Texas Basketball: Momentum could build greatly with win over TCU

If No. 13 ranked Texas basketball and head coach Shaka Smart are able to get a win over head coach Jamie Dixon and the up and down TCU Horned Frogs on the afternoon of Feb. 13, it will go a long way to building up this team’s confidence. Texas just snapped a three game losing skid on the hardwood on Feb. 9, when they took down the struggling Kansas State Wildcats on the road by a thinner than anticipated three-point margin.

That last game that Smart and the Longhorns played in resulted in a much needed win, but it showed that this team still is not completely back on the right track as of yet. A win over TCU to stretch a winning streak to two games would go a very long way to helping the Longhorns solidify their status once again as a top 10 team in both major polls.

This all comes just ahead of the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee getting to release their initial set of who the top 16 teams could be come Selection Sunday in roughly one month. Texas looked like a top 10 team for the most of the regular season to date, but has greatly slipped up of late.

Looking into Texas basketball vs. TCU

On a busy day around the Big 12 schedule, the Longhorns have a chance to beat a potential NCAA Tournament bubble team in the Horned Frogs. Tip off time between the Longhorns and Horned Frogs is set for Feb. 13 at home at the Frank Erwin Center, specifically at 1 p.m. CT.

The ESPN matchup predictor gives the Longhorns a sizable 86.8 percent chance to take this win back to the Forty Acres over TCU. Texas is also a comfortable double-digit point favorite over the Horned Frogs in this key showdown this weekend.

Texas comes into this game with a record of 12-5 (6-4 Big 12) after their win over Kansas State earlier in the week. Meanwhile, TCU comes into this game with a record of 11-7 (4-5 Big 12), as a team that is still very dangerous in this conference the rest of the way.

It will be key for senior standout guard Matt Coleman and senior big man Jericho Sims to continue to elevate their play as they have in the last couple of games. Coleman’s performance did get shaky over the last six or eight games in Big 12 play, while Sims’ has improved considerably since the turn of the calendar year.

Coleman did have a better outing in the win over Kansas State. And he’s still posting solid stats as a whole this season. He’s played in all 17 games for the Longhorns so far this season (starting in all of them too), averaging around 34 minutes on the floor per game. And he’s averaged 12.6 points per game, 3.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.1 blocks. Coleman shot 45.1 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from beyond the arc, and 87.5 percent from the free-throw line.

Moreover, Sims is becoming more productive and efficient of late as he’s started in all 16 games he’s played in for the Longhorns so far this season. And he’s averaged 7.6 points per game, 6.8 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.9 blocks. Sims shot 61.4 percent from the field and 52.2 percent from the charity stripe.

Texas is starting to wind down the regular season looking to hold their footing near the top of the Big 12 standings, and within reach of a high single digit seed for the NCAA Tournament. Returning home to the Erwin Center could be what they need to take care of business against TCU this weekend.