Horns vs La Monroe

Horns are behind by 2 at the 18 min mark, 2nd half. We can't seem to attack their zone with any efficiency. We need to turn up the defensive intensity.

 

Horns on a run, up 55-43 with over 7 minutes remaining

 

Horns win 65-55, were 19pt favs

 

This team has no identity yet. Hopefully they find that sooner than later.

 

Not sure how Smart has so much trouble getting anyone who can hit an outside shot. Also he has no scheme for offense at all. Stand around the 3 pt line and pass it back and forth. Really? Like it or not, Baylor men have a much better rotation to get people moving and open. So does Kansas. Just sad we are this far into Smart and the results are so poor.

 

Now at 3-0, will be 4-0 after Friday (Citadel in Austin).

Then, probably 4-2 after North Carolina on Thanksgiving and UCLA (probable loser to Michigan State) the next day. As of right now I don't see the Horns staying with either of UNC or UCLA. Or MSU if they lose to UCLA first.

Then, closing out pre-conference play (all of the remaining OOC games are in Austin?!), my guesses on W/L:

Radford - W
VCU - W
Purdue - L
GCU [Grand Canyon University!!] - W
Providence - L
UT Arlington - L

So, my guess entering Big 12 play at 7-5, starting AT (No. 12) KSU.

Texas got 12 "pre-season" games --- 3 are neutral site games, all other 9 games are in Austin.

 

Yes they do, what you see is what you get. The one thing I've noticed is that Shaka's teams never get better as the season progresses. We will end up barely .500 again if we can't blow out teams like this and Eastern Illinois. Arkansas has been a mediocre team lately so who knows yet if that was a good win other than its always a good day to beat piggly wiggly.

 

Right^^^. And this is not just the 3 pointer. the guys were having a terrible night (again) shooting until about halfway through the 2nd half. They could not get anything to fall. Point blank at the hoop, 10 ft. jump shots, etc.

Finally, after going to the zone we broke them down, got some turnovers and scored on the fast break to get to a comfortable lead.

 

Remember a couple of years ago when we said not having a point guard was the main problem? Now they have three and none of them seem to want to drive to the basket. I miss Isaiah Taylor!

 

Every game so far has been about 10 minutes of good basketball and thirty minutes of gut-wrenching mediocrity. Maybe add an additional 5 minutes to the good ledger for Arky. Nevertheless, that's not a recipe for a great season. We have got to find a way to play much more consistently.

 

Preseason games?? Glad they don't count in the W-L record if the Horns are playing as poorly as noted above.

 

You'll note the quotation marks around preseason, since they're pre-conference, the games that really count.

And the implied point is that the Horns this year, save for the Thanksgiving tournament in Nevada with UNC, MSU, and UCLa, the rest of the "preseason" games are mostly very weak opponents, and ALL in Austin.

If it's not clear yet, looks like the Horns aren't getting very toughened up this year for Big 12 play, then promptly start league play away at Number 12 KSU.

 

I've only been able to watch parts of each of the games so far, but I haven't seen anything that makes me think that this year will be any different from last year. Probably finish 6-8 in conference and a bubble tournament team unless the freshman grow up real fast.

 

If they count, they are not preseason, which by definition do not count in the season record. If true, it won't matter if Texas loses to North Carolina as it is a preseason game and therefore, meaningless.

Call they what they are: out of conference or pre conference, not something they are not.

 

It's kind of fun trying to figure out who's going to step up, but still frustrating that other schools seem to reload every year. I feel like this last recruiting class plus Long are a good group of kids with a nice grasp of learning the scheme. Just woefully untalented compared to the freshmen I've seen play in other games.

I think Ramey is a breath of fresh air in terms of a guard being able to score. It'll be nice to use him as another option instead of "give the ball to Roach, have him drive" every series.