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Hoops Preview: Horns looking to win first hoops title in the SEC on Friday night
- By Ketchum
- Inside the 40 Acres
- 12 Replies
Cliffsnotes: The Texas men's basketball team has a chance to add its first trophy as a member of the SEC when it competes in the championship game of the extremely prestigious UGK...er... UKG Legends Classic on Friday night against Saint Joseph's at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Time: 8:30 PM Central.
How to Watch: ESPN - Kevin Brown (play by play) and Jay Williams (analyst)
Line: Texas -7.5
KenPom Rankings: Texas (No.27) and Saint Joseph's (No.90)
How We Got Here: Texas (4-1) took out Syracuse on Thursday night in one semi-final, while St. Joseph's (4-1) eliminated an obviously terrified-to-face-Texas version of Texas Tech in the other semi-final.
The Texas Line-up...
The Headliner: Freshman Tre Johnson shook off a old night from the floor on offense in the final 4 minutes against Syracuse to help the Longhorns secure a win., Johnson finished with a season low 16 points and hasn't cracked 20 points in any of the last 3 games, although he is still averaging 22.0 points per game. In you're wondering he's 2 points off the points-pace that Kevin Durant (112 points in 5 games) established as a freshman in 2006-07.
Did You Know: The last time the Longhorns played Saint Joseph's was on November 24th, 2008, as the Longhorns rolled to a 68-50 win in the Maui Invitational. A.J. Abrams led the team in scoring that night with 17 points, while Gary Johnson scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds off the bench.
About Saint Jospeh's: The Hawks have been a fascinating team this season, as they hold wins over Texas Tech (No.19 in the latest Kenpom rankings) and Villanova (No.61 in the latest Kenpom rankings), but also have a loss to Central Connecticut (No.271 in the latest Kenpom rankings). 6-2 sophomore guard Xzayvier Brown is the straw that stirs the drink for the Hawks, as he's averaging 17.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2.0 steals per game. He's more of a volume shooter than an efficient scorer, but you do NOT want to send him to the free throw line (95.0% for the season). He's joined in the backcourt by 6-2 senior guard Erik Reynolds, who averages 16.8 points per game and scored 26 points (6 of 11 from downtown) against Texas Tech last night. The Hawks knocked. down 12 of 22 (54.5%) from three-point land against Tech and they shoot better than 3% from downtown on the season. Where the Hawks can be exposed is in the paint, as evidenced last night when Tech out-rebounded them 44-28. The starting line-up for the Hawks goes 6-2, 6-2, 6-3, 6-9 and 6-9.
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Time: 8:30 PM Central.
How to Watch: ESPN - Kevin Brown (play by play) and Jay Williams (analyst)
Line: Texas -7.5
KenPom Rankings: Texas (No.27) and Saint Joseph's (No.90)
How We Got Here: Texas (4-1) took out Syracuse on Thursday night in one semi-final, while St. Joseph's (4-1) eliminated an obviously terrified-to-face-Texas version of Texas Tech in the other semi-final.
The Texas Line-up...
The Headliner: Freshman Tre Johnson shook off a old night from the floor on offense in the final 4 minutes against Syracuse to help the Longhorns secure a win., Johnson finished with a season low 16 points and hasn't cracked 20 points in any of the last 3 games, although he is still averaging 22.0 points per game. In you're wondering he's 2 points off the points-pace that Kevin Durant (112 points in 5 games) established as a freshman in 2006-07.
Did You Know: The last time the Longhorns played Saint Joseph's was on November 24th, 2008, as the Longhorns rolled to a 68-50 win in the Maui Invitational. A.J. Abrams led the team in scoring that night with 17 points, while Gary Johnson scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds off the bench.
About Saint Jospeh's: The Hawks have been a fascinating team this season, as they hold wins over Texas Tech (No.19 in the latest Kenpom rankings) and Villanova (No.61 in the latest Kenpom rankings), but also have a loss to Central Connecticut (No.271 in the latest Kenpom rankings). 6-2 sophomore guard Xzayvier Brown is the straw that stirs the drink for the Hawks, as he's averaging 17.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2.0 steals per game. He's more of a volume shooter than an efficient scorer, but you do NOT want to send him to the free throw line (95.0% for the season). He's joined in the backcourt by 6-2 senior guard Erik Reynolds, who averages 16.8 points per game and scored 26 points (6 of 11 from downtown) against Texas Tech last night. The Hawks knocked. down 12 of 22 (54.5%) from three-point land against Tech and they shoot better than 3% from downtown on the season. Where the Hawks can be exposed is in the paint, as evidenced last night when Tech out-rebounded them 44-28. The starting line-up for the Hawks goes 6-2, 6-2, 6-3, 6-9 and 6-9.
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