Texas Basketball: Longhorns continue shining among the nation’s elite
No. 4 ranked Texas basketball and head coach Shaka Smart got another nice win at home on Jan. 5 over Iowa State to stay undefeated in Big 12 play.
A nice win at home at the Frank Erwin Center on the night of Jan. 5 against a slipping, but still stingy foe, in the Iowa State Cyclones was a nice win for No. 4 ranked Texas basketball. Head coach Shaka Smart and this talented and deep Texas team are making real headway both in the national college hoops landscape and to the top of the Big 12 standings after the turn of the calendar year.
Texas came off one of their bigger wins in Big 12 play in program history last weekend, when they upset the No. 3 ranked Kansas Jayhawks on the road on Jan. 2 by more than a 20 point margin. That elevated the Longhorns to earn the No. 4 ranking in this week’s AP Poll, the highest in more than six years. It also continues to be a top ranking for the Longhorns under Smart’s direction for more than five years now.
Moreover, the Longhorns kept their momentum rolling at home earlier this week. Texas rode a solid first half effort to beat Iowa State by the final score of 78-72. That win might’ve been closer than some anticipated given how dominant Texas looked against Kansas last weekend. But a win is a win during the grueling road that is the Big 12 slate.
The winning efforts came from the likes of redshirt junior shooting guard/wing Andrew Jones, sophomore power forward Kai Jones, and senior guard Matt Coleman. The junior Jones on this team notched a career-high 23 points, to go along with six rebounds, four assists, and one steal.
Andrew shot an efficient 10-of-20 from the field, 3-of-9 from beyond the arc, and didn’t have any attempts from the charity stripe.
Moreover, Kai gave the Longhorns a valuable seven points, nine rebounds, one assist, and one block, off the bench. He shot 2-of-5 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. It was yet another efficient boost that Texas got off the bench from the standout big man Jones.
And as always, the Longhorns got a well-rounded and productive performance from the versatile floor general Coleman. He registered 13 points, five rebounds, four assists, and one steal. And Coleman shot 6-of-10 from the field and 1-of-2 from the free-throw line.
Well rounded efforts from the starting five and the Longhorns bench is starting to become the name of the game this season. And you see the fruits of the Longhorns labor when they can produce at this level on both ends of the floor.
The win over the Cyclones at home on Jan. 5 moves Texas to a record of 9-1 (3-0 Big 12), on the season so far. And their lone loss came to a team that is one of only three ranked higher than them in both major polls, the No. 3 ranked Villanova Wildcats.
Texas shocks KU in massive road upset. dark. Next
Next up for Coleman, Jones, and the Longhorns in Big 12 play is a tough battle with the No. 14 ranked West Virginia Mountaineers on the road in Morgantown on the afternoon of Jan. 9. Texas will try to move to double digit wins on the season come this weekend’s showdown with West Virginia.