Texas Basketball: Position grades through first half of non-conference slate

A solid start to the regular season spelled some interesting narratives for some of the more important players for Texas basketball.

We’re now at the midway point of the 2018-19 non-conference slate for Texas basketball. This is the midway point officially if you don’t include the Big 12/SEC Challenge. Texas basketball gets the Georgia Bulldogs in that series, but it comes later on in January. That shouldn’t be counted as to the 12 non-conference games Texas basketball is taking part in right now.

Texas basketball carries a 5-1 record out of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational with a shot at getting inside the top 25 in both the AP Poll and Coaches Poll. It would be the first time that the Horns were ranked inside the top 25 this season. Head Texas basketball coach Shaka Smart has to be chomping at the bit to get some national recognition for his team’s performance in the Las Vegas Invitational.

In the Las Vegas Invitational, Texas claimed a win over the No. 7 North Carolina Tar Heels in the opening round. It followed the upset win over UNC with a tough 10-point defeat at the hands of the No. 11 Michigan State Spartans in the final round. Texas held a good lead over Michigan State in the first half, just to completely cough it up in the second.

With a team that is one bad half of basketball away from being undefeated with two wins over ranked teams, there’s a lot to be happy about for Texas fans. There are some gaps in the rotation that could be problem issues if they persist heading into Big 12 play.

Here’s a look at the position grades for the Texas Longhorns from top to bottom through the first half of the non-conference slate in the 2018-19 regular season.