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Texas Basketball: 5 takeaways amid NIT victory vs. Xavier

By Andrew Miller

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 21: Kerwin Roach Jr. #12 of the Texas Longhorns reacts against the Northwestern Wildcats in the first half of the 2016 Legends Classic at Barclays Center on November 21, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 21: Kerwin Roach Jr. #12 of the Texas Longhorns reacts against the Northwestern Wildcats in the first half of the 2016 Legends Classic at Barclays Center on November 21, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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AMES, IA – FEBRUARY 2: Kerwin Roach II #12 of the Texas Longhorns takes a shot as Nick Weiler-Babb #1 of the Iowa State Cyclones blocks in the first half of play at Hilton Coliseum on February 2, 2019 in Ames, Iowa. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images)
AMES, IA – FEBRUARY 2: Kerwin Roach II #12 of the Texas Longhorns takes a shot as Nick Weiler-Babb #1 of the Iowa State Cyclones blocks in the first half of play at Hilton Coliseum on February 2, 2019 in Ames, Iowa. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images) /

3. Kerwin Roach Jr. finding his rhythm

What Texas basketball really needed in game two in this year’s NIT was a spark from the senior leadership. That’s exactly what the Horns got in the matchup against the Kansas and in the first round of the NIT against South Dakota State. The issue was that both senior shooting guard Kerwin Roach Jr. and Osetkowski didn’t show up at the same time.

This was really the first game where the Horns got big outings both from Osetkowski and Roach Jr. In his return from suspension, Roach Jr. wasn’t very effective. But, as it was for him in his first return from suspension at the beginning of the 2018-19 regular season, it took Roach Jr. a while to get comfortable and find his rhythm.

To match the game-high 21 point effort from junior Xavier forward Tyrique Jones, the Horns got 21 points out of Roach Jr. off the bench. In place of Roach Jr. in the starting five, Smart either rolled with freshman point guard Courtney Ramey or sophomore small forward/shooting guard Jase Febres.

But, he could find his way back into the starting five soon if performances like this hold up for the rest of this team’s NIT run. All-around, Roach Jr. was very productive in this game in 36 minutes played off the bench. He posted eight rebounds and six assists to go along with his 21 points. The only concerns were his five turnovers and shooting less than 50 percent from the free-throw line on a crazy 15 attempts.

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