Cliffs Notes: The No.1 ranked Texas Longhorns were battered 64-45 by co-SEC champion South Carolina in the championship game of the SEC Tournament.
The Participants: No.1 Texas (31-3, 15-1, No.3 NET ranking and No.5 South Carolina (30-3, 15-1, No.2 NET ranking)
Game MVP: There really wasn't an MVP for the Longhorns today, but if we have to give it to someone, let's give it to Taylor Jones, who scored 14 points on 4 of 8 shooting, while grabbing 8 rebounds and blocking 3 shots. No one else on the team came remotely close to shooting 50% from the floor.
It Needs to Be Said: Texas committed way too many turnovers (18) for the second straight game and the perimeter shooting was awful. You can't shoot 30% from the floor and win tough games. It got away with it against an LSU team without its best player, but we knew on Saturday night a repeat performance wasn't going to cut it... and it didn't.
Dominant Defense: The Longhorns didn't really have a defensive issue today, despite losing by 19. The Longhorns held the Gamecocks to 42.9% shooting from the floor and 23.1% from behind the arc. Today was about the other side of the ball.
Key Stats: The Longhorns shot 29.6% from the floor and. 12.5% from behind the arc.
Final Thoughts: Vic Schaefer teams usually respond very well to getting their butts kicked, so I expect this loss to serve a strong purpose, but that's the second time South Carolina has opened a can on the Longhorns. From an expectations standpoint, it's hard to think this team is going to win a national title. Yet, it will have a No.1 seed in all likelihood when the dust settles and a spot in the Final Four has to be the goal going into the post-season.
