Shaka Smart – Page 18 – Syndication Server

Oklahoma gets first win on the road at Texas since 2015, win 72-62

The Sooners walked into the lion’s den and earned their fourth Big 12 road win in four seasons.

Oklahoma walked into the lion’s den and earned their fifth Big 12 road win in four seasons. On the backs of coming-out performances from De’Vion Harmon and Jamal Bieniemy, Oklahoma (11-3, 2-0) defeated Texas (10-4, 0-2) 72-62.

The backcourt for the Sooners has been underwhelming at best so far this season. Bieniemy and Harmon had high expectations coming into the season and lived up to those expectations in Austin, Texas, tonight.

Despite losing his starting spot over the past four games, Harmon has embraced the role, sparking Oklahoma in the second half with nine points, three rebounds, an assist and three of the Sooners’ seven steals.

Bieniemy also seemed to have woken up from his shooting slumber, scoring 11 points on four of six shooting alongside three rebounds and team-high four assists.

Outside of Bieniemy and Harmon, the usual suspects did work offensively. Austin Reaves put up 10 points including a halftime buzzer-beater to give the Sooners a one-point lead before heading to the locker room.

Kristian Doolittle led the team in scoring and rebounding once again with 22 points and eight boards. His scoring abilities proved a mismatch for the Longhorns all night as he knocked down two 3-pointers and was able to shoot well from mid-range.

With three primary performances for the Sooners, Oklahoma as a team played lights-out defensively. The Sooners allowed Texas to make just 28 percent of their shots while hauling in 30 defensive boards to Texas’ nine offensive boards.

The 72-62 win is the first win in Austin for Oklahoma since 2015.

The Sooners are back in action on Saturday when they head up to Ames, Iowa, to take on the Cyclones at 7 p.m. CT.

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3 keys for Oklahoma against Texas

Oklahoma (10-3, 1-0) takes on Texas (10-3, 0-1) in the Sooners’ first Big 12 road game of the season.

Oklahoma comes off a solid, hard-fought 66-61 win over Kansas State last Saturday and is amidst a three-game winning streak. The Sooners were picked to finish eighth in the Big 12 but so far this season has looked better than expected.

In order to beat Texas on the road, which is never an easy task no matter the opponent in the Big 12, Oklahoma needs to do three things.

KNOCKDOWN OPEN LOOKS

The Sooners have no problems getting open looks at the basket. However, they do have a problem making open shots. Shooting 30.7% from deep as a team is not awful but it is not great, especially with more than capable shooters that Oklahoma has. Making open shots will be huge towards this team’s performance and confidence not only tonight but moving forward as well.

SHARE THE WEALTH

The Sooners have three of their starting five averaging double-digit scoring with Austin Reaves, Kristian Doolittle and Brady Manek all inside the Big 12’s top-10 scoring leaders. De’Vion Harmon, Alondes Williams, and Jamal Bieniemy, the other three scoring options for Oklahoma all average under eight points a game. If the Sooners want to continue their win-streak and perform at a higher level, Bieniemy, Harmon, and Williams all need to knock down looks when given the opportunity.

DEFEND LIKE NO ONE IS WATCHING

If there has been one thing that has been consistent over the last three games, it has been the Sooners’ defense. Oklahoma has allowed their opponents over that stretch a combined 185 points. The Sooners kept UTRGV to 41.2%, Kansas State to 34.9% and UCF to 31.3% from the field. If Kruger’s crew can continue their premium defending, Oklahoma will be in good shape.

The Sooners and Longhorns are set to tip-off at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2. for full broadcast details, click here.

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When, where, how to watch, how to stream Oklahoma-Texas

Oklahoma (10-3, 1-0) heads south to square off against Texas (10-3, 0-1) for the first of two installments of the Red River Rivalry.

The Sooners, after having an up and down non-conference slate, they settled down against Kansas State in their Big 12 home opener, extending their win streak to three games, beating the Wildcats 66-61.

The Longhorns dropped an egg on the road at No. 4 Baylor (11-1, 1-0), losing to the Bears 59-44. Texas was picked fourth in the Big 12 pre-season poll behind Kansas, Baylor and Texas Tech who are all the cream of the crop of the league.

Both teams will be looking to find some offensive prowess after both squads come off of poor shooting performances to start conference play. With any win being a good one in the Big 12, there is no doubt that this rivalry game will be well contested.

Here is how to watch, listen and stream the game.

WHERE: Austin, Texas

WHEN: 8:00 p.m. CT

HOW TO WATCH: ESPN2

HOW TO LISTEN: Sooner Sports Radio Network—KOKC AM 1520 and KRXO 107.7 FM in OKC, KMOD FM 97.5 and KTBZ AM 1430 in Tulsa (click here for more options if not in either of those markets)

HOW TO STREAM: WATCH ESPN

How Hot Is Shaka Smart’s Seat?

In the fifth season under Shaka Smart, is the seat warming up for the Texas Longhorns men’s basketball coach?

This is the fifth year that Texas Longhorns men’s basketball coach Shaka Smart has been the man in charge in Austin. After winning over 70 percent of his games at Virginia Commonwealth University, the thought was that Smart could bring some of his March Madness magic to Austin.

A team that hasn’t had much success in the tournament since Rick Barnes led the Longhorns to the Sweet 16 or better five times during his tenure. For any college coach, they should get at least four to five seasons to get their program in place. In the beginning using players that were recruiting by their predecessor.

With this being the fifth year under Smart, this is his team. For a program that has seen success, it has to be increasingly frustrating to see a team that seems to be regressing rather than improving as time has gone by. After two tournament invites, the Longhorns were invited to the NIT tournament that Smart was able to win but with the start of Big 12 play, how hot is the seat for Smart?

Increasingly. For Smart to remain in the cards for the future, he needs be better than 8-10 in conference play as the team finished the last two seasons after falling to 4-14 in 2016. Even though Smart is under contract through the 2023 season, will that be enough of a deterrent to keep him in Austin without a positive showing throughout the remainder of 2019-2020 basketball season.

Texas Longhorns Basketball: Second Half Surge Buries High Point

Second half surge, led by Jase Febres buries High Point against the Texas Longhorns in Austin.

The Texas Longhorns changed up their starting five for their matchup against High Point with Andrew Jones and Kamaka Hepa. Matt Coleman III started off the scoring with a runner for three before the shot clock expired. The Longhorns started off the game with a 6-0 run before a Jericho Sims turnover led to the Panthers first basket on a breakaway bucket.

Early in the first half the Longhorns built their lead to 19-6, the Panthers had a hard time scoring with 2-14 shooting. They would get within three points of Texas 21-18 with eight minutes left in the first half. The 10-2 run by High Point started when Shaka Smart went deep into his bench to make the game a little too close for comfort.

The free shooting was the big story in the first half, while the Longhorns struggled from the charity stripe, the Panthers were able to keep the game close with excellent free throw shooing during the first half. Texas would answer back with a 10-2 run in the final four minutes to get the lead for the Longhorns 41-29 at the break.

The Longhorns built their lead to 20 midway through the second half 57-37 shooting 60% from the field after coming out of the locker room. Jase Febres seemed to find his touch from behind the arc after barely getting minutes in the first half. Febres hit four of his first five three pointers, including back to back to build the lead to 64-39.

As the second half wore on, the Panthers just couldn’t match with Texas scoring increasing their lead to 35 points 77-42 with under seven minutes left in the game. The Panthers without their leading scorer Curtis Holland III, High Point and Tubby Smith didn’t have much hope of pulling off the upset in Austin. The Longhorns improved their home record to 7-0 and collected their 10th win on the year 89-58. Next up for Smart and the Longhorns are the Baylor Bears.

Leading Scorer

Jase Febres (16)

Leading Rebounder

Jericho Sims (11)

Texas Longhorns and Shaka Smart Look To Get Back On Track

The Texas Longhorns basketball team is looking to get back on track after an abysmal performance against Providence.

Following the second Texas Longhorns defeat on the season at the hands of Providence, Shaka Smart looks to get his team back on track against High Point. Texas heads into their final tune up game before taking on the seventh-ranked Baylor Bears on January 4th. The Longhorns had won five-straight prior to last Saturday’s match up.

For this game, Jase Febres needs to get back to be a focal point of the offense. He finished with six points on two of seven shooting. He can be a streaky shooter from deep and against the Friars, Febres hit just one of six shots. His 17% from behind the arc was his lowest of the season for Texas. As a whole, 31.7% shooting won’t get the job done, it was their lowest on the season.

The other issue they had was allowing the Friars to take advantage of turnovers. If the Texas men’s basketball team wants to join the women in terms of taking down a top team, then they need to limit their turnovers because a team like Baylor will take advantage of that.

High Point Panthers are just 3-9 on the season and carrying a winless record on the road when they travel to Austin on Monday. The Panthers are led by sophomore guard Curtis Holland III who is shooting 42.6% from the field and 40% from three. His 14.5 points per game leads the team.

Longhorns top point man is Matt Coleman III with his 12.8 ppg and shooting 46.3% from the field. Texas is seeking their 10th win of the year and looking to remain unbeaten at the Frank Irwin Center.

Texas Longhorns Fall To Providence Again

The Texas Longhorns are now 9-2 after falling to the Providence Friars for the second straight year.

For the second year in a row the Providence Friars to it to the Texas Longhorns, only this time it happened at home for Providence. The Longhorns had one of their worst shooting performances under head coach Shaka Smart. In fact the 31.7% shooting from the field was their lowest all season, their second lowest being 37.7% against the Georgetown Hoyas earlier this season.

Much like their game against Central Michigan it became a game of live by the three, die by the three. The Longhorns shot a season low 3-21 (14.2%) from behind the three point line. Texas trailed by 19 at the half and only shot 28.6% during the second half only mustering up 20 points. The Longhorns have over a week to get ready to take on High Point as their last tune up before Big 12 Play.

Courtney Ramey led the horns with 12 points. Jase Febres added six points in 33 minutes. Jericho Sims pulled down 13 boards and added seven points for Texas. The Texas Longhorns are now 9-2 looking for win number 10 in nine days at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin. High Point Panthers will come into the game with a 3-9 record.

How To Watch, Listen or Stream Texas Longhorns Basketball Saturday

The Texas Longhorns will take on the Providence Friars on Saturday. Here is how you can watch, listen or steam the game.

The Texas Longhorns men’s basketball team will be heading to Providence on Saturday to take on the Friars. Texas will be looking for some retribution in this match up. Last year Providence took down Texas 71-65 in Austin. The horns were lead by 13 points from Matt Coleman III and another 10 points from Courtney Ramey coming off the bench.

This will be the first of two non-conference basketball games remaining before the Longhorns turn their attention to the Baylor Bears on January 4th in Waco. Texas comes into the this game with a 9-1 record, while Providence is 6-6. The Friars are much better at home, so the Longhorns will be looking to spoil the party.

Game Information

Date: 12/21/19

Time: 1 p.m. CT

Location: Dunkin Donuts Center, Providence

TV: Fox

Stream: FoxSportsGo

Radio: TexasSports.com/audio —Austin 104.9FM, 99.3FM, 98.5FM, 1260AM; Dallas 1080AM; El Paso 600AM; Houston 790AM; San Antonio 1200AM — Spanish: Austin 105.3FM; Dallas 990AM, 99.9FM