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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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AUSTIN, TEXAS – JANUARY 29: Jase Febres #13 of the Texas Longhorns reacts after scoring a three-point shot against the Kansas Jayhawks at The Frank Erwin Center on January 29, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TEXAS – JANUARY 29: Jase Febres #13 of the Texas Longhorns reacts after scoring a three-point shot against the Kansas Jayhawks at The Frank Erwin Center on January 29, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images) /

2. Three-point shot was a deciding factor

If this Texas basketball team keeps getting big performances out of its best and most experienced players, like it did here in the win over Xavier, then things like the three-point shot will be more natural. Roach Jr. only took two attempts from three-point range on March 24, but he drained both of them and shot nearly 50 percent from the field in general.

But, the highlights of the three-point shooting for the Horns here came from Febres and Ramey. Febres was the best for the Horns from beyond the arc here as he went 5-8. Both Febres and Ramey tied for the second most points for Texas in this game with 17 each. Ramey also went 3-7 from three-point range.

As a team, Texas shot better than 47 percent from beyond the arc while Xavier shot just 29.4 percent. The only players for Xavier that found any sort of success from beyond the arc here were sophomore forward Naji Marshall (3-6) and junior guard Quentin Goodin (2-3). As a whole, Xavier only made seven tries from three-point range.

Shooting like this from beyond the arc will help the Horns keep this momentum going heading into the third round of the NIT. The Frank Erwin Center should have even more energy backing Smart’s squad when facing either the Colorado Buffaloes or Norfolk State Spartans. It was a driving force in topping the Musketeers by just a two-point margin.

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