It was a tough night for critics of Longhorns basketball.
Texas had an objectively impressive win on Wednesday night. There isn’t much to nitpick against the Longhorns’ performance but some fanbases tried their best.
Leading up to the game, many believed the Gonzaga Bulldogs would roll the Longhorns. After last year’s performance, another Gonzaga win was the reasonable expectation.
As it turns out, Texas is a much better basketball team than many anticipated. Not everyone could accept that fact following the dominant win by Chris Beard’s team.
Texas is now among basketball’s top contenders after not only winning, but winning soundly. If it isn’t abundantly clear in Beard’s separation with Texas Tech, the Longhorns head coach is winning the divorce.
Here’s a look at how the Longhorns’ naysayers took the news.
CBS Sports released their top 101 basketball players of the 2020-21 season, two Texas players were included.
As the start of the Texas men’s basketball season rapidly approaches, the hype and expectations continue to grow.
CBS Sports recently listed their top 101 college basketball players for the upcoming season and Texas head coach Shaka Smart has two of the top players in the country on his squad.
No. 37: Greg Brown, Power Forward
Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
There is no other player that fans are more excited about than former five-star prospect Greg Brown. Following his signing, we have seen countless highlight reel dunks on social media showcasing his unique athleticism. This is the type of athlete that can be a program-changer. It’s no surprise that CBS Sports listed him among the top 40 players this season.
“This is the type of one-and-done talent who could help Shaka Smart have his best season yet as Texas’ coach. The 6-9 jumping-jack was a consensus top-10 prospect in the Class of 2020.”
No. 46: Matt Coleman, Point Guard
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Matt Coleman leads a talented trio of guards this year for the Longhorns alongside Andrew Jones and Courtney Ramey. Coleman is a do-it-all player for this team and should be a driving force for the offense. It never hurts when you can knock down a walk-off three-pointer either, just ask Oklahoma. Texas will need to rely on Coleman’s strong defense if they hope to make a push for the Big 12 title this year.
“Shaka Smart has an embarrassment of talent this season, but it’s Coleman (12.7 ppg, 3.4 apg, 3.0 rpg) who is the most important and probably the best all-around player he’s got. Super defense, cunning instincts and needs to be the reliable guy to push Texas into that top-10 or top-15 conversation by the time Big 12 play starts.”
Shaka Smart and his squad will tip off the season on Wednesday, Nov. 25 at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin.
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Texas men’s basketball coach Shaka Smart shares his thoughts on Texas’ impressive upset win over West Virginia.
There’s no question that the Texas basketball program is hanging on by a thread.
In what seemed like a far-fetched possibility, the Longhorns now have hope to sneak in to the NCAA tournament after an impressive upset win over No. 20 West Virginia on Monday.
Although they’ve been plagued with a variety of injuries to Jase Febres, Gerald Liddell, Jericho Sims and Kamaka Hepa, Texas has now won three consecutive games.
There’s still a tough road ahead, but head coach Shaka Smart expressed that this is the best the Longhorns have been playing since he’s been with the program. He’s proud of how his guys fought and battled against a very physical Mountaineers team.
Texas will travel to No. 22 Texas Tech this Saturday in a critical Big 12 showdown.
The No. 15 Kentucky Wildcats will look to continue their domination as they travel to Thompson-Boling Arena to take on the Tennessee Volunteers in a solid matchup Saturday.
NCAA Basketball: Kentucky Wildcats (-2) at Tennessee Vols
Kentucky continues to be one of the country’s top programs and are 143-40 under John Calipari in SEC regular-season games. They can continue their dominance today against the 13-9 Tennessee Vols, who will be looking for an upset with their home crowd in Knoxville, Tenn.
Prediction: Even though Tennessee will be at home in this matchup, it might not matter when they take on powerhouse Kentucky. Tennessee is getting two points but would still have to go with Calipari’s Wildcats to win this one. Kentucky (-2).
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Everything you need to know to catch the Texas Longhorns basketball team take on the Central Michigan Chippewas
The Texas Longhorns basketball team looks to continue its winning ways as they are set to take on the Central Michigan Chippewas this Saturday. Texas is sporting an 8-1 record and riding high on five straight wins. Though the record looks nice, it hasn’t been enough to rejoin the top-25. Close wins against weak teams don’t inspire much confidence in voters, and that has been reflected in the polls. At this point, Texas just has to keep stringing the wins together and plan on making noise come tournament time.
Nov 21, 2019; New York, NY, USA; Texas Longhorns forward Kai Jones (22) shoots the ball against Georgetown Hoyas forward Jamorko Pickett (1) and center Qudus Wahab (34) and forward Josh LeBlanc (23) during the second half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Here is everything you need to know to catch the Longhorns in action:
Date: Saturday, December 14
Time: 1 p.m. CT
Location: Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas
TV: Longhorn Network
Stream: WatchESPN
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
How to watch, listen, or stream Texas Longhorns vs. TAMU Aggies basketball game
On Saturday afternoon, the rivalry is renewed on the basketball court as the Texas Longhorns travel to Texas A&M to take on the Aggies. The Longhorns are 7-1 but on the outside looking into the top-25. A win here would extend Texas’ record to 8-1 and make it tougher to keep it unranked. The Aggies are only 3-4 and are in the midst of a three-game losing streak – dropping games to Fairfield, Temple, and Harvard.
Texas has been led by junior guard Matt Coleman (13.8 points, 4.9 assists per game) with senior Andrew Jones (12.4 ppg) coming off the bench for an offensive spark.
Here is everything you need to know to catch the Longhorns’ matchup with the Aggies:
Date: Sunday, December 8
Time: 2 p.m. CT
Location: Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Texas
TV: ABC
Stream: ABC App
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
Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.
Former Texas Longhorn Jaxson Hayes threw it down with ferocity in the New Orleans Pelicans’ matchup with the Phoenix Suns
Wow, Jaxson Hayes. He really just doesn’t quit. Since his time at Texas up to now, his rookie season in the NBA, Hayes won’t stop putting opponents on posters. His latest victim is Cheik Diallo during the New Orleans Pelicans’ close loss to the Phoenix Suns. Hayes brought his head above the rim and soared to the basket, throwing it down with ferocity – Diallo just happened to be in his way.
Hayes finished the game with 17 points and 5 rebounds in 33 minutes of play. He averaged 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks in his only season at Texas. Check out the demoralizing poster here:
Texas Longhorns basketball beats UAB 67-57: on to the Aggies
On Tuesday night, the Texas Longhorns basketball team improved its’ record to 7-1 with a 10-point win over the UAB Blazers. Texas shot the ball well, rebounding from a disappointing shooting performance against McNeese State over the weekend. Texas barely escaped that game with a 73-71 win and shot only 29% from three and 50% from the free-throw line.
Against the UAB Blazers, the Longhorns corrected that as they went 44% from three and 72.7% from the line. Andrew Jones was the star for Texas, going for 20 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists in 27 minutes. He set his career-high as he hit 6 three-pointers and provided a surge to the Longhorns’ offense.
Up next for Texas is Texas A&M on Sunday. The Aggies are 3-4 coming off a loss against the 2-6 Fairfield Stags. On that topic, if it seems the Longhorns’ schedule is a little softer this year, it’s because it is. Texas currently has two ranked teams on the schedule – No. 2 Kansas and No. 18 Baylor. The out of conference schedule is riddled with teams that don’t project to make the tournament like McNeese State, Central Michigan, and Prairie View.
For Texas to secure a top-6 seed in the tournament, they need to minimize losses to teams like that and come out with at least one upset over Baylor or Kansas.
