Texas Basketball: Matt Coleman, Jericho Sims could both miss TCU game
Two key injuries surfaced for the Texas basketball program of late with junior guard Matt Coleman and center Jericho Sims possibly missing the TCU game.
Maybe the two most valuable players for the Texas basketball program so far this season, juniors Jericho Sims and Matt Coleman, could both be out due to injury in the team’s next game against the TCU Horned Frogs. There’s no way that a Texas team that played as bad for head coach Shaka Smart as they did in a drastic 81-52 loss at the hands of the 11-14 Iowa State Cyclones over the weekend can afford injury news like this.
Texas carries a record of 14-11 (4-8 Big 12) into their next matchup against another slipping conference foe in TCU. But one more bad loss could completely knock Texas out of contention for an NCAA Tournament bid this year, unless they have a miracle run in the Big 12 Tournament.
The report that the third-year starting center Sims could be out indefinitely with a back injury came from Nick Moyle of the San Antonio Express News. Losing Sims is about some of the worst news that the Texas Longhorns basketball program could get at this point in time.
Outlook for Texas junior forward Jericho Sims isn’t great. Shaka said it’s looking like his season is done unless they get some extremely good news from docs during his next visit
— Nick Moyle (@NRMoyle) February 17, 2020
Coleman sustained a heel injury in the loss to Iowa State, and Smart stated in media availability on Feb. 17 that it is still unknown what his recovery timeline will look like. Texas really needs a win over the 14-11 (5-7 Big 12) Horned Frogs since both teams are fighting to keep their NCAA Tournament bid hopes alive for Selection Sunday.
So far this season, Sims averaged 9.7 points per game, 8.2 rebounds, 0.8 assists, and 1.2 blocks, while shooting 65.8 percent from the field and 59.2 percent from the free-throw line. Sims is one of the Big 12 leaders among the conference’s usually starting big men in player efficiency rating (22.4) and win shares (3.0).
Meanwhile, Coleman is averaging 12.5 points per game, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists, while shooting 43.9 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from beyond the arc. Coleman is second on the team in win shares too, with 2.7 on the season.
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Texas will be relying heavily on the likes of sophomore guard Courtney Ramey and junior wing Jase Febres to shoulder the load now that Sims and Coleman could both be out for the TCU game. Moving forward, two big men will really have to step up for the Longhorns. That list of two includes junior Royce Hamm Jr. and true freshman Kai Jones.