Maybe it was the lack of almost any atmosphere because of the pandemic. Maybe it was ‘Texas State’ across the opposing team’s jersey with Baylor looming and three previous games against Indiana, North Carolina and Villanova. Maybe it was all the different lineups and the choppy play in the first half. Whatever it was, tonight felt like an exhibition game for the burnt orange and white. The No. 13 Longhorns (5-1) were challenged in the second half, and eventually handled their business against Texas State with a 74-53 win.
Here are 10 postgame thoughts:
1) Shaka Smart said Monday he told his program tonight’s game would be a statement about them as much as any game because games like this in the past have resulted in poor habits rearing their ugly heads down the road or in some cases losses. Smart kind of backed off that statement some by saying they simply want the players to take each game as seriously as the big ones.
“We wanted to make sure they understood that if Indiana was, If North Carolina was, if Villanova was then you know, Texas State should be,” said Smart about the statement message to the team prior to the game. “And I give our guys credit for the way they prepared. You know, human nature is such that if you play those last three opponents that we played, and then your next game after tonight is Baylor. It's certainly, again, normal human nature to you I guess, let up a little bit, but the best teams don't do that. The best players don't do that.
“I thought Matt and Courtney did a really good job of leading our team with just aggressive effort, energy. Those guys really played to win that it certainly didn't play perfect. It wasn't their best games, but they got their hands on a basketball on defense. And they played to win the game, which is the foundation of what you want to be.”
But if we’re into statements from tonight, here are a couple:
--- Texas showed its potential with a dominant start in the first half, fueled by nine dunks and overpowering defense, and dominant close after Texas State cut the second-half lead to seven with 11:26 remaining. But did the Longhorns play a good game for 40 minutes? No. They still have a ton of work to do.
--- Matt Coleman and Courtney Ramey’s vocal leadership and intensely competitive body language in the second half strongly suggested they’re undoubtedly the leaders of this team, and carry a different presence on the floor than last season. The duo also combined for 12 assists.
2) Let’s start with the good. Considering Texas won this game by 21 points, it’s probably unfair to start with the bad. Besides the occasional lapses, Texas’s first-shot defense was often really good. I say first-shot defense because the Bobcats didn’t lack second-chance opportunities.
Initially, Texas did a great job of flying around, and in particular Matt Coleman’s on-ball defense in the second half helped set the tone when Texas State threatened to get all the way back into the game. Early, the Longhorns threw a block party in the paint as Texas turned the game into a chaotic, up-and-down contest. In the second-half’s more half-court affair, Texas adjusted to what Texas State was doing with better ball-screen defense with the occasional hard hedge leading to a disruptive trap deep beyond the arc.
Texas State (3-2) scored just 0.78 points per possession and finished with eight assists compared to 16 turnovers
3) Now the bad… the Bobcats finished with 13 offensive rebounds and grabbed an unacceptable 33.3% of their misses. I don’t think UT’s effort on the defensive glass was necessarily bad, and there were a couple occasions when Texas contested shots so aggressively it couldn’t rotate into rebounding position. Texas simply didn’t grab the ball well enough, and needs to do a much better job of putting a body on someone and getting in position to aggressively attack a missed shot with strength.
On the other side, Jericho Sims’s five offensive rebounds led to Texas grabbing 39.4% of its misses. However, that number is a little skewed because Sims grabbed a Kai Jones miss in the paint and then two of his putback misses back-to-back-to-back in the first half.
4) The Texas offense had a weird night, although if I guess when you’ve covered this program the entire Smart era these nights aren’t too surprising. On one hand, the Longhorns dished out 16 assists (64.0%, a great number). They also had long periods of guards getting into the paint and either getting an easy bucket or a trip to the free throw line (17-of-20 from the free throw line) for themselves or a teammate in addition to kicking the ball out for an open three.
Texas also committed 14 turnovers including a few when it simply allowed Texas State’s aggressive hands to knock dribbles or drives away. The Longhorns also had stretches when the ball literally didn’t go inside the three-point arc at any point before a shot attempt, and they finished 7-of-22 from three-point range thanks to Greg Brown catching fire in the second half.
5) I found it very interesting after the game Andrew Jones mentioned, when asked how he’d grade the offense this season, the offense is going to really take off when guys like himself, Brown and Sims start playing well and get on the same page as Coleman and Ramey.
“Our offense is continuing to get better as guys continue to learn to play with each other,” Jones said. “And you know, once everybody starts making shots to really get that feel and have that continuity, and moving that chemistry, I feel that we're really going to be good. I can't really grade it grade-wise right now. But I know once everyone's… me, Greg, Jericho, get on the same pace when Matt and Courtney and everybody else follows suit as well, I think we're really going to be really good.”
6) Around the midway mark in the second half when Texas started to make a run and pull away, Brown attacked a closeout with strength, was fouled in the paint, and converted an and-one layup. Following the play, some trash talking words were exchanged between teams, which fired up the five-star freshman.
“Yeah, it did get me going,” said Brown with a big smile when asked about the trash talking after his and-one. “Trash talk is the one thing to get me going.”
He then made two quick threes and was a one-man show as Texas opened up a massive lead. The shooting was especially noteworthy because it showed Brown is capable, and Smart reiterated after the game the Longhorns want Brown to shoot those rhythm, catch-and-shoot threes.
However, it’s what happened after those two made threes that encouraged me the most. Brown had an opportunity for a heat-check three that was a decent but not great look at the wing. Instead, he made the extra pass to Donovan Williams in the corner, who then attacked a closeout and made a pass across the paint to Kai Jones. Jones was fouled on the dunk attempt. It was a fantastic example of Brown making the best basketball play available, and not forcing the issue on offense.
Brown scored a game-high 18 points in 22 minutes on 7-of-14 shooting (3-of-7 from three-point range) with two rebounds, three blocks and just one turnover. He’s getting closer to figured it out, and fully admitted he’s still adjusting to the college game.
“It’s been a kind of a struggle for me on the offensive end. But what I'm trying to like just keep learning is just how to play the pace. Just play off my teammates and just help the game slow down for me. And just how to get my teammates involved more because in high school I was just a one-man show. But now I have other good players on my team. I have to use them,” said Brown.
The thing that’s surprised Brown the most? How tight help-side defense is.
7) In the first half, Texas used all 11 available scholarship players tonight including Kamaka Hepa. Smart was clearly trying to see what he had with some certain lineups, and at one point wanted to sub an entire five because the Longhorns weren’t talking enough on the floor. At one point, Texas used a lineup with Coleman as the only true guard, and another time Texas used Williams as a four in a guard-heavy lineup. It played into the weird exhibition game-like feel in the first half because Texas never really found a rhythm on offense after a strong start.
8) Smart said after the game Brock Cunningham suffered a chest contusion after a hard shot during the game but should be okay. Cunningham played just four minutes and wasn’t seen on the bench after he went to the locker room.
9) Every team Texas plays the rest of the season should use all the pump-fakes they have. The Longhorns want to be aggressive, and it did result in seven blocks, including Brown spiking a shot off a Texas State player’s head. However, the Longhorns also gave up some paint buckets by jumping out of their shoes at ball and pump-fakes, which was a major issue against Villanova.
10) Up next for the Longhorns is a trip to Waco to open Big 12 play against the preseason Big 12 pick and the No. 2 team in the country. If the Longhorns want to have any real chance at leaving with the upset win, they’ll have to play with better toughness and aggressiveness on the glass and grab and drive the ball strongly in the paint.
“You know, we wanted to really set a tone. You know, in the past, we struggled with mid-major teams after having good wins. And we just want to really make a statement today. We were aggressive. But we weren't as aggressive as we should be,” said Andrew Jones.
Here are 10 postgame thoughts:
1) Shaka Smart said Monday he told his program tonight’s game would be a statement about them as much as any game because games like this in the past have resulted in poor habits rearing their ugly heads down the road or in some cases losses. Smart kind of backed off that statement some by saying they simply want the players to take each game as seriously as the big ones.
“We wanted to make sure they understood that if Indiana was, If North Carolina was, if Villanova was then you know, Texas State should be,” said Smart about the statement message to the team prior to the game. “And I give our guys credit for the way they prepared. You know, human nature is such that if you play those last three opponents that we played, and then your next game after tonight is Baylor. It's certainly, again, normal human nature to you I guess, let up a little bit, but the best teams don't do that. The best players don't do that.
“I thought Matt and Courtney did a really good job of leading our team with just aggressive effort, energy. Those guys really played to win that it certainly didn't play perfect. It wasn't their best games, but they got their hands on a basketball on defense. And they played to win the game, which is the foundation of what you want to be.”
But if we’re into statements from tonight, here are a couple:
--- Texas showed its potential with a dominant start in the first half, fueled by nine dunks and overpowering defense, and dominant close after Texas State cut the second-half lead to seven with 11:26 remaining. But did the Longhorns play a good game for 40 minutes? No. They still have a ton of work to do.
--- Matt Coleman and Courtney Ramey’s vocal leadership and intensely competitive body language in the second half strongly suggested they’re undoubtedly the leaders of this team, and carry a different presence on the floor than last season. The duo also combined for 12 assists.
2) Let’s start with the good. Considering Texas won this game by 21 points, it’s probably unfair to start with the bad. Besides the occasional lapses, Texas’s first-shot defense was often really good. I say first-shot defense because the Bobcats didn’t lack second-chance opportunities.
Initially, Texas did a great job of flying around, and in particular Matt Coleman’s on-ball defense in the second half helped set the tone when Texas State threatened to get all the way back into the game. Early, the Longhorns threw a block party in the paint as Texas turned the game into a chaotic, up-and-down contest. In the second-half’s more half-court affair, Texas adjusted to what Texas State was doing with better ball-screen defense with the occasional hard hedge leading to a disruptive trap deep beyond the arc.
Texas State (3-2) scored just 0.78 points per possession and finished with eight assists compared to 16 turnovers
3) Now the bad… the Bobcats finished with 13 offensive rebounds and grabbed an unacceptable 33.3% of their misses. I don’t think UT’s effort on the defensive glass was necessarily bad, and there were a couple occasions when Texas contested shots so aggressively it couldn’t rotate into rebounding position. Texas simply didn’t grab the ball well enough, and needs to do a much better job of putting a body on someone and getting in position to aggressively attack a missed shot with strength.
On the other side, Jericho Sims’s five offensive rebounds led to Texas grabbing 39.4% of its misses. However, that number is a little skewed because Sims grabbed a Kai Jones miss in the paint and then two of his putback misses back-to-back-to-back in the first half.
4) The Texas offense had a weird night, although if I guess when you’ve covered this program the entire Smart era these nights aren’t too surprising. On one hand, the Longhorns dished out 16 assists (64.0%, a great number). They also had long periods of guards getting into the paint and either getting an easy bucket or a trip to the free throw line (17-of-20 from the free throw line) for themselves or a teammate in addition to kicking the ball out for an open three.
Texas also committed 14 turnovers including a few when it simply allowed Texas State’s aggressive hands to knock dribbles or drives away. The Longhorns also had stretches when the ball literally didn’t go inside the three-point arc at any point before a shot attempt, and they finished 7-of-22 from three-point range thanks to Greg Brown catching fire in the second half.
5) I found it very interesting after the game Andrew Jones mentioned, when asked how he’d grade the offense this season, the offense is going to really take off when guys like himself, Brown and Sims start playing well and get on the same page as Coleman and Ramey.
“Our offense is continuing to get better as guys continue to learn to play with each other,” Jones said. “And you know, once everybody starts making shots to really get that feel and have that continuity, and moving that chemistry, I feel that we're really going to be good. I can't really grade it grade-wise right now. But I know once everyone's… me, Greg, Jericho, get on the same pace when Matt and Courtney and everybody else follows suit as well, I think we're really going to be really good.”
6) Around the midway mark in the second half when Texas started to make a run and pull away, Brown attacked a closeout with strength, was fouled in the paint, and converted an and-one layup. Following the play, some trash talking words were exchanged between teams, which fired up the five-star freshman.
“Yeah, it did get me going,” said Brown with a big smile when asked about the trash talking after his and-one. “Trash talk is the one thing to get me going.”
He then made two quick threes and was a one-man show as Texas opened up a massive lead. The shooting was especially noteworthy because it showed Brown is capable, and Smart reiterated after the game the Longhorns want Brown to shoot those rhythm, catch-and-shoot threes.
However, it’s what happened after those two made threes that encouraged me the most. Brown had an opportunity for a heat-check three that was a decent but not great look at the wing. Instead, he made the extra pass to Donovan Williams in the corner, who then attacked a closeout and made a pass across the paint to Kai Jones. Jones was fouled on the dunk attempt. It was a fantastic example of Brown making the best basketball play available, and not forcing the issue on offense.
Brown scored a game-high 18 points in 22 minutes on 7-of-14 shooting (3-of-7 from three-point range) with two rebounds, three blocks and just one turnover. He’s getting closer to figured it out, and fully admitted he’s still adjusting to the college game.
“It’s been a kind of a struggle for me on the offensive end. But what I'm trying to like just keep learning is just how to play the pace. Just play off my teammates and just help the game slow down for me. And just how to get my teammates involved more because in high school I was just a one-man show. But now I have other good players on my team. I have to use them,” said Brown.
The thing that’s surprised Brown the most? How tight help-side defense is.
7) In the first half, Texas used all 11 available scholarship players tonight including Kamaka Hepa. Smart was clearly trying to see what he had with some certain lineups, and at one point wanted to sub an entire five because the Longhorns weren’t talking enough on the floor. At one point, Texas used a lineup with Coleman as the only true guard, and another time Texas used Williams as a four in a guard-heavy lineup. It played into the weird exhibition game-like feel in the first half because Texas never really found a rhythm on offense after a strong start.
8) Smart said after the game Brock Cunningham suffered a chest contusion after a hard shot during the game but should be okay. Cunningham played just four minutes and wasn’t seen on the bench after he went to the locker room.
9) Every team Texas plays the rest of the season should use all the pump-fakes they have. The Longhorns want to be aggressive, and it did result in seven blocks, including Brown spiking a shot off a Texas State player’s head. However, the Longhorns also gave up some paint buckets by jumping out of their shoes at ball and pump-fakes, which was a major issue against Villanova.
10) Up next for the Longhorns is a trip to Waco to open Big 12 play against the preseason Big 12 pick and the No. 2 team in the country. If the Longhorns want to have any real chance at leaving with the upset win, they’ll have to play with better toughness and aggressiveness on the glass and grab and drive the ball strongly in the paint.
“You know, we wanted to really set a tone. You know, in the past, we struggled with mid-major teams after having good wins. And we just want to really make a statement today. We were aggressive. But we weren't as aggressive as we should be,” said Andrew Jones.
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