Texas Basketball: Gonzaga proves Longhorns still have a long way to go

The hype train slowed down a good bit for new head coach Chris Beard and No. 5 ranked Texas basketball following a double-digit loss on the road in Spokane, WA, at the hands of head coach Mark Few and the No. 1 ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs on the night of Nov. 13. Texas was a sizable underdog of around eight points heading into this game. But there still looked to be a chance for an upset to happen on Nov. 13.

On what was a bad night to be a Longhorns fan of really any sport, the men’s hoops team couldn’t provide some glimmer of hope. There’s no doubt that this was a tough spot to be in for Beard and the Longhorns so early on in the regular season. But this was also an opportunity to prove that the Longhorns could hang on the hardwood with really anyone.

That’s what it looked like given all of the depth and talent on this roster heading into the regular season.

Nonetheless, there is still hope for what lies ahead for Beard and the Longhorns this season. A road loss to the No. 1 ranked team in the country by a dozen points is nothing to be too disappointed in.

I would say the only thing that would be nice to see in the days and weeks ahead for Texas hoops is a complete performance. Texas got off to slow starts at times in the first halves against both the Houston Baptist Huskies and the Zags.

The two players for the Zags that really burned Texas in this game were the former Iowa State Cyclones and Penn State Nittany Lions guard Rasir Bolton and the reigning All-American junior big man Drew Timme. No single player was bigger in this game than Timme.

Timmy Allen and No. 5 Texas basketball can’t slow down Drew Timme and No. 1 Gonzaga on Nov. 13

Timme registered a career-high 37 points, seven rebounds, three assists, no steals, no blocks, and four turnovers. And his 37 points came on just 19 field goal attempts which is pretty crazy.

Texas going small in the starting five in this game ultimately cost them. They had a difficult time stopping anything that the Zags tried to do with Timme.

One of the lone bright spots in the starting unit for the Longhorns in this game was the former Utah Utes junior forward Timmy Allen. Coming up with a team-high 18 points, Allen was solid for Texas.

Along with his 18 points, Allen registered six rebounds, four assists, no steals, no blocks, and one turnover.

Among the negative takeaways from this loss for Texas to the Zags was the play of the senior guard duo of Marcus Carr and Courtney Ramey. We saw a solid start to the regular season for these two in the win over Houston Baptist back on Nov. 9.

But Carr and Ramey combined to shoot less than 30 percent from the field and roughly 16 percent from beyond the arc. We also didn’t see the traditionally strong perimeter defensive play from Ramey and Carr in this game.

If Texas wants to be one of the top contenders for a high single-digit seed in the NCAA Tournament to win another Big 12 crown, Carr and Ramey are going to have to step up with their two-way play. Texas is also going to have to figure out the situation in the frontcourt.

Getting the former Vanderbilt Commodores standout sophomore power forward Dylan Disu is going to be extremely important for the Longhorns.

The main theme that this loss to the Zags proves for the Longhorns is the fact that this team still has a long way to go to gel together. Texas men’s hoops fans obviously shouldn’t be panicking about this season after a road loss to a Zags team that already looks to be firing on all cylinders.

Following this 12-point loss to Gonzaga on Nov. 13, Texas is sporting a record of 1-1 (0-0 Big 12). Gonzaga moves to 2-0 (0-0 WCC) after they get this win over the Longhorns. Next up for Beard and the Longhorns is a meeting with the Northern Colorado Bears at home at the Frank Erwin Center on Nov. 17.