Tag: ESPN College Basketball

No. 10 Texas drops Big 12/SEC battle to No. 4 Tennessee

No. 4 Tennessee got the better of No. 10 Texas on Saturday night in its Big 12/SEC challenge matchup.

Rick Barnes and No. 4 Tennessee got the better of No. 10 Texas on Saturday night in its Big 12/SEC challenge matchup. The Vols controlled the game from start to finish, cruising to an 82-71 victory.

A first-half scoring drought of nearly seven minutes put Texas in a hole early on. Tennessee’s top-ranked defense held Texas’ leading scorer Marcus Carr to just 11 points on the night.

Rebounding was the story of the game as Tennessee dominated the boards, outrebounding Texas 38-24. The Horns’ defense had no answers for Tennessee’s Olivier Nkamhoua and Zakai Zeigler. Both Vols scored over 20 points in the win.

Sir’Jabari Rice led the way for Texas with a solid 21-point effort. Four of five Texas starters were held under 10 points for the first time all season.

Texas falls to 17-4 on the season with a difficult Big 12 stretch on the horizon. The Longhorns host red-hot Baylor on Monday night with massive implications in the conference standings on the line.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz52bnpekkafqb player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]

Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes and opinions.

ESPN’s Dick Vitale ranks Texas basketball among top teams in the nation

One of college basketball’s national treasures, Dick Vitale, is very high on the Longhorns this season.

With college basketball starting in just under a month, preseason rankings are flying in from all over the place.

Texas would typically start the season ranked towards the middle of the pack or lower, but since Chris Beard has taken over, the Longhorns look to be a powerhouse in the making.

After landing multiple top transfers this offseason, the Longhorns are viewed by many as having a chance to contend for a national title. We will quickly find out how good the team is, as Texas will be taking on the No. 1 ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs for their second game of the season.

Whether they win that game or not, the preseason hype is there, as renowned ESPN color commentator, Dick Vitale, released his college basketball top-40 recently and the Longhorns came in at No. 3.

Here is what Vitale said about Texas ahead of the season:

Chris Beard should enjoy his first season with the Longhorns. He landed the best group of transfers, led by Marcus Carr from Minnesota. This Texas squad is one of the deepest in America; the second team could be ranked as its own unit. Andrew Jones is the top returning starter and he may be coming off the bench. Dylan Disu is coming off a knee injury; if he is healthy, he has double-double potential. Tre Mitchell can flat-out play. There is excitement galore for Texas, which will battle with Kansas for the Big 12 title.

He had a total of three Big 12 teams in the top-10 with Kansas being at No. 5 and the defending national champion Baylor Bears at No. 9. Texas will certainly be battle tested all season long, but Beard and his stable of elite transfers should be giving other teams trouble.

Where’s Michigan State listed in ESPN’s ‘Sales Pitch’ coaching gig rankings?

What are the best coaching gigs in the Big Ten? That’s the question ESPN’s Jeff Borzello is asking coaches across the country.

[mm-video type=video id=01f2pav0x1m3h4yep3a7 playlist_id=01eqbz825g32p3akwt player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01f2pav0x1m3h4yep3a7/01f2pav0x1m3h4yep3a7-220dbd1cb0cca8f7968f4c0f736468bc.jpg]

What are the best coaching gigs in the Big Ten? That’s the question ESPN’s Jeff Borzello is asking coaches across the country.

Borzello is leading ESPN’s new “Sales Pitch” series (subscription required) that is breaking down the top coaching gigs in each conference and ranking them by tiers. This series is primarily focused on which programs offer the best sales pitch to recruits and transfers, and ultimately have the most to give to the top players in the country.

So where do the Spartans land in the Big Ten? Are they in the top tier?

Here’s where the coaches rank each of the Big Ten gigs with a short breakdown of each tier: