What you missed: Texas collapses in the second half in an 86-80 defeat to Xavier and is officially eliminated from the NCAA Tournament.
The participants: 11 seed Texas Longhorns (17-14, 6-12) vs 11 seed Xavier Musketeers (21-11, 13-6)
Box Score: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=587339
Tale of the Tape: Sean Miller’s Xavier Musketeers came into this matchup as one of the fastest-paced teams in the country ranking 75th in the nation in adjusted tempo, sixth in the nation in assist percentage meaning nearly 64% of their field goals made ends with an assist. Combine that with the tandem duo of Ryan Conwell and Zach Freemantle combining for over 33 points per game this season and this ballgame was bound to be a tough task for the Horns.
Falling apart: Just like the game against Vanderbilt and Texas A&M, Texas was clicking on all cylinders in the first half, playing efficiently on both ends of the court and against Xavier it was no different totaling 47 points while shooting 58% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc however, In the second half the Musketeers outscored the Longhorns 47-33 and held Texas to 37% shooting and having the Longhorns turn the ball over in more than 20% of their possessions in the second half.
Until the clock hits zero: Texas had control of this game but, when it mattered most in crunch time Xavier was fighting and clawing their way back making sure this game didn’t get away from that and they did just that. The Longhorns lead this game for over 30 minutes of this ball game, but when momentum swung to Xavier's way late in the second half, it was just deflating for a team like Texas who must’ve thought they were doing everything right for most of this game.
Keeping it a buck: The saying a, “tale of two halves,” is one of the staple phrases in all of sports and Texas’ performance tonight was the perfect example of that, from having Xavier’s top leading scorers of the season on the ropes with Zach Freemantle getting his fourth foul of the game in the seven minute mark, and Ryan Conwell picking up his 3rd foul of the game just before the end of the first half Texas had all of the pieces in play to put this game to rest and ultimately just didn’t put it together, and while I understand getting Tre Johnson and Tramon Mark in rhythm it’s key to get good consistent looks on the offensive end instead of relying on iso ball down the stretch. Now as far as the elephant in the room… All I will say is it will be interesting to see what decision CDC and company make as far as the future of Texas Basketball.
Texas Report Card vs Xavier:
The participants: 11 seed Texas Longhorns (17-14, 6-12) vs 11 seed Xavier Musketeers (21-11, 13-6)
Box Score: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=587339
Tale of the Tape: Sean Miller’s Xavier Musketeers came into this matchup as one of the fastest-paced teams in the country ranking 75th in the nation in adjusted tempo, sixth in the nation in assist percentage meaning nearly 64% of their field goals made ends with an assist. Combine that with the tandem duo of Ryan Conwell and Zach Freemantle combining for over 33 points per game this season and this ballgame was bound to be a tough task for the Horns.
Falling apart: Just like the game against Vanderbilt and Texas A&M, Texas was clicking on all cylinders in the first half, playing efficiently on both ends of the court and against Xavier it was no different totaling 47 points while shooting 58% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc however, In the second half the Musketeers outscored the Longhorns 47-33 and held Texas to 37% shooting and having the Longhorns turn the ball over in more than 20% of their possessions in the second half.
Until the clock hits zero: Texas had control of this game but, when it mattered most in crunch time Xavier was fighting and clawing their way back making sure this game didn’t get away from that and they did just that. The Longhorns lead this game for over 30 minutes of this ball game, but when momentum swung to Xavier's way late in the second half, it was just deflating for a team like Texas who must’ve thought they were doing everything right for most of this game.
Keeping it a buck: The saying a, “tale of two halves,” is one of the staple phrases in all of sports and Texas’ performance tonight was the perfect example of that, from having Xavier’s top leading scorers of the season on the ropes with Zach Freemantle getting his fourth foul of the game in the seven minute mark, and Ryan Conwell picking up his 3rd foul of the game just before the end of the first half Texas had all of the pieces in play to put this game to rest and ultimately just didn’t put it together, and while I understand getting Tre Johnson and Tramon Mark in rhythm it’s key to get good consistent looks on the offensive end instead of relying on iso ball down the stretch. Now as far as the elephant in the room… All I will say is it will be interesting to see what decision CDC and company make as far as the future of Texas Basketball.
Texas Report Card vs Xavier:
- Ball Movement: D+
- Attacking the rim: B-
- Shot selection: C
- Perimeter Offense: C+
- Interior Offense: C+
- Perimeter Defense: D-
- Interior Defense: C
- Offensive Rebounding: B
- Defensive Rebounding: C
- Ball security: F
- Overall Performance: C
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