Texas Basketball: 3 goals Shaka Smart should have for 2020

2. At least a .500 record in Big 12 play

Mixed results are a common narrative for Smart during his five year tenure with the Texas basketball program. Texas doesn’t necessarily perform better or worse in Big 12 play with Smart at the helm than they do during the non-conference slate. It’s the same old story where the Longhorns can literally beat any team on any given night, but they’ll also play down to their competition.

It is weird how the Longhorns basketball and football teams can both play up and down to their competition in a similar fashion. Head football coach Tom Herman does have a similar trend to that of Smart in this regard. But Smart loses more bad games on the hardwood for Texas than Herman does on the gridiron.

Yet, to get this Texas men’s basketball team going in Big 12 play consistently a lot needs to happen. There needs to be some type of leadership and production that sparks beyond junior guard Matt Coleman and junior center Jericho Sims. Coleman and Sims aren’t at the level required to carry this Texas team against a deep Big 12 this season either.

The offense also will need a spark if Texas is to make strides in Big 12 play this season, and next. Texas scored just 44 points in the 15-point loss to Baylor over the weekend. Texas is getting dangerously close to the territory of averaging less than 67 points per game, which is also getting them close to ranking outside the top 300 Division 1 programs in that category.