Shaka Smart's NCAA Tournament record lacks wins at Texas, but it's littered with unlucky breaks, too

Zero wins in the NCAA Tournament.

It's a fair indictment for a coach's six-year tenure at Texas, a resource-laden Big 12 program. Shaka Smart has coached three first-round NBA draft picks during his time in Austin (and it's about to be four, maybe five), and two (probably three) were lottery picks.

But Smart's track record has been littered with some pretty remarkable doses of bad luck. Surely that 0-fer statistic will hover around Smart's hiring as Marquette men's basketball coach, but consider this:

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2016

Smart's first year on the job came to an end at the hands of another Wisconsinite. Paul Jesperson of Northern Iowa hit a ridiculous half-court buzzer beater that gave the 11th-seeded Panthers a 75-72 win over Texas. 

The Longhorns finished the year 20-13. The shot would probably live on as one of the greatest in NCAA Tournament history if not for Northern Iowa's complete collapse and double-overtime loss to Texas A&M in the second round.

2017

This was Smart's worst year in Texas, with the Longhorns finishing 11-22 for the year and 4-14 in the Big 12, stuck in last place.

The team played without the previous season's leading scorer and All-Big 12 point guard, Isaiah Taylor, who elected to skip his final year of eligibility and declare for the NBA Draft (he was not drafted though briefly saw NBA action in 2017 and 2018).

The Longhorns' new leading scorer, Tevin Mack (14.8 points, 3.4 rebounds per game) was suspended twice and was released from his scholarship in February. He subsequently transferred to Alabama (and then Clemson as a graduate transfer).

2018

Once again, Texas lost its leading scorer, and it was a particularly emotional loss.

Andrew Jones, who averaged 13.5 points per game through the first 10 games, was diagnosed with leukemia and missed the rest of the year (he finished chemotherapy in August 2018 and briefly returned in 2018-19 before another round of treatment; he came back full in 2020-21).

Still, Texas went 19-15 overall and 8-10 in league play, earning a 10th seed in the NCAA Tournament and facing off with No. 7 Nevada.

The Longhorns lost another heartbreaker, an 87-83 setback in overtime. Nevada erased a 14-point deficit in the second half, and Caleb Martin of Nevada hit all three of his three-point attempts in overtime. 

Nevada reached the Sweet 16 and its coach, Eric Musselman, would leave for Arkansas after the following season.

2019

Texas finished 21-16 and 8-10 in the Big 12, missing the NCAA Tournament.

But, the Longhorns still got ample opportunity in the postseason, earning a No. 2 seed in the National Invitation Tournament and going on to win the whole thing, toppling top-seeded TCU in the semis, 58-44, and Lipscomb in the final, 81-66.

2020

Without the leading three scorers from the previous season, the Longhorns were 19-12 and 9-9 in the Big 12 and a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament before the COVID-19 stoppage.

2021

In Smart's best year, the Longhorns finished 19-8 and 11-6 in the Big 12, closing the year ranked No. 9 in the nation.

Prior to the NCAA Tournament, the Longhorns won six of their final seven games, winning the Big 12 tournament with a 91-86 victory over Oklahoma State. 

But, the Longhorns were bogged down against Abilene Christian in the NCAA Tournament and lost to the 14th seed, 53-52. A foul with 2 seconds left allowed ACU's Joe Pleasant to hit the tying and winning free throws. 

VCU setbacks

Smart's NCAA bad luck extends back to his final two years at Virginia Commonwealth in 2014 and 2015, both overtime losses in the first round. In the latter season, his seventh-seeded team fell 75-72 in overtime to 10th-seeded Ohio State, a team with three future NBA players on the roster. Traveon Graham's shot at the buzzer in regulation bounced out.

In 2014, it was another overtime loss to Stephen F. Austin, 77-75, and this one came via unreal circumstances. The fifth-seeded Rams were ahead by 4 points when Stephen F. Austin's Desmond Haymon converted on a 4-point play with 3.6 seconds left to force the extra session.

"Miracles truly do happen," said Stephen F. Austin coach Brad Underwood, now of course at the helm for Illinois.

VCU missed two free throws with 10 seconds left to even allow for the chance. Haymon was fouled by JaQuan Lewis and sank the shot, and Lewis later missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer in overtime. 

VCU won first-round games each of the previous two seasons, including as the 12th seed over fifth-seeded Wichita State in 2012. In the second round, Indiana edged VCU, 63-61, when a blocked shot bounced right back to the Hoosiers' Will Sheehey, who sank a go-ahead basket with 12 seconds left. 

A good break helps, too

On the other side of the coin, Smart's greatest NCAA accomplishment was leading VCU to the Final Four in 2011. It should be noted that the Rams were among the last teams in the field that year and considered a surprise inclusion by many analysts. 

VCU may still have not made the cut were it not for the introduction of the "First Four" that season, an expansion of the field from 65 teams to 68. VCU beat USC in a "First Four" game, 59-46, serving as a springboard to the Final Four run.

The five wins VCU landed in that tournament helped boost Smart's overall NCAA Tournament record to 7-8.

JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.