AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - With his team reeling heading into the NCAA tournament, Texas coach Rick Barnes sounds like a gardener trying to coax life out of a dying plant.

Keep watering and hope it sprouts, Barnes says.

Then again, sometimes it drowns.

Texas isn't dead yet, just suffering from a serious case of root rot.

Barnes has struggled to find the right balance between nurturing and tough love with a team talented enough to reach No. 1 this season. The Longhorns head into the NCAA tournament unranked and seeded No. 8 in the East Regional.

Texas (24-9) plays ninth-seeded Wake Forest (19-10) on Thursday in New Orleans.

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