I can’t believe it. They got into the Big Dance. The Longhorns’ streak of consecutive NCAA tournament appearances is still alive. Coach Rick Barnes will be able to keep the angry mobs away for at least another season. Maybe.
The end of the regular season wasn’t pretty by any stretch of the imagination. The Longhorns stumbled their way into the Big 12 tournament. There was a loss against Baylor, followed by a tenuous overtime victory against Texas Tech. They did get an end-of-season win against Oklahoma – always a good thing – but then got pounded by Kansas. Up and down, up and down, all season long - much like a roller coaster.
All the Horns could do at this point was hope for a good showing in the Big 12 tournament. With the sixth seed, they had a bye in the first round. This season, that was as good as a win.
Iowa State was their opponent in the quarterfinals. Texas split their games with Iowa State season, so a win didn’t seem like a crazy thought. The Horns went to a four guard set in this game, and it allowed them to run and gun a little more. With the lack of big men on this squad, I am not sure why they haven’t been focusing on this type of game plan all season.
Chalk up another ugly win for the Horns, which moved them into the semifinals against Missouri. The roller coaster up against Iowa State was soon replaced by a roller coaster down against Missouri. The Horns were outplayed physically and (perhaps more importantly) mentally. The final verdict? They were swept by the Tigers 3 - 0 this season. Ouch.
Would a win against ISU get them into the Big Dance? I really didn’t think it would be good enough, but apparently the selection committee thought otherwise. The Longhorns were saved by a strong Big 12 conference schedule, a good RPI, and a very credible overall strength of schedule. They had 4 wins against Top 25 teams – Temple, Iowa State (2) and Kansas State. At this point, I still don’t think they have what it takes, on a consistent enough basis, to be a winner – especially in March.
But you never really know what will happen when the NCAA tournament starts. The University of Texas will face a tough Cincinnati team in the first round in Nashville on Friday morning.
Beyond this season, who knows? All of the freshmen will become sophomores, and all of them (Myck Kabongo included) SHOULD still be on campus. We can hope that this year, we don’t have any more “one and done” players. J’Covan Brown, the leading scorer in the Big 12, will probably jump to a no-better-than-second-round NBA draft choice. Big men are rare on the 40 Acres right now. Coach Barnes has a lot of work to do.
A Sweet 16 appearance would quiet Barnes’ detractors. But does this team have what it takes? Will the roller coaster persist? Or perhaps more importantly, does Barnes have what it takes to get the program to the next level?
Photo credits: LivingOS
Allan Besselink, PT, DPT, Ph.D., Dip.MDT has a unique voice in the world of sports, education, and health care. Read more about Allan here.