Rodney Terry unfazed by Longhorns fans booing at Moody Center but missing NCAAs would be far worse

As frustrating as things were at times during Rick Barnes’ final years or the rocky moments of Shaka Smart’s tenure, Texas fans always held their composure in check.

The atmosphere changed Tuesday night when boos were heard inside Moody Center when coach Rodney Terry’s name was announced during pre-game introductions.

It was an off-brand moment for the Texas fan base but extremely revealing, too.

Longhorns fans are frustrated with a team that has now lost four of its last five. Texas (15-10, 4-8 SEC) needs a drastic change in the final six games of the regular season just to make the NCAA Tournament.

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“I don’t pay attention to that kind of stuff. I didn’t hear any boos,” Terry said after the 103-80 loss to No. 2 Alabama at Moody Center. “I don’t know, maybe it was boos.

“To me personally, I'm all about trying to get my team better. It’s about focusing on those guys and focusing on what we have to do as a program to continue to stay the course and keep working. I don’t get caught up in outside noise. If I’m worried about what people are saying or this or that, that’s not my job.

“There’s not anything anybody can say or do to me, OK?,” Terry continued. “I’ve got the No. 1 protector in God. I’ve got a stong faith. I’m a Christian guy. Nothing anybody can say can ever bring me down, you know? So I don’t get caught up in that. I didn’t hear it if that was the case.”

The Horns thought the Big 12 was tough. Now, they’ve entered into a league that features the top three teams in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll — No. 1 Auburn, No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 Florida. Barnes’ Tennessee club is ranked fifth, and Texas A&M sits eighth.

UT’s next opponent, Kentucky, checks in at No. 15. The Wildcats will be in Austin this weekend in what is sure to be a wild atmosphere with Big Blue Nation.

The SEC is strong enough that any team with a sub-.500 league record can make the NCAAs. But the Horns may test that theory to the extreme.

“I always say from the start of the season and as we work our way through the season, every game we play is an NCAA Tournament game in terms of building your resume,” Terry said. “In this league, every night, you’re playing a quality opponent. That’s the No. 2 team in the country right now, and we’re going to get a team on Saturday that’s always been in the top 10 at some point during this season as well.”

Kentucky is the only game on the schedule during a 10-day span where Texas needs to get healthy and get better, quick. Devon Pryor and Arthur Kaluma are both battling injuries that caused them to miss time Tuesday night, and the Horns need both back on the floor.

This is only Terry’s third season at the controls; it’s just his second full season. Terry took over for the fired Chris Beard in January 2023. Terry guided Beard’s team to the Elite Eight that season, and then Terry took his own team to the NCAAs the following year.

Missing out this season feels like a supreme step backward. Athletic director Chris Del Conte’s margin for grace would be awfully thin at that point.

Whether he heard the boos or not, Terry is going to plow ahead.

“You just keep your head down, you keep staying the course, you keep working and you’ve got to make it happen.”