Tough finish to Texas men's basketball team regular season

The 20th ranked Longhorns have four regular season games left and two of their opponents are top 10 ranked foes.

AUSTIN, Texas - The 20th ranked Texas Longhorns men's basketball team, playing without a key player, have four regular-season games left and two of their opponents are top 10 ranked foes.

Junior forward and key contributor Tre Mitchell has been away from the team due to personal reasons and has missed the team's last two games. Head basketball coach Chris Beard says there's no time frame on when Mitchell will return and that he and the team are "just concerned with Tre (Mitchell), the person. So, really haven't talked much about basketball with him, just making sure that he knows that we support him."

With or without Mitchell, the Longhorns look to finish the regular-season strong but it's going to be tough. They play TCU tonight (2/23) and finish with games against Baylor and Kansas. Beard says he knows this home stretch is important with the Big 12 and NCAA Tournaments just around the corner.

"I think above all it's great to kind of be in a great mental place this time of year. I think a lot of teams the grind can kind of take you over and some special teams, the grind can kind of springboard you into the best time of year. Look, these guys put up with me all season long to get to March and have some fun and I've put up with a few of them all year to get to March to have some fun.," Beard says.

"So, I think it's just important that we understand that this is the best time of year and we have to find that positive culture, that joy and that eagerness to go out and play," Beard adds.

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