Texas Basketball: This Shaka Smart team has a different feel to it
It’s too early to tell how this season will go for Texas basketball head coach Shaka Smart, but he’s off to a good start so far through two games.
A big win for No. 17 ranked Texas basketball and head coach Shaka Smart in the first round of the Maui Invitational against the tough Davidson Wildcats on the afternoon of Nov. 30 could help build a lot of momentum. Texas got the narrow win over Davidson by the final score of 78-76. A last-minute bucket from junior guard Courtney Ramey pushed the Longhorns to get the two-point win. Davidson was not able to capitalize on their final possession to either tie up the game or take the lead.
Smart and the Longhorns got an all-around effort from about an eight-man rotation in this nailbiting win over Davidson. Ramey was the Longhorns leading scorer in this game, giving them 14 points to go along with two assists, and two rebounds.
The starting backcourt for the Longhorns in general came up big in the first round of the Maui Invitational in Asheville, NC. Senior guard Matt Coleman finished the game up nearly with a double-double. He rounded out with 10 points, four rebounds, nine assists, and two steals.
Two other big contributors in this game for the Longhorns were standout senior center Jericho Sims and sophomore power forward Kai Jones. Sims finished up the game with 12 points (on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting from the field) and six rebounds. Jones gave Texas a very efficient 13 points, two rebounds, one assist, and one steal. He was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and 2-of-2 shooting from downtown.
What felt so different about this Longhorns team compared to the ones we’ve seen in recent years under Smart’s direction is that they were able to seal a game against an underrated but less talented opponent in the second half. Texas lost a lot of these types of games in a bright spotlight over the course of the last two or three seasons.
Davidson could very well wind up being an NCAA Tournament team this season, and they showed a lot of toughness and grit on both ends of the floor in this Longhorns win. Now Texas will get to move on to face either the Indiana Hoosiers or Providence Friars in the second round of the Maui Invitational.
Indiana and Providence will meet on the afternoon of Nov. 30, to figure out who will face Texas in the second round of the Maui Invitational. For any Texas men’s hoops fans, that is definitely a game worth watching.
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Texas moves to a record of 2-0 (0-0 Big 12) on the season after this two-point win over Davidson. They will get Providence or Indiana in the second round of the Maui Invitational on Dec. 1, either at 12:30 p.m. or 6 p.m. CT, depending on which team they face. And the Championship Round of the Maui Invitational is to be played on Dec. 2 in Asheville. That will include Texas if they can in in the second round on Dec. 1.