March Madness leads Marquette’s Shaka Smart, the former Longhorns coach, back to Texas again

Marquette coach Shaka Smart can't seem to escape his time in Texas when it comes to signature moments with the Golden Eagles in the NCAA Tournament. Smart is in the Sweet 16 for the first time since taking VCU from the First Four to the Final Four 13 years ago, and it's been two years since he reached the NCAAs in his first season at Marquette. Once again, Smart is about 200 miles from the campus of the Texas Longhorns, this time in Dallas following a first-round blowout loss to North Carolina in 2022 about 30 miles west in Fort Worth.