Texas Basketball vs. Grand Canyon: 5 takeaways from steamrolling of Antelopes

FULLERTON, CA - NOVEMBER 25: Trey Drechsel #2 of the Grand Canyon Lopes gets by David Beatty #1 of the La Salle Explorers for a basket in the first half of the game during the Wooden Legacy Tournament at Titan Gym on November 25, 2018 in Fullerton, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
FULLERTON, CA - NOVEMBER 25: Trey Drechsel #2 of the Grand Canyon Lopes gets by David Beatty #1 of the La Salle Explorers for a basket in the first half of the game during the Wooden Legacy Tournament at Titan Gym on November 25, 2018 in Fullerton, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 23: Joshua Langford #1 of the Michigan State Spartans drives against Jase Febres #13 of the Texas Longhorns during the championship game of the 2018 Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on November 23, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Michigan State defeated Texas 78-68. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 23: Joshua Langford #1 of the Michigan State Spartans drives against Jase Febres #13 of the Texas Longhorns during the championship game of the 2018 Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on November 23, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Michigan State defeated Texas 78-68. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images) /

4. Jase Febres adjusted well to his role

There were a lot of contributions that Texas basketball received from up and down the rotation, but one player stood out for his individual breakthrough. Since the minutes from more than 10 players were evenly spread by Smart, the Horns needed the most efficiency out of the starters that it could get.

The sophomore wing sharpshooter for the Horns Jase Febres had one of his better games of the regular season so far. Very rarely will Febres lead the Horns in scoring since his role is mostly limited to locking down players on the wing on defense and spacing the floor from the outside. He excelled in that role in his 20 minutes on the floor on Dec. 15.

Febres posted a season-high 16 points and also led the team in field goal attempts. He jacked up 13 field goal attempts and drained six of them. A good portion of those tries were from three-point range. He shot 40 percent from beyond the three-point line to provide a steady and reliable hand from the outside.

Moreover, this was the second most points that Febres scored in a single game in his collegiate career. He also got a bigger role in terms of the amount of shots from the field, since his 13 were a career high. Efficiency and scoring production weren’t the only areas where Febres excelled. He also posted at least five rebounds in the second straight game. That’s the first time in his career he’s pulled off that feat.