What you missed: Texas fails to get third straight win against former Texas Head Coach, Chris beard, after falling to Ole Miss 72-69 in a thriller.
The participants: Texas Longhorns @ #23 Ole Miss
Box Score: https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore/_/gameId/401708357
Hardwood MVP: To nobody’s surprise, tonight’s Hardwood MVP is none other than Tre Johnson. Despite missing the game-tying shot, The Freshman Guard poured in 22 points, 3 assists, and shot 8/8 from the charity stripe in what was ultimately not enough to lead Texas to a third straight ranked win against the #1 rated defense in the SEC according to KenPom.
Tale of the Tape: Tonight’s ballgame against the Ole Miss Rebels marked Texas’ seventh AP Top 25 opponent in their last eight games, and with a familiar face on the sideline in former Texas Head Coach, Chris Beard. The Longhorns came into this matchup seeking their third consecutive ranked win, and their fourth SEC win in their last five games.
Texas’ Turnover Troubles: Coming into this matchup, the Rebels had the #1 defensive rating in the SEC, and were top three in Forced Turnover%, Steal%, and Non-Steal Turnover%. Needless to say, ball security was a must if Texas wanted to secure a road win in Oxford. The Longhorns recorded 11 turnovers, 17 fouls, which lead to Ole Miss attempting 25 Free Throws, tied for the third most against Texas since SEC play began.
Blow the Whistle: Has been the theme for the officiating crew these past couple games while Texas has been on defense. Tonight’s 25 Free Throws attempts by the Rebels, marked four of the last five SEC opponents to record 20+ Opp. FTA against the Longhorns, and seven of the last eight since SEC play tipped off.
Keeping it a buck: After recording two back-to-back Quad 1 wins against Missouri and Texas A&M, Chris Beard’s Rebels get the last laugh against the Longhorns. Despite what I believed was their best display of ball movement in SEC play, Texas was simply cold from beyond the arc shooting 5/22 (22.2%) from the arc and 25/63 (39.7%) from the field, sprinkle in Ole Miss’ Guard, Sean Pedulla, having his way on the offensive end and outcomes like tonight are destined to happen. Horns look to bounce back against the LSU Tigers on the road which will be their first Quad opportunity after starting off with eight straight Quad 1 opponents.
Texas Report Card vs Ole Miss:
- Ball Movement: A-
- Attacking the rim: B+
- Shot selection: B+
- Perimeter Offense: B
- Interior Offense: B
- Perimeter Defense: B-
- Interior Defense: B
- Offensive Rebounding: A
- Defensive Rebounding: A-
- Ball security: C+
- Overall Performance: B
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