I was walking into the Moody Center court area on Sunday when I received a tap on the back.

“We needed a couple of balls to bounce our way,” said a familiar voice.

It was Texas basketball coach Rodney Terry, whose Horns had just arrived back on campus 90 minutes earlier after a plan mishap forced them to stay overnight in Charlotte.

I told him basically what many in Longhorn Nation was thinking during those last three excruciating minutes of Saturday night’s 62-58 loss to Tennessee in the second round of the Midwest Regional: “You guys were right there.”

We’ll all remember Dylan Disu’s potential game-tying leaner that just refused to fall with the Horns down 55-53 and Tyrese Hunter’s put-back that fell short.

Mostly, we’ll remember the turnovers and the feeling that the Horns were hanging around for a reason despite the errors. They committed 17 miscues, six by point guard Tyrese Hunter, which put them behind the eight ball for most of the game.

With all the mistakes and lack of offense, the Horns were in position to steal one, I told Terry.

RT is one of the good people in the business. It would have been great to see the Horns play Creighton in the Sweet 16, but it wasn't to be.

Next year's team will take on a different look but will return a promising young guard in Chendall Weaver and a capable big man in Kadin Shedrick. Dallas shooting guard Tre Jonson has star potential and then there’s the portal, where the Horns have to be better. There should be some tasty morsels available this offseason.

Terry nodded and gave a shake of the head that every coach except one will give by the time this wonderful tournament is over.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas basketball coach Rodney Terry and team return to Austin