Texas Basketball: 3 early storylines for Big 12/SEC Challenge vs. Kentucky

2) Storylines for Texas basketball vs. Kentucky: Impact of experienced backcourt

One of the areas where the Longhorns really need to capitalize in a big way this coming season is with all of the talent and experience coming back in their backcourt rotation. Texas will be relying on the likes of senior point guard Matt Coleman and junior combo guard Courtney Ramey to shoulder a lot of the load on both ends of the floor.

And not only could the experienced backcourt of the Longhorns be a big point of emphasis for them throughout the 2020-21 campaign, but it could be a nice advantage for them against Kentucky. The experience that Texas has in their starting backcourt is an edge that they could hold over Kentucky.

According to Barttorvik projections for the 2020-21 season, two of the three expected points per game leaders for the Wildcats are true freshmen (Clarke and Boston). The former Creighton transfer and senior guard Davion Mintz is expected to be the other leading point producer for Kentucky during the 2020-21 season.

There’s really no one that Kentucky has on their current roster that matches up with the production that Coleman and Ramey bring back this season. Coleman averaged 12.7 points per game, 3.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.1 blocks. And he shot 44.1 percent from the field, 39.5 percent from beyond the arc, and 79.7 percent from the free-throw line, last season.

Meanwhile, Ramey averaged 10.9 points per game, 3.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.1 blocks. And he shot 40.1 percent from the field, 31.3 percent from beyond the arc, and 70.9 percent from the free-throw line. But Ramey did really heat up down the stretch in Big 12 play last season for the Longhorns.