The Texas Longhorns men’s basketball team is amidst a three-game losing streak after dropping their last game to Baylor, completing a season sweep for the Bears. During the broadcast ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla mentioned the amount of talent that the Longhorns have secured over the Shaka Smart tenure.
A stat I heard from @franfraschilla that was so amazing I had to look it up myself. Texas has signed 11 Top 100 ESPN basketball recruits the last three years. Baylor? Only 2.
— Brian Davis (@BDavisAAS) February 11, 2020
No Go To Scorer
The main cause for the losses as of late is development under Smart. With 11 top 100 players signed to play basketball, the Longhorns have yet to display the fruits of their labor on the hardwood. Against the Bears, Texas struggled to score consistently enough to keep up with their defense against a number one team. Texas fell to 0-11 against top ranked teams in their history.
Against the Bears, Longhorns’ guard Matt Coleman III led all scorers along with Baylor’s MaCio Teague with 11 points. That falls below is 12.6 points per game during Big 12 play. While Coleman has been the best for the team, Texas lacks that go to option when the going gets tough.
Shooting
During Monday’s game the Longhorns made one more basket that Baylor but lost by seven to the nation’s top ranked team. Over the three-game skid the Longhorns have been especially poor from behind the line. Shooting just 20.3 percent from behind the arc on 64 attempts. The average 4.3 makes on 21.3 attempts per game.
Arguably their best three point shooter missing in Jase Febres didn’t help matters but they have really struggled from distance. Overall their shooting hasn’t been there either. The Longhorns need to get more quality shots on the offensive side. Or attempt to get to the free throw line.
Over the last three games Texas has shot just 34.6 percent from the field with 63 makes on 182 attempts. Against the Bears they shot the lowest of that stretch with 30.5 percent. Despite a strong defensive effort, it is increasingly difficult to beat anyone when you miss that many shots. Texas is dead last in the conference at 64.6 points per game.
Rebounding
Despite having a big man like Jericho Sims who snagged 14 rebounds against Baylor, Texas has really struggled on the glass. They average the least amount of offensive rebounds per game which would give them more opportunities to score. Which could help counteract their porous shooting performances.
In total rebounds, the Longhorns average just 32.9 rebounds per game while allowing 35.8 per game. Their rebounding margin (-2.92) per game is the worst of the conference. Texas needs to make a more concerted effort to dominate the glass if they expect to compete with the top teams in the conference despite a disadvantage in shooting on a nightly basis.