Quickly turning around from their loss on Saturday night to Kansas, it seemed as if the season could not get worse for Texas. That was proven wrong on Monday night as West Virginia handed the Longhorns the worst loss in the Shaka Smart era, 97-58.
Already having one of the worst offenses in the Big 12, tonight did not help. Matt Coleman and Jase Febres were the only players to get anything rolling for Texas, combining 33 of the teams 58 points. The two of them shot 6-11 and 4-9 from the field respectively, making 50% of their shots.
If you take their stats out of the equation, the rest of the team shot 27.2%. Ranking sixth in the conference in field goal percentage, if it is not a three-point attempt, the Longhorns struggle to make their shots.
As for the Mountaineers, four of their starters were in double figures, dominating Texas all night long. Putting up 70 shots, they made over 50% of them. Even more frightening was how many of them were inside the arc. West Virginia only attempted 14 three-pointers, knowing they could outmuscle the Longhorns in the paint.
Even when they missed, the Mountaineers more than likely got their own miss. Securing 23 offensive rebounds, Texas was dominated on the glass throughout the night. Add in their 30 defensive rebounds and West Virginia won the rebounding battle 53-25.
The is a new low for Texas under Shaka Smart, suffering a 38 point defeat and falling to 2-4 in conference play. A team that has played well against inferior opponents has struggled when the competition is clearly above their level. Suffering blowout losses to Providence, Georgetown, Baylor, and now West Virginia, any sort of glimmer for the NCAA tournament is fading away for the Longhorns.
The schedule does not get any easier either, as some of the best teams in the conference are upcoming. After hosting first place in the SEC LSU in the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Saturday, tough games against TCU on the road and Iowa State will show where this team really is.
The three following that is at Kansas, Texas Tech, and Baylor, all teams currently ranked inside of the AP Top 25. The Longhorns’ season very well may be over by that point, as they will not be expected to win any of those games.
An 8-10 conference record was good enough to get Texas into the NIT last season, but that may not be the case this season. Missing the NCAA tournament would more than likely be enough to get Shaka Smart fired, but missing the NIT would be a no-doubter.
In the short term, the goal should be to win their next two conference games against TCU and Iowa State, teams considered to be middle of the pack with the Longhorns. If they can win those games, there is hope to turn the ship around. If not, the season may and well truly be over.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3]