Tag: Andrew Jones

Texas Basketball: Three Takeaways From Winning Streak

The Texas Longhorns men’s basketball team suddenly has life as they chase an opportunity to return to the NCAA Tournament.

The Texas Longhorns men’s basketball team has been on a roll as of late. The team led by Shaka Smart was coming off four-straight losses including a 29-point embarrassing blowout from Iowa State. It was looking like they might not win another game this season with out how the team was playing. Smart needed a spark to save the season and his job, what was once hopeless suddenly has life.

Unlikely Heroes

Will Baker. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to see Baker step up against the TCU Horned Frogs, after all he was a top five recruit in the state and a four-star prospect. After averaging just two points a game this year, Baker exploded for 20 points. He was the second-leading scorer in that game nailing four of six three pointers. After the game it felt like Smart was trolling the faithful dropping a John Beilein reference about Baker’s play.

“A shooting five man changes the world”- Shaka Smart on Will Baker’s performance

Backcourt Help

Baker isn’t the only one that has stepped up, Andrew Jones has really made his presence felt on the offensive side of the ball. Jones has absolute caught fire from behind the arc shooting 57.8 percent. It certainly feels like he is becoming the old Andrew Jones once again after a fight with Leukemia. Averaging 18.3 points per game during the streak has been a huge lift for this team.

In the team’s last two wins, Courtney Ramey has really stepped up his game to help Texas win three in a row. Scoring a combined 47 points over the last two wins, he led the team in scoring against Kansas State and second to Jones against West Virginia. His performances have breathed life into a team that was appearing to just be going through the motions.

Big 12 Teams Around Them

Texas was sitting at 4-8 in the conference before jumping up into a tie with the Mountaineers for that fourth spot in the conference. The Longhorns are looking more like they could squeak into the big dance. It wasn’t all the Longhorns play, teams who were above them have started to falter.

TCU who started out 3-0 in conference play, has fallen flat on their face as the season has gone on. Since that point they are 3-8, up until this week the Frogs had been projected over Texas in most major Bracketology projections. The Longhorns also getting some help from their bitter rivals.

The Oklahoma Sooners were also a team that many felt that would be a lock for the tournament, but they have fallen on hard times as of late. Losers of their last three games has put Texas ahead of them in the standings and has given the Longhorns hope once again.

 

Texas Picks Up Huge Win At Home Against West Virginia

UT’s tournament hopes are still alive after a massive win against WVU. With the third win in a row, UT is now tied for fourth in the Big 12.

Even though it has been a brutal season for Texas, their tournament hopes are still alive after a massive win against West Virginia, 67-57. It is the third win in a row for the Longhorns, making them 7-8 and tied for fourth place in the Big 12.

Once again, guard play is the reason Texas got the victory. This time, the main man was Andrew Jones, dropping a career-high 22 points. Jones was a threat from behind the three-point line, going 5-9 from deep. His right-hand man was Courtney Ramey, who had 21 points on 9-14 shooting from the field.

Texas has struggled to get to the free-throw line all season, ranking dead last in the country. Against the Mountaineers, the Longhorns attempted 20 shots from the charity strike, making 14 of them. Those numbers are huge improvements for Shaka Smart’s team and must continue in the final three games of the season.

The downfall of West Virginia was their poor three-point and free-throw shooting. Sean McNeil was the only player to hit a shot from deep, going 3-3. Everyone else was 0-8, shooting 27.3%. From the foul line, Derek Culver really struggled, going 2-8. As a whole, the Mountaineers were 10-21, well below their season average of 64.2%.

Now for Texas, comes an even bigger set of games coming on the road. They will now travel to Lubbock and Norman to face off against Texas Tech and Oklahoma, two teams considered in the picture of the NCAA Tournament. Even if they go 1-1 in those two games, their resume is boosted and they a firmly on the bubble.

To get those wins, Andrew Jones, Courtney Ramey, and Matt Coleman must continue to play at the elite level they have been. They have been scoring at a level that makes the Longhorns worthy of an NCAA Tournament bid.

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Will Baker and Andrew Jones Lead Longhorns To Victory

Will Baker and Andrew Jones combined for 41 points as they led the Texas Longhorns to victory over TCU for the season sweep.

It was all Will Baker early on in this game against the TCU Horned Frogs, Baker had scored just 16 points all season before Wednesday night. Baker came to play with Jase Febres and Jericho Sims still out for the Longhorns. He finished the game with a season-high 20 points.

The Longhorns fell behind at halftime 38-36 but a strong second half helped lead the Longhorns to a season sweep of TCU. Texas outscored the Frogs by 16 in the second half for the win, down the stretch Andrew Jones took over as the go to option. Jones finished with a game-high 21 points.

The big story in this game was the bench play from Baker and Kai Jones. The duo combined for 30 points, with Jones providing 10 points, six rebounds and two blocks to give the Longhorns a presence in the paint.

As has been the case for Texas all year, live by the three and die by the three. The Longhorns shot 60 percent from behind the arc and they limited the Frogs to just three of 18 from deep. Baker hit four of six and Jones added three of five to lead the team.

Texas has just five games left on the season with Kansas State coming up on Saturday as they look to sweep the Wildcats.

Texas Basketball: Three Reasons They Fell to Texas Tech

The Texas Longhorns fell to the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Saturday afternoon. Three reasons why the Horns were unable to hold the lead.

The Texas Longhorns have started out back to back games with impressive first halves that ended with leads over Kansas and Texas Tech. In both games they couldn’t hold the lead. For Texas, those losses could ultimately what leads to a new coach in 2020-2021.

Scoring Droughts

Too often in the game against the Red Raiders, Texas would go long stretches especially in the second half without scoring. This allowed them to get right back in the game after being down by 16 at one point.

From the 14:53 mark of the second until the 10:27 mark, Texas failed to score and the Red Raiders went on a 9-0 run to tie the game. This was a huge reason that it was close for most of the second half.

Forcing Turnovers

When Texas built the lead early on in the game it was a combination of Andrew Jones shooting and forcing turnovers by Texas Tech. In the first half alone the Longhorns forced 11 turnovers that allowed them build their lead.

In the second half it was quite the opposite as they only forced two. The Longhorns weren’t able to force many but in fact turned it over nine times in the second half. Matt Coleman had three while Jericho Sims and Jones added two more apiece.

Taking Low Percentage Shots

In the first half it felt as if Jones couldn’t miss a shot but as the game wore on, he didn’t have that same magic for the Longhorns. As a whole Texas took too many ill-advised three pointers. They shot 23 three pointers with only six finding the net for 26.1 percent from the floor.

The combination of A1J and Coleman shot a combine 14-33 from the floor (42.2 percent). They combined for 35 of the Longhorns 57 points. Their poor shooting throughout the second is a big reason why Tech was able to outscore them 43-26 and steal the game on the road.

The Longhorns now set their sights on the number one ranked Baylor Bears on Big Monday. With just eight games remaining on the schedule and a 14-9 (4-6) record, time is running out on Shaka Smart and the Longhorns.

Another Second Half Meltdown Dooms Longhorns

The Texas Longhorns built a 16-point lead in the first half but their second half allowed Texas Tech to steal one on the road.

In the first matchup of Texas Tech and Texas, after a quick layup by Jahmi’us Ramsey, the Red Raiders took the quick lead. The Longhorns had a hard time hitting a shot as the teams struggled to score in the first three minutes of the game. A block by Kai Jones got Texas into transition and found Matt Coleman III all alone for the three.

It was stifling defense and Andrew Jones early on for the Longhorns. Jones was able to get 11 of the first 18 points for Texas. On defense he was getting steals, blocking shots to provide all the energy for Texas. Texas forced 10 turnovers by Tech in the first 12 minutes of the first half. That led Texas to a 14-0 run to extend the lead to 22-8 with under eight minutes to go in the half.

After falling down by 16 late in the first half, Tech went on an 8-0 to cut the lead in half. It was up to Jones to build the lead back to double digits after drawing a foul to get him to the line. In the fist half A1J was responsible for 16 of the Longhorns 31 first half points as they led at the break 31-19.

It was Texas Tech in the first half with the sloppy play that led to 11 first half turnovers. The Longhorns returned the favor early on in the second half with three quick turnovers that allowed Tech to close within seven after a Davide Moretti three-pointer, 37-30 with 16:00 to go.

Royce Hamm Jr built the lead back up to nine following an assist from A. Jones. The Longhorns would score on a Donovan Williams layup to go up 41-32 before Texas would go on a four plus minute scoring drought that let Texas Tech right back in the game. They would tie it up at 41 with over 10 minutes left. Hamm would stop the drought with an offensive rebound and slam to retake the lead after Kamaka Hepa misses a layup.

After back and forth between the two teams, it became the Matt Coleman show as they headed to a finish. Coleman scored six of his 17 points in a three minute stretch to retake the lead at 54-52. Coleman would drive into the lane before he found Courtney Ramey all alone for a three-point shot to jump back in front of Tech, 57-56.

The final 2:06 was less than memorable for the Longhorns, especially the final 31 seconds. In an attempt to retake the lead, Coleman attempted three layups and was blocked all three times by Tech forward T.J. Holyfield. The Longhorns would fall at home 62-57 after four consecutive Moretti free throws sealed the deal.  Andrew Jones led the Longhorns with 18.

Texas gets big win against Oklahoma State

In a must-win scenario for Texas, they delivered on the road against Oklahoma State. Winning 76-64, it was an all-around effort from UT.

In a must-win scenario for the Longhorns, they delivered on the road in Stillwater against Oklahoma State. Winning 76-64, it was an all-around effort from Texas, getting multiple players involved.

With five different players in double figures, Jase Febres and Kamaka Hepa led the way with 15 points. Between the two of them, they shot a combined 6-13 from the three-point line, making six out of the team’s 15 threes.

Guards Courtney Ramey and Matt Coleman had 14 and 10 points respectively, making four Texas starters in double figures. Ramey added nine rebounds and six assists, leading the team in both. He also went 4-8 from behind the arc and Coleman went 2-3.

Off the bench, Andrew Jones had 12 points, the most he has had since the Lone Star Showdown against Texas A&M. Playing 31 minutes, he also added three rebounds and an assist.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Longhorns held their opponent to under 70 points for the 11th time in 16 games. Now only allowing 60.9 points per game, the Texas defense continues to be one of the best in the Big 12.

Now sitting at 2-2, in the conference, it only gets tougher for Texas. The next two games are against two of the best in the conference, Kansas and West Virginia. Hosting Kansas at home on Saturday, Jan 18 and traveling mid-week to Morgantown, the Longhorns will need to find a way to get a win against a highly ranked team before facing LSU in the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Jan. 25.

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