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

2) Takeaways from Texas basketball’s win over UNC

Starting backcourt continues to be special on both ends of the floor

What won the Championship Round of the Maui Invitational for the Longhorns over the Tar Heels in the end was the versatile and clutch play of the backcourt. Namely Coleman was special for the Longhorns. After coming just short of registering his first double-double of the season so far in the win over Indiana, he led in points against UNC.

Coleman registered a game-high 22 points, to go along with three assists and one steal. And he shot 9-of-16 from the field, 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, and 1-of-2 from the charity stripe. Junior guard Courtney Ramey wasn’t as efficient for the Longhorns, but he did continue his streak of scoring in double figures so far this season.

Ramey registered 13 points, three rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Namely, the impact that Ramey made in this game that was so important was on the defensive end. Three steals is a season-high for Ramey through four games. It helped to offset some of the inefficient shooting performance, as he went just 5-of-17 from the field.

Redshirt junior guard Andrew Jones also didn’t have his best game in terms of overall efficiency on the offensive end. But he provided value in other areas of his game that helped the Longhorns get this win.

The combination of Coleman and Ramey continued to be a spark plug for the offense, and hold tough on the perimeter on defense. Smart just needs Jones to be a little bit more consistent on both ends, but that might come over time.