Tag: big 12 basketball

Texas can take pressure off itself with win vs. No. 12 Iowa State

Tuesday’s home matchup against Iowa State is crucial to the Longhorns’ postseason chances.

We are nearing the final stretch of the college basketball season. With the Texas Longhorns (15-7) firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble every game matters.

Tuesday night’s home matchup against the No. 12 Iowa State Cyclones is of added importance. With a remaining schedule that sees Texas facing six ranked opponents, the team will want to get ranked wins out of the way.

The Longhorns face the Cyclones in Austin. It is one of two remaining home games against ranked opponents with the other against No. 23 Oklahoma. The other four ranked matchups involve road trips to face No. 4, Houston, No. 8 Kansas, No. 15 Texas Tech and No. 18 Baylor. Texas would be fortunate to win one of those four road battles.

For a realistic shot at the NCAA Tournament, the Longhorns need to win five of their final nine games to finish at 9-9 in Big 12 play. An 8-10 conference record could potentially get the team into the Big Dance, but probably in a play-in game.

The game against Iowa State could determine Texas’ NCAA Tournament fate. Tuesday will reveal whether or not the team brings the urgency it brought against TCU.

Looking at what Texas needs to do to make the NCAA Tournament

There’s a straightforward path to making the NCAA Tournament for Texas.

Buckle up. The roller coaster for Texas basketball still has nine games left.

The Longhorns currently sit at 15-7 overall and 4-5 in games against the Big 12 conference. It has us wondering what it will take for the team to make the NCAA Tournament.

The resume is stronger than it was when conference play began. Texas has road wins over Cincinnati, No. 23 Oklahoma and No. 25 TCU. Add an impressive home win over No. 18 Baylor and the team is within striking distance of reaching the NCAA Tournament.

There’s a possibility that 8-10 in conference play gets the Longhorns into the tournament at 19-12. Reaching the 20-win mark probably makes a tournament bid significantly more likely. Here’s what the remaining schedule looks like for Texas.

  • No. 12 Iowa State
  • West Virginia
  • at No. 4 Houston
  • Kansas State
  • at No. 8 Kansas
  • at No. 15 Texas Tech
  • Oklahoma State
  • at No. 18 Baylor
  • No. 23 Oklahoma

There might not be an easy win on the schedule. The Longhorns have already lost to West Virginia this season and have a tendency to drop games against Oklahoma State in recent years. The margin for error is slim, but four or five more wins is doable. It’ll be an uphill battle.

The heated competition within the conference has seen every team suffer a third conference loss on the season. With plenty to play for no team should be expected to take its foot off the gas. Despite it all, a 5-4 finish gets the Longhorns into the tournament. They will look to earn those five wins over the next few weeks.

Texas secures third Big 12 road victory in win over TCU, 77-66

Road warrior Longhorns take home third road victory of Big 12 play.

The Texas basketball team found its footing on Saturday after a heartbreaking overtime loss to the Houston Cougars. The Longhorns earned a 77-66 win over the TCU Horned Frogs in Fort Worth.

Entering the game, the Horned Frogs were 16-5 and on the positive end of the Big 12 standings at 5-3. The team held a 10-1 record at home on the year leading up to the game. Texas just wanted, and needed, this game more.

The Longhorns improve to 15-7 and 4-5 in conference play after a forgettable start to their Big 12 slate. The game saw Texas rally from an early 10-point deficit and go on a 37-16 run to close the first half. It was that level of resilience the team needed after digging an early hole in Big 12 play.

Texas shot a scorching 50.9% from the field as well as 50% from three-point range. Surprisingly, TCU shot even better from outside the three point arc with a 58.3% rate. The combination of strong shooting and interior presence was the difference.

The Longhorns out-rebounded TCU, 34-21. It was a welcomed change after watching Texas get bullied at the backboard in past games.

Texas guard Max Abmas and forward Dylan Disu had special performances for the game. Abmas led the team in scoring with 21 points followed by Disu with 15 and forward Dillon Mitchell with 13 points on 66% shooting.

The team’s 13-for-15 free throw rate adds to perhaps the Longhorns’ most complete performance of the year. They will look to stay in the win column in a tough matchup against Iowa State on Tuesday.

Sooners end two game skid with 20-point win over Kansas State

The Oklahoma Sooners ended their two-game losing streak with an 20-point win over the Kansas State Wildcats.

The Oklahoma Sooners bounced back from a rough week at home to earn another road win in Big 12 play with a 73-53 win over the Kansas State Wildcats.

Oklahoma scored the first eight points of the game, with Jalon Moore leading the way with five points in the early going. The Sooners defense held Kansas State to just three points over the first 10 minutes and OU was able to build an 11-point lead on the backs of a strong start from Moore and a rebound game for Javian McCollum.

The Sooners were in complete control of the game throughout the first half, limiting the Wildcats to 23.1% shooting and just 19 points. Despite more free throw struggles, the Sooners held a 16-point advantage at the break.

In the first half, Moore was 6 of 7 from the floor for 15 points and McCollum had eight points on 3 of 5 shooting. The Sooners shot 50% from the field and 37.5% from three as a team.

In the second half, the Sooners never let it get close. Even as Kansas State started hitting shots, Oklahoma was able to keep them at arm’s length, never letting the lead get closer than seven points.

After Tylor Perry made two free throws to cut the Sooners margin to its smallest since the five-minute mark of the first half, Oklahoma went on a 22 to 9 run to close the game with the 20-point road win.

Moore finished the night with 23 points on 8 of 11 from the field. He was also 2 of 3 from three-point range to lead the Sooners. Moore also recorded nine rebounds, five of which came on the offensive glass.

McCollum, who’d struggled in the Sooners losses to Texas and Texas Tech, came back with a strong performance in the win. He was 6 of 13 from the floor and 9 of 10 from the free throw line in his 21-point performance.

Sam Godwin was the only other Sooners’ starter in double-figures, chipping in 11 points on 4 of 6 shooting. Godwin also was big on the boards, grabbing seven rebounds, including four on the offensive end. Rivaldo Soares led the Sooners reserve unit with 10 points off the bench.

It was a pivotal win for the Sooners, who had lost four of their last six coming into the game. The Sooners to improve to 16-5 (4-4, Big 12) on the season. Kansas State falls to 14-7 and 4-4 in Big 12 play.

Now they set their sites on a UCF squad that beat the Kansas Jayhawks in Orlando just a few weeks ago. Oklahoma next takes the floor at UCF on Saturday.

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Texas comes up short in overtime vs. Houston, 76-72

The recurring theme of the Texas basketball season following a close Houston loss is “too little, too late.”

Texas gave a valiant effort against the Houston Cougars on Monday night. Like too many times in the young season, the Longhorns came up just short.

Houston built a sizable lead early on in the game. The Cougars led by as many as 12 points in the first half and held a 41-30 lead early in the second half before the Longhorns battled their way back into the game.

After falling behind by 11 points with over 18 minutes left in the second half, Texas stormed back building as much as a 54-48 lead. Houston answered back with a 9-0 run taking a lead of its own.

The Longhorns fought to the end taking the game to overtime. The Cougars outlasted them.

The recurring theme of the game for Texas was consistently falling just short of success. On too many defensive possessions, the Longhorns allowed offensive rebounds and second opportunities. On too many offensive possessions, the team settled for bad shots that missed.

In the grand scheme of the season, the Houston game isn’t going to be what prevents Texas from reaching its goals. Nevertheless, early losses to West Virginia and UCF made this game of added importance. The Longhorns simply couldn’t get it done.

Point guard and top scorer Max Abmas led Texas with 20 points on the game. Starting forward Dillon Mitchell added 16 points followed by fellow forward Dylan Disu’s 14-point game.

The Longhorns will next travel to Fort Worth to face No. 25 TCU. They fall to 14-7 on the season.

Texas basketball takes on No. 4 Houston on Monday night

The Texas Longhorns look to bounce back from their BYU loss against Houston on Monday night.

We have Monday night basketball in Austin. The Texas Longhorns (14-6) take on the No. 4 Houston Cougars (18-2) on ESPN.

The Cougars are beatable though it won’t be an easy task. The team’s two losses came on the road in Big 12 play against Iowa State (16-4) and TCU (15-5). Since the two losses, Houston is on a four-game winning streak with home victories over Texas Tech, UCF and Kansas State and a seven-point road win over BYU.

Texas will see one familiar face from another Big 12 squad in the game. Baylor transfer L.J. Cryer leads the Houston scoring attack with 15.2 points per game on a 40.7% field goal percentage and 38.7% three point shooting rate. Fellow guards Jamal Shead and Emmanuel Sharp average double-digit points opposite Cryer.

The Longhorns are looking to bounce back from a loss on Saturday against the BYU Cougars in Provo, 84-72. Certainly, there’s a lot of basketball left, but Texas’ margin for error is thinner after the loss.

Undoubtedly, Texas will need to play better defense than it did in its last game against BYU. With a road trip to face Houston on the horizon, the Longhorns might need to capitalize on the opportunity to add a resumé-boosting victory at home.

Generally speaking, a 10-loss or less season is a good barometer for a successful year for Texas in college basketball. For the Longhorns, that means a 7-4 finish in Big 12 play after starting 3-4 in conference. In short, that kind of ending to the season is unlikely with a loss on Monday given that eight of the team’s remaining 11 games are against ranked opponents.

Reserve guard Chendall Weaver could play a role in a Texas upset. Weaver broke out against Oklahoma with an attacking double-digit scoring night off the bench. He followed an 11-point performance against Oklahoma with a 15-point game against BYU. With baskets seemingly hard to come by for the Texas offense at times, Weaver’s consistent points at the basket could provide the team a higher floor.

Texas will look to get to 15 wins on the season when the team takes on the Houston Cougars at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN.

Final: Texas loses fast paced battle to BYU, 84-72

Texas was no match for BYU in Provo.

The Texas Longhorns (14-6) and No. 21 BYU Cougars (15-5) traded baskets in a fast paced first half on Saturday. The second half was dominated by the Cougars.

The pace of the game didn’t make it any less ugly. Both teams played an attacking style of basketball. The physical nature of the game saw both teams fumbling away opportunities. The Longhorns fumbled more.

Texas built an early lead in the game on the road. The Longhorns led by as many as seven points early in the first half before the Cougars caught fire. After leading 30-29, BYU went on a 11-2 run to take a 41-31 lead with 2:52 left in the first half.

The Longhorns offensive style in the final 11 minutes of the half looked more erratic than effective. After losing the lead with 11:14 left in the first half, more possessions than not failed to get Texas an easy basket. The erratic play carried over to the second half.

Texas forward Dylan Disu kept his team in the game with a couple of difficult baskets. Disu reached double digits in the first half with 11 points helping the Longhorns finish the half on a 10-3 run of its own.

BYU led Texas at halftime, 43-40. From that point, it was all Cougars.

The Longhorns couldn’t stop much of anything on the day. BYU’s offensive attack got one open basket after another. The Cougars effortlessly compiled a 64% field goal percentage for the game. On top of that, the team owned the boards securing eight more rebounds than Texas.

Disu led the Longhorns in scoring with 19 points followed by Chendall Weaver with 15 points off the bench. Texas will next take on No. 4 Houston on Monday night.

Previewing Texas men’s basketball at No. 21 BYU Cougars

Texas is two games into the toughest part of the schedule and now will play BYU in one of the most intimidating arenas in basketball.

The Texas Longhorns are getting back on track. Continue reading “Previewing Texas men’s basketball at No. 21 BYU Cougars”

Social media reacts: Poor second half, officiating doom Sooners in loss to Texas

The Sooners didn’t play their best ball and didn’t get much help from the officiating crew either and here’s how social media reacted.

After rising back into the top 15 in the nation, the Oklahoma Sooners had a disappointing performance in their 75-60 loss to the Texas Longhorns.

In the second half, the Sooners were outscored by 16 and struggled to find their offensive touch, shooting just 38% from the field, while the Longhorns shot 54% in the second half.

Oklahoma certainly didn’t play well, but they didn’t get much help from the officials who called more fouls against the Sooners in the second half, including a questionable flagrant foul on Le’Tre Darthard.

It was a physical game at the Sooners’ offensive end of the floor, but OU didn’t seem to get the same benefit when they were playing defense.

Ultimately, it was a disappointing loss for the Sooners, who had an opportunity to make a statement in Big 12 play. Instead, they not only lost but had one of their worst performances of the season against their rival.

Oklahoma is now 15-4 on the season and 3-3 in conference play, and here’s how social media reacted to the Sooner’s loss to Texas.

Red River Hoops: Texas can’t exhale with No. 11 Oklahoma next

With the Oklahoma basketball game on Tuesday, Texas can’t get too high over its Baylor win.

It’s Red River week in basketball. The No. 11 Oklahoma Sooners (15-3) play host to the Texas Longhorns (13-5) on Tuesday night.

The Longhorns defeated what was then the No. 9 ranked Baylor squad on Saturday. It was just the beginning of a difficult stretch of basketball in the Big 12 conference.

Oklahoma begins a difficult stretch of five games in which the team faces four ranked opponents and three road games. No. 4 Houston and No. 23 Iowa State are the teams Texas faces at home.

The quickest way to ensure a successful stretch begins with defeating a tough Oklahoma team. That will be easier said than done. Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser who put Loyola-Chicago on the map in his time there has his Sooners operating at a high level.

Oklahoma’s leading scorer Javian McCollum averages 14.9 points per game behind a 45.2% field goal shooting percentage and a 93% average from the free throw line. Fellow guard Otega Oweh is next highest on the team in scoring with 14.1 points per game and a scorching 59.3% three point percentage.

Just as you could have guessed, Moser’s team can shoot. The question for the Longhorns is whether or not the team can match the Sooners’ scoring output.

On the year, Oklahoma averages 79.3 points per game to Texas’ 77.2 scoring average. The Sooners allow 65.1 per contest to Texas’ 67.4 allowed per game.

ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Oklahoma a 71.3% chance to win the matchup. Texas will look to beat those odds on Tuesday night.