What you missed: The Texas longhorns fall short against a familiar face in Rick Barnes, 74-70, and remain winless against AP No.1 Teams
The participants: #1 Tennessee Volunteers @ Texas Longhorns
Box Score: https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore/_/gameId/401708323
Hardwood MVP: We have been looking for him, but dread it, run from it, destiny still arrives. That is the best way to describe Tre Johnson putting the Horns on his back, the Freshman had himself a day, 26 points, 11/17 FG, and 4/8 from three point land, to say this performance was impressive was an understatement. Coming into this matchup Tennessee had the #2 Defense via KenPom and as simply put, Johnson said to hell with that, giving his all and putting what might be his best performance so far in his college career giving Texas a fighting chance against one of the most stout defenses out there.
Tale of the Tape: Texas has now went toe to toe with the AP’s top two team’s in the nation and have fallen by a combined 9 points, a tough pill to swallow to say the least, and while the score against Auburn doesn’t tell the entire story the opposite can be said against Tennessee. Texas was in this matchup from start to finish and while the Offense ultimately couldn’t hold their style of play up for a full 40 minutes I must say, this was a rather impressive performance on the defensive end for the majority. Tennessee’s Guard Chaz Lanier was held in check for the majority of this game, however Senior Guard Zakai Zeigler showed was a prime definition of a dawg tonight. Ziegler finished with 16 points, 8 assists, and 2 threes on the night and when dared by the Texas to become the primary scorer for the Vols boy did he answer.
I Volunteer as tribute: As Kawhi Leonard once said “Board man gets paid,” and that is exactly what solidified this outcome. Don’t get me wrong Texas was doing everything right in terms of their defensive strategy, their offense is another story, but in the final 6 minutes or so the Volunteers just wanted it more, that’s the best way to put it, coming into this matchup, Tennessee ranked top 10 in Offensive Rebound percentage, and ranked 43rd in offensive rebounds per game (10.9 per game). Tonight was no different, the Volunteers finished with 18 tonight, a +8 differential on the offensive end.
Know your role: While the offense still lacked the right amount of ball movement that moves the needle in favor for the Horns, I will say that this was the first game against a formidable opponent where you could visibly see roles were starting to be established. Tre was leaned on as the bucket getter when he needed to be, Pope played perfectly into the Robin role down the stretch, Tramon Mark was extremely underrated when it came to helping set the tone offensively early in the matchup. However, the deeper these two went back and forth, Tennessee was living with what got Texas into this game in the first place, contested perimeter shots, sprinkle in some poor Defensive rebounding to put away possessions and you simply aren’t going to upset the #1 team in the nation.
Keeping it a buck: I understand that things look as bleak as can be right now on paper, but on the other hand I really did love the way Texas came out and thought the gameplan on defense coming into this matchup was spot on. As for the Offense, I am starting to come to the fact that it will continue to look as one sided as can be meaning, more Pick and roll’s, 1 on 1 ball, and contested shots, just praying that their talent outweighs their offensive intent. I do want to give Terry his flowers as in the first half and most of the second, he was on par with, if not outcoaching, former Texas coach, Rick Barnes, until the final 6 minutes of the ball game. And last but certainly not least, Texas needs to find their identity on offense and I do think this was the first (small) step in the right direction as I believed most of the portal additions were starting to realize their roles on the squad when it comes to tough matchups like these which can be seen as a light in the tunnel, though could mean nothing if they do not expand on it.
Texas Report Card vs Auburn:
- Ball Movement: C
- Attacking the rim: B
- Shot selection: C+
- Perimeter Offense: B+
- Interior Offense: C+
- Perimeter Defense: A
- Interior Defense: A-
- Defensive Rebounding: B
- Offensive Rebounding: B-
- Ball security: A
- Overall Performance: A-
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