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The Longhorns are matched up with Shaka Smart’s Marquette Golden Eagles.
Texas basketball is set to face off with a familiar face in the 2023 Big East-Big 12 Battle. Continue reading “Texas to face Marquette in the 2023 Big East-Big 12 Battle”
It’s been a busy last 24 hours in college basketball, here’s what you may have missed.
It’s been an incredibly busy last 24 hours in college athletics and especially college basketball. While coaching searches and hires have grabbed the headlines. After a busy Wednesday that saw nearly a double-digit amount of head coaching jobs be fulfilled, Thursday was filled with press conferences, assistant coaching hires, and more.
Because of all that, quite a few notable pieces of news have gone under the radar. From transfer portal additions, to potential NBA rule changes, and awards. There’s been a lot that has happened over the last day – here’s just a select few updates.
The first storyline that flied under the radar is that FAU head coach Dusty May isn’t planning on leaving Boca Raton anytime soon. The former Indiana assistant according to Matt Noralnder of CBS Sports, is expected to sign a long-term contract with FAU that would keep him in Boca Raton for the foreseeable future.
In his fifth season with the Owls, May has led the program to a 35-3 overall record including an 18-2 record in Conference-USA play. The Owls entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 9 seed in the East Region and have made a Cinderella run to the Final Four defeating Memphis, Farleigh Dickinson, Tennessee, and Kansas State in the process. During the last few weeks multiple schools have shown interest in May but with the Owls deep run have eventually ended up looking elsewhere.
Shaka Smart earns his first national coaching award.
Marquette men’s head basketball coach Skaha Smart has been named the USBWA Henry Iba Coach of the Year, it was announced on Wednesday. It’s the first time that the 45-year old head coach has won a national coaching award in his career.
Smart led Marquette to a 29-7 record this season including 17-3 in conference play, leading to a conference regular season and conference tournament championships as well as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The 29-7 record matches the best of his career as he also went 29-7 with the VCU Rams in the 2011-12 season.
The Golden Eagles in this year’s NCAA Tournament won their first game against Vermont in the Round of 64 78-61 before falling to Michigan State 69-60 in the Round of 32.
It’s the second award Smart has won this year for his coaching efforts, he also won the Big East Coach of the Year award.
In his 14 years as a head coach, Smart has now made the NCAA Tournament in 10 of 13 possible years. This includes each of the last three as he also made the 2020-2021 NCAA Tournament when he was with the Texas Longhorns.
For his career, Smart is 320-162 including 48-20 now at Marquette through his two seasons.
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After a heartbreaking loss to Michigan State, Shaka falls to 1-8 in his last nine NCAA Tournament games.
Marquette head coach Shaka Smart is a likable coach. Nevertheless, his struggles continued in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.
Smart and his team lost in heartbreaking fashion to Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans. There’s no shame in losing to one of college basketball’s best coaches. There is shame in how he lost.
Late into the game, Shaka used the first fifteen seconds of a TV timeout to have his team participate in a breathing exercise. The interesting use of time makes one wonder what usually goes on during long NCAA Tournament timeouts. Presumably, Tom Izzo used the time more productively.
There has been discussion as to whether or not Texas adequately valued Smart or made a mistake in firing him. We can put that discussion to rest.
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Shaka proved he could build and lead a quality team this season, but this year’s final result left something to be desired. Smart will look to build on a strong regular season after a tough season-ending loss.
Sideline reporter tells us that Shaka Smart spent the entire Under-4 timeout leading his team in a “breathing exercise”
4-0 Michigan State run immediately follows
Can’t make it up
— Greg Waddell (@gwizzy12) March 19, 2023
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Some #USC fans wanted to fire Andy Enfield for losing to Tom Izzo. He’s a Hall of Famer. Should Marquette fire Shaka Smart?
After the USC men’s basketball team lost to Michigan State on Friday, there were fans coming out of the woodwork who said USC coach Andy Enfield ought to be fired for underachieving and simply not doing a good enough job with the program.
Never mind that USC didn’t have its five-star big man, Vince Iwuchukwu, available to play. Never mind the fact that USC had a very limited bench. Never mind the fact that Tre White, a starter on the team, is a freshman and had to go through a baptism by fire. Never mind the fact that USC was a 10 seed losing to a 7 seed in a game it was not favored to win in the first place.
Never mind the fact that Tom Izzo is a Hall of Fame basketball coach. Never mind that he’s good, especially in March. Never mind the fact that he has taken lower-seeded Michigan State teams to the Final Four.
Michigan State, after beating 10th-seeded USC, just beat second-seeded Marquette on Sunday in the second round. Follow Spartans Wire for more coverage.
The Spartans, seeded seventh, are headed for the Sweet 16. This is the third time Izzo has taken a No. 7 seed to the Sweet 16 at Michigan State.
He’s pretty good at what he does. If firing a coach for losing to Izzo is the new industry standard, does this mean Marquette should fire Big East Head Coach of the Year Shaka Smart?
Get back to us on that one if you still think Enfield should be fired.
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This guy was FIRED UP.
Shaka Smart led No. 2 Marquette to a statement victory over No. 15 Vermont during the first round of the East region in the NCAA tournament.
The game looked like it was a close one, and Vermont cut the lead to just five points. Then sophomore Kam Jones somehow managed to score 18 consecutive points for Marquette. This was the key to a game-changing, 27-10 run for the Golden Eagles.
Jones had recorded just one point in the game before his massive hot streak. He finished with 19 points as Marquette defeated Vermont by a final score of 78-61. Nobody seemed happier for Jones than Smart:
Kam Jones had Shaka Smart literally jumping for joy in the 2nd half 🔥 @MarquetteMBB pic.twitter.com/tfmsr7UTsV
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 17, 2023
Jones finished the regular season with the lowest turnover percentage and one of the highest two-point percentages in the Big East conference.
Marquette has now won 10 games in a row and 15 of their last 16. But given the stakes, the run Jones went on during the NCAA tournament is perhaps the most impressive of the entire stretch.
IT'S 18 IN A ROW FOR KAM JONES 😱#MarchMadness @MarquetteMBB pic.twitter.com/JxKTRDaO5k
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 17, 2023
That being said, the hang time that Smart had during his celebration was pretty impressive as well. We shouldn’t be too surprised, though. Smart was a DIII point guard at Kenyon University and still leads the program in assists.
This game clearly meant a lot to Smart, though, who was fired up on the sidelines. He got to enjoy a milkshake after the victory, too, which broke Smart’s six-game losing streak in the NCAA tournament and represented his first win during March Madness in a decade.
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Texas entered Saturday 0-4 against Kansas in past Big 12 Championship final games.
Everything is as it should be in Big 12 basketball. The Kansas Jayhawks (27-6) and Texas Longhorns (25-8) face off in the Big 12 Championship final.
Not long ago, the two teams faced each other in three consecutive conference finals from 2006 to 2008. The conference rivals met for a fourth time in 2011. In each of the championship games, the Jayhawks emerged victorious.
Texas’ struggles in the championship largely revolve around the inability to get past Kansas. Former Texas head coach Shaka Smart and company broke a six-game losing streak in the championship final to improve to a 1-6 record in the final game.
Saturday marks the fourth time that the two teams have met as the No. 1 and No. 2 conference seed (2006, 2008, 2011) in the deciding game of the tournament.
The stakes are higher for the Longhorns than the Jayhawks on Saturday night. One could argue Kansas has already locked up the No. 1 overall seed with 17 Quad 1 victories. Texas is on the outside of the No. 1 line with eight losses, despite a strong resume.
Texas head coach Rodney Terry will look to secure the first conference championship victory over Kansas in program history.
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Smart can REALLY jump.
Marquette men’s basketball coach Shaka Smart showed some massive ups on Tuesday night as he celebrated a key victory for his Golden Eagles.
No. 10 Marquette topped No. 19 Creighton 73-71, which gives Smart’s squad a nice résumé boost ahead of the NCAA Tournament. As the final horn sounded, Smart jubilantly leaped into the air as his team secured the victory. He quickly readjusted for the postgame handshakes, which was pretty impressive when considering how hyped up he was for the win.
Marquette could be a problem for teams in March if they keep up this level of play, which could inspire plenty of more Smart celebrations.
Here was Shaka Smart's celebration after the final buzzer sounded in #mubb's win over Creighton. pic.twitter.com/rIRPZB4DHX
— Matt Foster KETV (@MattFosterTV) February 22, 2023
Now that’s an impressive jump for joy. Smart has built a career as one of the most tournament-ready coaches of his generation, and Marquette should be his next team to get a chance for spring glory.
Until then, he’ll hopefully put his energy into more sideline celebrations.
Another day, another game won by Rodney Terry’s adjustments.
The Texas Longhorns are distancing themselves from the pack following wins over No. 7 Kansas State and No. 11 Baylor this week. They are in position to win a Big 12 regular season title in basketball.
Finishing first in the regular season standings was once a pipe dream for the program. Now Texas is on the verge of not only winning the conference, but running away with it.
Rodney Terry deserves the credit for the run. Basketball is a players game, but what he has accomplished as acting head coach is nothing short of incredible.
Terry was placed in a nightmare scenario when handed the reins to lead the team. His ability to steady the ship in chaotic circumstances alone is praiseworthy. Albeit, it’s not the most impressive part of his resume.
The Longhorns head coach is making game-winning adjustments to erase double-digits deficits. He is coaching.
As far as I’m concerned Terry can coach circles around Shaka Smart. In addition, he embodies all the traits that Texas fired Chris Beard for lacking. Quite frankly, he’s winning the right to be the head coach for the foreseeable future.
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Can Texas finally beat Baylor?
The Texas Longhorns have a huge matchup with the Baylor Bears on Monday night. The basketball game presents Texas with an opportunity to beat Baylor for the first time in seven tries.
The Longhorns have been abysmal against Baylor in recent seasons. They have Shaka Smart to thank for much of that, but even Chris Beard couldn’t earn a win over the once sleeping giant.
Baylor has won 12 of the last 13 meetings dating back to 2016. Since they met in the 2009 Big 12 tournament, the Bears are 21-8 against the Longhorns.
While Scott Drew’s team is not the juggernaut it has been the last three seasons, Baylor is still a formidable foe for Texas.
Here’s a look at the last 10 meetings between the two teams.
