Not that the national rankings matter in hoops (nor should they in any sport), but I would be surprised if the Horns don't go from 0 to at least 2 number one votes in the Coaches' Poll this week.
We have the best team in the country right now. if pittman doesnt sit out the first half in foul trouble, we prob win that game by 20 and mich st is going to win the big 10 and is a final 4 caliber team.
don't know how many minutes Dexter got tonight but it wasn't many. I agree that had he played just 20 minutes we win by 20.
Talk about close: through 11 games, Kansas is averaging 1.9 more points scored per game (88.3 vs. 86.4). Texas is giving up 0.9 less points per game (58.3 vs. 59.2). The difference of 1.0 point per game sounds about right. Even the individual margin's of victory have been similar (although KU has yet to play a team that is currently ranked, Texas has now played two top 10 teams in 4 days). Number of times with: 60+ margin of victory: Texas 1, KU 1 50-59 margin of victory: Texas 0, KU 1 40-49 margin of victory: Texas 1, KU 0 30-39 margin of victory: Texas 3, KU 4 20-29 margin of victory: Texas 1, KU 1 10-19 margin of victory: Texas 5, KU 3 1-9 margin of victory: Texas 0, KU 1 Feb 8 will be a blast.
Eventually an opponent is going to have an epiphany and implement the hack a Horn strategy down the stretch. I hate to beat a dead horse, because it obviously is what it is and probably isn't going to change. I just think free throw shooting is the only thing that will keep this team from being great. I mean 8-19? Come on! Rant over. Very proud of the Horns and elated with the win.
That was obvious, but a competent defense can force the ball out of a player's hands by trapping. Especially one that isn't a great ball handler.
Pretty amazing that Dex - who's been probably been our second-best player this season - sits almost the entire game, and we still beat a very good team by double digits. That says a lot about this team's depth, and also its versatility. The fouling strategy, I thought, was going to happen. Dogus got fouled pretty early and hit the front end, but from then, he never really saw the ball where they had a chance to foul him. I like that James seems to be a lot better this year at hitting those FTs down the stretch.
If we do take the #1 spot, will it be the first time Texas has ever been ranked #1? I remember a few years ago for the Duke game they mentioned on-air that we'd never been ranked higher than #2.
Great, great win and we have an awesome team, but as Bill Parcell's used to say (paraphrasing here), "you are what you are." If, if, if about Dex and foul trouble.... That's Dex.... it is what it is and he has to figure it out...
Congrats on a great win Horns!!!!! Yall look like yall have a blast out on the court. Keep on keeping on.
These last two games were great for this team and it was nice to see them play good teams and come out on top. That being said I think if anyone replaces Kansas as the number 1 team right now it should be Kentucky. They have played a very good schedule and have beaten some very good teams. Luckily it will all play out in March and the rankings now don't mean much then. Great game last night horns. Keep it up.
Hack a horn strategy will result in the other team losing a key player or 2. Losing depth against our team just isn't a good idea.
What a game! I love watching our boys out on the court this year. But, I still think Kansas is the #1 team. That's ok though, we'll get a chance to topple them in February.
I like Texas being #2. they have played with a chip on their shoulder the past few games wanting to prove they are legit. I hope they play that way the whole season and not start listening to the increasing number of analysts calling them the best team in the country.
Agreed....as long as we're a #1 seed come tourney time, I really don't care that we're #2 before the new year. Here's to hoping that we can redeem ourselves at Reliant from the Memphis debacle of 2 years ago.
12/28 AP poll we took three first place votes from Kansas and one from Syracuse compared to last week Team, # of first place votes Kansas, 52 Texas, 11 Kentucky, 1 Syracuse, 1
In answer to the question above, yes, it's true that Texas has never been ranked #1 in basketball. As for "hack a Horn," that is not going to work as well against us a general strategy for three reasons, two of which have already been mentioned: 1. You don't want to lose a key player to fouls down the stretch against a team with our depth. 2. As bad as our overall FT % is, we have the best FT shooter in the country in our backcourt, and he would just become our primary ball-handler. It's hard to trap in obvious foul situations because you're just as likely to be called for the foul as to draw a 10 second or 5 second call when you're all over someone. 3. As good as our defense is, the strategy isn't likely to work anyway, so you're not doing yourself any favors by giving us fouls and free baskets and then expecting a quick bucket on the other end. Michigan State learned this the hard way. Dogus and Gary Johnson stole their lunch money on multiple occasions late in the game when all the Spartans had on their minds was scoring as quickly as they could. We got them out of their gameplan because they didn't have time for it anymore. They were completely lost, and we made them pay.
As long as we're in the top 5 and have a shot at a top seed, rankings don't matter. All that matters is playing well, and being healthy heading into March. I will be happy with a 3 loss season. If we don't finish the regular seeason ranked 1 or 2 I won't care. A 3 loss season will be phenominal given our schedule.
There were more Texas fans there, obviously, but I don't think it was a huge edge. Too big a space, not enough fans close to the action. When they play next year, UNC definitely will have a home-court advantage.