Tag: texas longhorns basketball news

Texas to face Villanova in Big East-Big 12 Battle

Texas’ opponent in the annual Big East-Big 12 challenge will be Villanova. This will be the fourth career matchup between the two schools.

Texas’ non-conference schedule continues to get filled, adding their opponent in the annual Big East-Big 12 challenge. After going on the road and losing to Providence in 2019, the Longhorns will now get to play host to Jay Wright and the Villanova Wildcats.

Texas and Villanova have played each other three times in their respective histories, all coming since 2006. The Longhorns have been ranked in all three games, having a 2-1 overall record against the Wildcats. Texas defeated Villanova in their last matchup, 67-58, at Madison Square Garden.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOjlwZinB2w

As for the upcoming matchup in the 2020 season, the Wildcats are once again expected to have one of the best teams in the country. Star point guard Collin Gillespie, who averaged 15.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game last season, is expected to return and continue to be one of the best players in the country.

Villanova won a share of the Big East regular-season title in 2019-2020 and was expected to be a two-seed in the NCAA Tournament before it was canceled due to the coronavirus.

Here is the full slate of games for the Big East-Big 12 Battle:

While the entire non-conference schedule has yet to be announced, the Longhorns already having a tough slate. To go along with Villanova, Texas added Gonzaga back in March and will be participating in the 2020 Maui Jim Maui Invitational.

Alabama, Davidson, Indiana, North Carolina, Providence, Stanford, and UNLV will be joining the Longhorns on the islands.

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Kevin Durant on Michael Jordan: Would fit in as best player in the league

Kevin Durant had his say on the Michael Jordan in modern NBA debate, saying Jordan “would fit in as the best player in the league.”

ESPN aired ‘The Last Dance’ on Sunday, showcasing the final season of the Chicago Bulls’ 1990s dynasty. With the main focus of the documentary being Michael Jordan and his greatness, the movie has once again sparked a debate about his playing ability in the modern NBA.

While much of the argument is centered around which player is the greatest of all time between Jordan and the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James, the former Bull still has his doubters about playing in the league today.

Former Texas superstar Kevin Durant had his take on the situation, saying Jordan “would fit in as the best player in the league.”

Durant added, “he can adapt his game to anything.”

Jordan never faced the Longhorns during his three seasons at North Carolina. Winning one NCAA title during his freshman season, many never knew exactly how great he would become.

To have Durant, considered a top player in today’s NBA, provide such strong comments about Jordan shows how much of an influence he has on players today. Durant himself has been through the challenge of winning championships, as he already has three to his name.

A debate which will go on for years to come, but if Durant thinks Jordan could do it today, it would be scary to think about how much more dominant MJ could become.

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Is the G League a potential route for Texas target Greg Brown?

Greg Brown more than likely will be a one and done prospect. Could he see the positives in foregoing the college experience and turning pro?

College basketball took a major blow on Thursday when five-star combo guard Jalen Green announced he would be turning professional to play in the NBA G-League. The number three overall prospect in the 247Sports Composite chose the professional route instead of heading to either Memphis or Auburn.

According to The Athletic and Stadium’s Shams Charania, the G-League is looking to create a team in Los Angeles to help high school prospects “focus on development and preparation for NBA.”

Shortly after Green made his announcement, it was reported that former Michigan commit Isaiah Todd would be joining the Los Angeles based team as well.

This now has begun a trend where some of the best high school prospects skip out on college basketball to pursuit their dreams of playing in the NBA.

Before Green and Todd, there was RJ Hampton of Little Elm, TX, who also turned professional. Hampton relocated to New Zeland to play in the National Basketball League. The fifth-ranked player in the 2019 class chose professional basketball instead of the likes of Kansas, Duke, and Texas Tech.

Even players who did decide to enroll at a school ended up leaving early in the year to pursue their professional careers. When former No. 1 overall recruit James Wiseman got in some trouble with the NCAA, he left Memphis to prepare himself for the NBA Draft. He appeared in three games.

For Texas, all eyes are now focused on Greg Brown, the five-star small forward. Brown has been rumored to be heading to Texas recently, but with the recent trend of highly-rated prospects going pro, there could be worry for Shaka Smart.

The Austin native more than likely will be a one and done prospect, leaving whichever school he chooses after one season. Could Brown see the positives in spending his one season before the NBA Draft as a professional?

With Green making a reported $500,000 next season, it would be difficult for anyone, let alone an 18-year-old, to turn down a significant paycheck.

At the moment, Brown is scheduled to make his announcement on April 24. 247Sports’ Crystal Ball is 100% towards Texas, mainly due to the Longhorns deciding to keep Smart for at least one more season.

If Brown was to pick the collegiate route and pick Texas, it would be a major bolster to the 2020-2021 team, who looks primed to make a run towards the NCAA Tournament.

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Texas women’s basketball: Schaefer lands Penn State forward

The Texas Longhorns women’s basketball team gained a new member with the Lauren Ebo transfer. How does she fit onto this team?

New Texas women’s basketball coach Vic Schaefer hasn’t been on the job very long but he has already started working on his roster for the future. Lauren Ebo announced through social media that she is leaving State College, Pennsylvania for the Forty Acres.

The Washington DC native provided 5.3 points per game for the Nittany Lions during the 2019-20 season in 20.3 minutes per game. Should she be deemed immediately eligible to play, she will try and help fill a void left by the departure of senior Joyner Holmes. Ebo is subject to the NCAA transfer guidelines that could require her to sit out next season unless she is granted a waiver.

This marks the second Penn State player to come to Austin. Karisma Ortiz also made the move to go from the Lady Lions to the Longhorns. Ortiz will be eligible to play the first season under new coach Schaefer. The new coach still has work to do as he tries to rebuild the program back up but Schaefer isn’t letting these current times to deter him from getting started.

Provided that Ebo can play in the upcoming season, she would likely see plenty of minutes next to Charli Collier as the forward duo. Not to mention the incoming class that features Elyssa Coleman of Humble and Precious Johnson of Baytown.

Texas a six-seed in way-too-early 2021 Bracketology

ESPN projects UT to be a six-seed in the East region for the 2021 NCAA Tournament. It would be the second six seed for UT under Shaka Smart.

The 2019-2020 college basketball season never got the ending it deserved, with most conference tournaments and the NCAA Tournament getting canceled due to COVID-19. To make up for it, Joe Lunardi has released his way-too-early Bracketology for the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

Lunardi projects Texas to not only make the tournament but to be a six-seed in the East region. If his projections are correct, it will be the second time Shaka Smart has been a six-seed during his time in Austin, with the first coming in 2016.

The Longhorns would get no easy matchups throughout the bracket as teams such as Villanova, Ohio State, West Virginia, Michigan State, LSU, and Duke also make up the East region. Texas would also face the winner of a First Four game, which Lunardi projects to be former conference rival Colorado and the SEC’s South Carolina.

As usual, major conferences make up a big chunk of the field, with the Big 12 having seven representatives in the tournament. Baylor, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, and West Virginia all make the cut, with the Bears and Jayhawks coming in as two-seeds.

If 2019-2020 was a down year for the Big 12, 2020-2021 will be a swing back to reality. Kansas and Baylor are expected to continue their dominance, while schools such as Texas Tech and even Oklahoma State are expected to take a step up.

Texas must adjust and raise the bar as well. Returning 100% of their production will help, but Smart’s squad must show up consistently throughout the season. If they can, a six seed in the NCAA Tournament could be on the cards.

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Texas Women’s Basketball: Vic Schaefer leaves Starkville for Austin

Athletic director Chris Del Conte made a power move on Sunday stealing Vic Schaefer away from Starkville to become the next women’s coach.

It sure didn’t take long for the Texas women’s basketball team to get their new coach. Athletic director Chris Del Conte tweeted out that Vic Schaefer was in Austin on the Forty Acres on Sunday.

Vic Schaefer is a Texas native that was born in Houston. He comes in with a rather impressive resume that should give Longhorn fans some excitement in regards to their new leader of the program.

  • Two-time NCAA runner-up (2016-17, 2017-18)
  • Sweet 16 (2015-16)
  • Elite Eight (2018-19)
  • Five-straight NCAA tournament appearances before this year
  • 221-62 record at Mississippi State
  • 301-172 overall record
  • Three-time SEC Coach of the Year (2015, 2018, 2019)
  • WBCA National Coach of the Year (2018)
  • Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year (2018)
  • Second-fastest coach to win 200 games behind Joe Ciampi (Auburn)

Given what Schaefer has been able to accomplish, this should raise some eyebrows down in Waco, Texas. This is obviously a power move for the Longhorns as they look to steal state bragging rights away from the Baylor Bears who have owned the Big 12 Conference since Kim Mulkey arrived.

It won’t be immediate but given time, Schaefer should be able to close the gap and bring prominence back to the Forty Acres. The Texas Longhorns women’s team is still in search of their first National Championship since 1986 and first Final Four appearance since 2003.

Texas women’s basketball: Players react to Karen Aston’s exit

Current and now former Texas Longhorn women’s basketball players took to social media to show support for former coach Karen Aston.

On Friday the news broke that Karen Aston would not be returning to lead the women’s basketball team in 2020-21. That ended an eight-year run for Aston. The news came as quite a shock to many given the fact that she led the team to four-straight appearances in the sweet 16 or better for the Longhorns. That streak ended last season after losing in the first round.  Even more shocking given the fact that Shaka Smart was retained and his Texas resume is less than stellar.

Aston’s now former players took to social media to voice their opinions regarding the somewhat surprising exit of their beloved coach. It was easy to see that the players loved Aston.

Now Chris Del Conte will begin a national search for the next women’s head coach. Here are a list of the accomplishments that Karen Aston achieved while leading this program:

  • 184-83 overall record (.689 winning percentage)
  • 93-51 conference record (.646)
  • four-straight Sweet 16 appearances (2014-2017)
  • one Elite Eight appearance (2015-16)
  • six straight NCAA Tournament appearances

Texas interested in two more transfer guards

Texas has put their name in the running for two more guards. Tyrese Martin and Trey Murphy have recently announced they will be transferring.

After making the final six of Illinois sophomore guard Alan Griffin, Texas has put their name in the running for two more guards. Tyrese Martin out of Rhode Island and Trey Murphy from Rice have recently announced they will be transferring and Shaka Smart has reached out.

Starting with Martin, he will also be entering his junior season after two seasons with the Rams. A decent scorer averaging 12.8 points per game, Martin brings length to the perimeter, standing at 6 feet 6 inches. His seven rebounds a game ranked 12th in the Atlantic-10 last season.

Martin does struggle behind the three-point line though, a huge part of Shaka’s offensive strategy. Shooting 32% from deep last season, Martin’s freshman year was worse, shooting 31%.

Murphy may be a more desirable option for the Longhorns going forward, especially because he is a better shooter. While he dropped off 6% from his freshman year to his sophomore season, Murphy still connected on 36% of his three-pointers, fourth-best in Conference USA.

Scoring just over 13 a game, Murphy is even bigger than Martin, coming in at 6 feet 8 inches. His rebounding isn’t as efficient, grabbing 5.5 per game, but Martin’s scoring is what makes him the more attractive transfer option.

Between Griffin and now Martin and Murphy, Texas has a solid chance of adding a transfer guard this offseason to bolster the roster. The core three of Coleman, Ramey, and Jones is nice, but Shaka Smarts needs more behind them.

Those three and one of the transfers could even play on the court at the same time if the Longhorns wanted to go small ball. Either way, a transfer this offseason opens up opportunities for how Texas’ offense will look next season.

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Texas and Gonzaga schedule home and home series

UT has scheduled a home and home series with Gonzaga. It begins next season at home, with the return trip occurring in the 2021-2022 season.

Shaka Smart and Texas continue a busy early offseason by scheduling home and home series with Gonzaga. The first game will occur next season in Austin, while the Longhorns will travel out west to Spokane, WA the following season in 2021.

The schools have met three times throughout history, with the latest coming in 2017. Playing in Portland, OR for the Phil Knight 80 Tournament, the Longhorns took the Zags to overtime but came up short 76-71.

The other two games also came before the turn of the century, with Gonzaga coming out on top in those matchups as well. All-time, the Bulldogs are 3-0 against the Longhorns.

Texas will be looking to get their first win in the series with a home win next season. Since Smart took over as head coach in 2015, the Longhorns are 33-8 in non-conference home games.

With Gonzaga projected to be one of the best teams in all of college basketball next season, it will be a good early-season test for Texas.

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Texas makes final six of Illinois transfer

Texas has made the final six for Illinois transfer Alan Griffin. The sophomore guard would add incredible depth to Smart’s team in 2020-2021.

Returning 100% of their production next season, Texas is going to be one of the most experienced teams in the country next season. Shaka Smart could be looking to add experience, bringing in a transfer.

Sophomore Alan Griffin is leaving Illinois after two full seasons in Champaign. The guard from Ossining, NY has narrowed his list down to six schools, with Texas making the cut. Other power conference members Miami, Syracuse, Iowa State, and Arizona join the Longhorns, while mid-major school Dayton is also in the mix.

Griffin improved greatly from his freshman year, averaging 8.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. His three-point percentage went up 11%, shooting 41% on the year.

If he were to transfer to Texas, Griffin would add to a loaded roster the Longhorns have at guard. He would join Coleman, Jones, and Ramey, and create incredible depth for the 2020-2021 season.

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