Sponsorship.
Seth Fowler graduated from Texas in 1998. Since 2004, he has been helping home buyers and sellers in the DFW Metroplex. Whether new construction, existing homes, investment property, or land, he is your Real Estate Sherpa - guiding you through the process, making it an enjoyable experience. Based in Tarrant County, however, he will help connect you with a quality Realtor anywhere in Texas, the United States, or in the world. When looking to purchase or sell real estate in this new market, call Seth at 817.980.6636.***
First half.
In the first half, Kansas State came out and punched Texas in the mouth with stifling defense, forcing Texas to more turnovers than FGs made with seven shots to 10 giveaways. The Longhorns shot an abysmal 30% with seven makes versus 23 attempts, and were even colder from beyond the arc, hitting just one attempt of nine.It wasn't just the shooting woes that were such an issue – the offense looked lost, and at times, even intimidated, with players deferring to teammates more often than taking a line to the paint or even looking for their own shot. It's easy to discourage an offensive player when you've turned him over several times, so those deflections add up and can affect all phases of the offense.
Frustration is a real thing in basketball, especially when you're a team that averages high-70s/low-80s in scoring per game and you've been limited to just 25 points in the first 20 minutes. Funnily enough, the guy that came off the bench to provide a bit of offense for Texas was a short spurt of Brock Cunningham, who hit back-to-back shots, one of which was a three, to help weather the storm during a Kansas State run.
The leading scorers for each team were Marcus Carr (six) and Desi Sills (seven), so there wasn't a ton of focus on individual players in this half – it was a team effort.
Second half.
Texas came out blazing in the second half, taking the three points on free throws given to SirJabari Rice at the end of the first, parlaying it into a 15-4 run that got Texas back in the game, trailing just three at 40-37.The rest of the game was a knife fight, a back-and-forth affair that had every bit of edge and effort you'd expect out of a tournament game. Despite being one of the best offenses in the country, Kansas State struggled with Texas' denial defense, which they were able to run extremely well, keeping the ball out of the hands of Kansas State's biggest playmakers and forcing their role players to step up and win.
They were unable to, as the Texas bench scored 33 points, much of which was due to the talents of the aforementioned Rice as well as standout forward Christian Bishop. They combined for 28 of these points, giving Texas the lift they needed to go on the road and beat a really, really good Kansas State team.
They outscored the Wildcats 44-30 in the second half to win, 69-66.
Highlight of the Game.
It's only natural that the highlight of the game comes from one of the players of the game. Watch the feed here from a driving Tyrese Hunter, who gets near the rim before hop-stepping into the paint, flipping it to a cutting Christian Bishop who slams it home before accenting the play with a high-volume celebration.Player(s) of the Game (Texas).
After today's performance, two bench players are most deserving of this award: SirJabari Rice and Christian Bishop.SirJabari Rice has been absolutely stellar recently, scoring 21 in each of his last two games coming into this one before once again being the Texas scoring leader with 14, tied only with his co-POTG. Interestingly enough, Rice had more boards today than Mitchell, Disu, and Cunningham had – combined – en route to a double-double. He had yet another fantastic day at the free-throw line, hitting 8/9 after not being terribly efficient (2/6 overall on FG) from the field.
Christian Bishop played maybe the best game he's ever played in a Texas uniform given the context of the top-10 matchup today, as he threw it down hard all game to tally up 14 points, six boards, two blocks, and two steals. He was so impactful down the stretch on both sides of the floor, and uses very impressive footwork on offense to force awkward shots to go. He has excellent body control, and if he was 6'10, he'd be on NBA Draft Boards. The fact he plays this style despite being relatively small for a forward at 6'7 is remarkable. His energy is unmatched as well as contagious, spreading to other Texas players when he's on the floor.
Player(s) of the Game (Kansas State).
Last time around, Markquis Nowell ribboned the Texas defense like a switchblade, dropping a Luka-Doncic-esque stat line of 36 points and nine dimes. Texas played extremely effective defense on Nowell throughout the game, holding him to just 10 points on 4/11 from the field and 0/5 from three. Kansas State's other star, Keyontae Johnson, was the best player on the floor for the Wildcats today, putting up 16 on 6/10 from the field. Johnson is so strong and athletic, especially when a guy of his size gets going downhill, he's very difficult – physically – to stop. He got his to an extent today, but Texas' ability to limit the other players on the floor limited Johnson's effectiveness.Arkansas State transfer Desi Sills also had an effective 11 points, five boards, and three assists.
What this win means.
In the constant war zone that is the Big 12, any win over any opponent on the road is a big deal. It's a bigger deal that Texas has successfully defended its top spot in the conference in a very difficult environment that also happens to be a top-10 team in the nation that has already beaten you in your own building. To come out and do what Texas just did after trailing by as many as 14 points and by 11 at the break shows once again what I see every time I watch this team: resiliency.I won't even harp on the team's off-the-court maturity involving their former head coach, as it's been talked to death. But these guys are seemingly never out of a game. They played inarguably poorly in the first half in what was starting to look like it might be another rout at the hands of the Wildcats. Yet, they come out second half and open with a 12-4 run to get them within three by the first media timeout.
This is a roster that is undeniably talented. They have blue-chips, vets, leaders, defenders; they have most of the pieces required for championship basketball. But the thing that separates them is their toughness. Which leads me to my next question...
...Is Rodney Terry "The Guy?"
Terry came into this interim position in an uphill battle to retain head coaching duties after the season, but there is legitimately not much more he could be doing to sell himself to the administration. I don't see this team's being drastically different with its former HC at the helm at the moment. They currently sit at 19-4, 8-2 in conference. Do we legitimately think that he would have them at 22-1 and undefeated in the Big 12?There's no doubt that he was an elite, excellent coach who will be a head coach within 12 months of now at the latest. But what Rodney Terry has been able to do with this team is beyond impressive. They are a legitimate Final Four contender during this season under these circumstances. How can you not credit Terry for the job he's done so far?
Likely, Texas will outsource the new head coach and go for a splashy, big-name hire (albeit one who is squeaky clean), and Terry will either remain the associate head coach spot on a new staff, which isn't likely, or search for another associate or head gig elsewhere.
It's like an '80s high school movie where the girl with the glasses takes them off and you realize she's been the hot one the whole time – Terry being the bespectacled, as opposed to going for the cheerleading captain, which would be a big name like Musselman or Oats.
Could Terry be "The Guy?" There's quite a bit of season left, but at this point, he's proving his worth beyond a shadow of a doubt.
