-seeded Abilene Christian came away with a massive 53-52 upset win in the first round.
As the only player still on the roster from that 2021 squad, he's using the lessons he learned so second-seeded Texas can avoid a similar fate in Thursday's matchup with No. 15 Colgate in the Round of 64 at Wells Fargo Arena.
"Since that game, we won the Big 12 Tournament that year and then thought we couldn't be touched," Cunningham said Wednesday. "Then this year, winning the Big 12 Tournament, that first practice back in Austin, we spoke about the importance of living in the moment."
If the Longhorns "thought they couldn't be touched" in 2021, they'd had even more reason to feel that way this year for a team that is arguably even better.
After blowing out the defending national champion Kansas Jayhawks to close out the regular season, Texas did it for the second time in about a week's span to win the Big 12 Tournament.
Reason to feel cocky, right? Not for this experienced Texas team.
Cunningham and the Longhorns had no problem admitting that they were going to enjoy what was a sweet-tasting victory in the Big 12 Tournament final.
But in a way, it'll mean nothing again if the Longhorns fail to get past the first round for the third time in their last four March Madness appearances.
"We won the Big 12," Cunningham said. "We'll have it for the rest of our lives. We are moving on to something bigger and trying to catch bigger fish. So living where our feet are and preparing for the next game."
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