Enquirer wire services

Texas (26-6)

Location: Austin, Texas.

Enrollment: 52,273.

How the Longhorns got to New Orleans: Defeated No. 16 seed UNC-Asheville 82-61 in the first round; defeated No. 9 seed Purdue 77-67 in second round; defeated No. 5 seed Connecticut 82-78 in regional semifinals; defeated No. 7 seed Michigan State in regional championship.

Why they got there: This is a team with a star player in T.J. Ford, a perimeter defensive stopper (Royal Ivey), a tenacious rebounder (James Thomas), a scorer (Brandon Mouton) and a slew of role players who add up to a 10-deep roster. With minor blips, they have played with consistent purpose. Sometimes flashy, always businesslike, they have a tendency not to put teams away until late in games, when, in tournament competition, they have played their best.

NCAA Tournament history: This is Texas' 21st appearance in the tournament, in which the Longhorns are 23-23. Texas reached the Final Four in 1943 and 1947, but the furthest it had advanced in the modern era was an Elite Eight berth under Tom Penders in 1990 when the Longhorns lost to Arkansas.

Last Final Four trip: Texas advanced in 1947 out of an eight-team field by defeating Wyoming 42-40 before losing to Oklahoma 55-54.

Coach: Only 23 coaches have taken three different teams to the NCAA Tournament, and Rick Barnes is one of them. He coached at Providence for six years and Clemson for four before taking over the Longhorns in 1998. All five of Barnes' Texas teams have gone to the NCAA Tournament, and last year the Longhorns were in the Sweet 16. He was an Ohio State assistant in 1986-87. Barnes, in his fifth season at Texas (116-49), is 318-183 in 16 overall seasons.

Star player: Point guard Ford last season became the first freshman to lead the nation in assists and won the Naismith Award as college basketball's player of the year. Ford was named the South Regional's most outstanding player.

Role player: Junior forward Brian Boddicker could start but prefers to come in off the bench. His 3-point shooting ability brings the player who guards him out on the floor and frequently opens up the middle for guards such as Ivey and Mouton to get put-backs. Boddicker is the team's fourth-leading rebounder.

Trivia time: "Texas Fight," in 1990 was judged the ninth-best fight song in the country.

Fun player facts: Sophomore G Sydmill Harris is from Hoofddorp, the Netherlands. . . . The Longhorns have as many starters from New York (two) as they do from Texas. . . . F Boddicker was a teammate of Maryland F Ryan Randle's at Duncanville (Texas) High. And Texas G Terrell Ross was a Randle teammate at Allegany CC in Maryland.