Texas suffers tough home overtime loss to No. 4 Houston

The Longhorns are down; unless they get things together soon, they might be out, too.

Texas lost in overtime to Associated Press No. 4 Houston on Monday, 76-72, dropping it to 3-5 in the Big 12 and 14-7 overall.

Houston senior guard Jamal Shead led all scorers with 25 points and added eight rebounds, four assists and a steal. Texas was led by guard Max Abmas, who had 20 points, five rebounds, five assists and a steal.

In Joe Lunardi's most recent Bracketology for ESPN, the Longhorns are one of the last four teams in the NCAA Tournament and are projected to play in the Round of 68 against Boise State.

As difficult as the Big 12 is, Texas could still slip out of contention. It has seven more games against ranked opponents, including five on the road: at No. 25 TCU on Saturday, Houston, No. 8 Kansas, No. 15 Texas Tech and No. 18 Baylor.

Per ESPN's Basketball Power Index, the Longhorns are 29th in the country, so if they can muster another win or two against a ranked team (they already have wins against Oklahoma and Baylor), they should be in good shape for an at-large bid.

That doesn't change the fact that they squandered an opportunity to get their signature win of the season on Monday night.

Texas could have strengthened its resume for the NCAA Tournament with a win against the Cougars. The Longhorns missed that chance; they can't afford to have much more slip through their hands.