Texas Basketball: 3 takeaways from Maui Invitational final win over UNC

A mammoth two-point last-second win for Texas basketball over the North Carolina Tar Heels got them the Maui Invitational Championship.

There is so much experience and depth back this season for head coach Shaka Smart and his No. 17 ranked Texas basketball team, that it’s nice to see a talented squad find consistent success in the win column. This program had largely up and down results under Smart’s direction since he took over more than five years ago.

This team does feel quite a bit different, through. And the main reason for that is how well the Longhorns performed in winning the program’s first ever Maui Invitational Championship. The road to getting the Maui Invitational Championship was not easy for them either. Texas had to get through the Davidson Wildcats, Indiana Hoosiers, and then the North Carolina Tar Heels to win the Maui Invitational.

Texas started off the road in this invitational tourney by taking on Davidson in the first round. And that was the first of two close games that the Longhorns would play in the Maui Invitational (played this year in Asheville, NC). Texas got the win over Davidson by the final score of 78-76.

Then the most dominant win arrived for the Longhorns, over Indiana in the second round. Texas got the win, coming in as a slight underdog ahead of tip off, by the final score of 66-44. That was the wake up call for the Longhorns hoops fan base that this team is for real.

The win in the Championship Round of the Maui Invitational came in a thrilling 69-67 game against the Tar Heels. Senior guard Matt Coleman hit the game-winning basket with less than one second remaining on the clock. When Texas beat UNC, it was the first time that they beat a ranked team in the Maui Invitational.

Texas now owns a record of 4-0 (0-0 Big 12) on the season to date. Next up for the Longhorns is the Big 12/Big East Battle on Dec. 6 against the Villanova Wildcats.

Here’s a look into three definitive takeaways from the Longhorns win over the Tar Heels on Dec. 2, in the final round of the Maui Invitational.