Tag: Texas Longhorns Basketball

Kentucky G Adou Thiero enters transfer portal

Could Texas recruit Kentucky transfer Adou Thiero?

Kentucky guard Adou Thiero has entered the transfer portal. The talented guard could be worth consideration for Texas head coach Rodney Terry.

Thiero isn’t necessarily a game changer, but would be a good addition for a team that needs more than it got last year in the transfer portal.

The 6-foot-8 guard added 7.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in 2023. The height alone should warrant a look at the sophomore guard’s film.

Texas’ loss to Tennessee made apparent one key flaw for the Longhorns’ roster. The team’s lack of height prevented it from scoring at the basket against Tennessee rim protectors. They could see more of that in the SEC if they fail to get taller across the board. The SEC is a tall league.

Whether or not Texas adds Thiero, it will need role players who can step up and score when its primary scorers go cold. Thiero’s rebounding ability is an added bonus.

Texas has an opportunity to get a head start in the transfer portal over teams still playing in the NCAA tournament. We will monitor the Longhorns’ portal pursuit over the next couple months.

What a successful portal haul looks like for Texas hoops offseason

How head coach Rodney Terry approaches the transfer portal will indicate what he learned last offseason.

Texas head coach Rodney Terry is a good basketball coach. That much seems evident through two seasons in Austin. Whether or not he is good enough at roster building is up for debate.

Terry is 4-2 in the NCAA tournament at Texas. An Elite Eight finish and Big 12 tournament title headline Terry’s accomplishments on the Forty Acres. If given a talented roster, he can guide it to tournament wins. That his current team won a game in March Madness is impressive in its own right.

The team that Terry assembled for the 2023-24 campaign was lacking. It was incomplete because of a lackluster effort in the portal or an inability to close enough big time players. They were certainly available in the last transfer portal class. Texas just didn’t bring in the same volume of quality players it brought in over the prior two offseasons.

The last portal class didn’t yield a guard combo of Marcus Carr and Sir’Jabari Rice. It didn’t come close. There was no alpha forward or leader like Timmy Allen. A successful portal haul has to include a lot more of players like that for the Longhorns this offseason.

To his credit, Terry has an excellent recruiting class. Five-star shooting guard Tre Johnson headlines a class that includes two other big time players in Cam Scott and Nicolas Codie. Three freshmen likely aren’t going to transform the Texas basketball team on their own. They will probably need more help.

Texas has to do better in the transfer portal this offseason. It can’t afford to pass or fail to sign prospects like Arizona guard Caleb Love and Tennessee guard Dalton Knecht who we wrote about last offseason. Those players are still playing. The Longhorns are watching at home.

How Rodney Terry approaches this transfer portal will indicate whether or not his roster building philosophy has changed. It might need to change if Texas wants to get back to playing after the first weekend.

How to watch No. 1 Texas vs. No. 8 Alabama in the NCAA Tournament

Texas faces Alabama on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Texas’ women’s basketball program continues its quest for a national title on Sunday. Continue reading “How to watch No. 1 Texas vs. No. 8 Alabama in the NCAA Tournament”

Tennessee eliminates Texas, 62-58

Despite several opportunities, Texas came up short against Tennessee.

The Texas Longhorns’ basketball season ended on Saturday night. The team lost to the Tennessee Volunteers, 62-58.

Despite several chances to get back into the game, Texas seemed incapable of making it interesting until late.

Tennessee had perhaps its worst offensive performance of the year. The team shot 3-for-25 from behind the three point arc and 34% from the field. Yet it was the Vols’ suffocating defense that rendered the Longhorns incapable of a comeback.

Texas struggled to hit the three as well going 7-for-23. Even so, its inefficiency from its top two scorers made offense more difficult.

Longhorns guard Max Abmas and forward Dylan Disu combined to go 7-for-28 on the way to 22 combined points. Guards Tyrese Hunter and Chendall Weaver each added 13 points to lead the team in scoring.

The recurring issue of the season reared its head on Saturday. The team simply didn’t have enough offensive contributors from its lackluster portal haul. And despite 22 missed three point baskets from Tennessee, Texas couldn’t make them pay offensively in response.

The Longhorns failed to duplicate their 2023 NCAA tournament run. They’ll look to regroup in the offseason following the second round loss.

How to watch No. 7 Texas vs. No. 2 Tennessee in NCAA Tournament

Texas will face former head coach Rick Barnes in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.

No. 7 Texas will face No. 2 Tennessee in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. Continue reading “How to watch No. 7 Texas vs. No. 2 Tennessee in NCAA Tournament”

Texas defeats Colorado State in team’s NCAA tourney opener, 56-44

Texas is back to the round of 32 after a huge win over Colorado State.

No. 7 Texas is back in the round of 32 after a gritty win over the No. 10 Colorado State Rams. The team did what it needed to do: Survive and advance.

The Longhorns’ tournament success continues under Rodney Terry who improved to 4-1 in the NCAA tournament as the team’s head coach. Terry’s team had a favorable first matchup.

Colorado State needed to beat Virginia in the play-in game to get there. Offensively, the Rams looked like a team that required a play-in game to reach the round of 64.

The Longhorns locked down the Rams offense in the first half. Colorado State trailed 27-11 at the half. Texas’ physicality and success at the backboard proved valuable.

Much of Texas’ offensive success came off two-point baskets. The team went 1-for-14 from behind the three point arc. The Longhorns’ opponent didn’t do much better going 6-for-24 from three point range.

Texas forward Dylan Disu and guard Max Abmas each scored 12 points despite shooting for a combined 10-for-33 from the field. Forward Chendall Weaver was the next highest scorer with 11 points on 5-for-7 on field goals.

Texas advances to face the winner between No. 2 Tennessee and No. 15 Saint Peter’s.

Preview: No. 7 Texas takes on No. 10 Colorado State

March Madness is underway on Thursday.

March Madness is underway across several college basketball games on Thursday. The No. 7 seeded Texas Longhorns are set to begin their NCAA tournament run in the evening.

Texas looks to avoid an upset after reaching the Elite Eight last season. It will face the No. 10 seed Colorado State Rams who won their play-in game over the Virginia Cavaliers on Tuesday.

Colorado State presents a unique challenge as a team that can both score and defend at a high level. The Rams defense shined against the Virginia Cavaliers in a performance that saw the team hold Virginia to just 14 first half points.

Unlike the Cavaliers, the Longhorns have more reliable scoring options. The only question is whether or not Texas will get them the basketball.

Texas forwards Dylan Disu and Dillon Mitchell have proven the most efficient scorers on the team. Disu is shooting 49.4% from the field including 50% on three point baskets. Mitchell has made 59% of his field goals this season.

If past games are any indication, Disu and Mitchell may not receive the most shot attempts. Texas guard Max Abmas leads the team in shot attempts for the year with 431 attempted field goals. Fellow guard Tyrese Hunter has the next highest total on the team with 285 field goals.

Abmas has a history of success in the tournament from his time at Oral Roberts, but he might need to rely on teammates to make shots as well. Texas’ offensive approach could determine whether or not it stays in the tournament.

The Longhorns will look to advance past the round of 64 at 5:50 p.m. CT on TNT.

Preview: No. 10 seeds Virginia, Colorado State battle to play Texas

Texas finds out its next opponent on Tuesday night.

March Madness is here. The NCAA tournament begins Tuesday, and perhaps with more relevance to the Texas Longhorns than usual.

The Longhorns battle the winner of the No. 10 play-in game between the Virginia Cavaliers and the Colorado State Rams.

The teams narrowly reached the tournament in a more competitive field than usual. Their contrasting styles will play a role in the matchup and could determine how likely are Texas’ chances to advance.

Virginia’s style is straightforward. The Cavaliers want to play suffocating defense. The team allows 59.6 points per game.

While its defense led the team to a national title victory over Texas Tech and former Texas head coach Chris Beard, its lack of offense has also led to some of the more memorable upsets in recent tournament history. The list includes the first ever round of 64 upset of a No. 1 seed when the No. 16 UMBC Retrievers upset the Cavaliers.

Virginia isn’t separating from teams offensively this season. Its 63.6 points per game average has lifted it to a 1-3 record vs. Top 25 opponents. The Cavaliers rank No. 254 nationally in field goal percentage (43.4%) and No. 355 in free throw percentage (63.7%).

On the opposite side is a Colorado State squad that can score in droves. The team averages 76.4 points per contest and has gone 2-0 vs. Top 25 opponents for the season. The Rams have not fared as well defensively allowing 68.4 points per game.

The teams are scheduled to play Tuesday at 8:10 p.m. CT on TruTV.

What Texas’ tournament draw means for its postseason chances

The Longhorns couldn’t have asked for a better first weekend than their 2024 tournament draw.

The Texas Longhorns (20-12) have been a frustrating team to watch on the basketball court this season. From inconsistent offense to lackluster defense, the team has looked disjointed for much of the year.

Despite the above concerns, this season’s tournament draw gives Texas a chance to reach the Sweet 16.

Winning in the NCAA tournament isn’t easy as Texas knows well. The program is 39-40 all-time in the NCAA tournament. That resume includes plenty of first round exits. The Longhorns suffered losses to the likes of No. 11 seed Northern Iowa, No. 14 Abilene Christian and No. 11 Nevada when Shaka Smart led the team.

Chris Beard and Rodney Terry had better success as head coaches in Austin. Beard earned the team’s first NCAA tournament victory since 2014 in his first season. Terry took Texas to its first Elite Eight since 2009.

The dysfunction for the current squad is more reminiscent of the Smart era than the last two tournament runs. Albeit, the Longhorns’ potential opponents provide matchups that could give Texas a chance to win a couple of games.

Texas is set to play the winner of the No. 10 seed play-in game between the Virginia Cavaliers and Colorado State Rams. Some question whether or not the Cavaliers should be in the tournament given their lackluster resume. The two teams weren’t worthy of a tournament bye. They were among the last teams in the field. That favors Texas.

Stylistically, some suggest Virginia’s suffocating defense is a bad matchup for Texas. If the Longhorns run through guard Max Abmas they could certainly see the matchup go in Virginia’s favor. Abmas isn’t very tall or fast and seems to have limited vertical jump. While an effective scorer, his lack of ability to create space for himself has created issues not only in consistent scoring but in protecting the basketball.

Despite the issues Virginia’s defense present, the Cavaliers’ offensive limitations were enough to keep them on the bubble. Should Texas get high scoring forward Dylan Disu and efficient forward Dillon Mitchell shot opportunities in the first game, they could advance to face the No. 2 Tennessee Volunteers.

Tennessee, like Texas, did not have the most impressive entrance to the tournament. The Volunteers lost to the Mississippi State Bulldogs in their first SEC tournament game, 73-56.

While Mississippi State is a good team, Tennessee’s launch to March Madness is similar to how it has fared in the NCAA tournament. Barnes’ squads have struggled in the postseason since he took over at Tennessee. The Vols should be favored in the potential matchup, but the Longhorns would have an opportunity to win.

There is plenty of reason to doubt Texas entering the weekend. The inconsistent product is among the top concerns. Even so, if the team was going to make another Sweet 16 appearance you would expect their tournament draw to look like it looks this year.

Texas to face winner of Virginia, Colorado State in NCAA tournament

Texas was given a No. 7 seed in the NCAA tournament.

The Texas Longhorns’ bracket is set. Head coach Rodney Terry and company were given a No. 7 seed.

The No. 7 designation is a surprising one, but one that Terry’s squad certainly isn’t arguing against. The Longhorns are slated to play the winner of a No. 10 seed play-in game between Virginia and Colorado State.

The storylines abound for Texas players and coaches as we enter the first weekend. Virginia transfer Kadin Shedrick could face his former team should the Cavaliers win their first game.

Former Longhorns head coach Rick Barnes’ Tennessee Volunteers are the No. 2 seed in the same bracket as Texas. A potential reunion with Barnes is set to take place in the round of 32 should both teams advance out of their first matchup with a win.

Texas will await the results of the game between Virginia and Colorado State before taking the court. It will look to make a surprise run after reaching the Elite Eight last season.