Texas Basketball: 3 reasons the Longhorns end Cal Baptist’s undefeated run
Cal Baptist hasn’t faced a team near the strength of Texas thus far
The fact of the matter in this game is that the Lancers just haven’t played a team near as good as the No. 8 ranked Longhorns so far this season. The five wins thus far for Cal Baptist came over the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils, Jackson State Tigers, Northern Colorado, San Jose State, and San Francisco State.
According to KenPom rankings, the best team that Cal Baptist played up to this point is Northern Colorado. And the Bears rank as the No. 188 team in Division I in KenPom as of the evening of Nov. 24. Even Cal Baptist ranks lower than Northern Colorado in the latest KenPom rankings.
Texas should be able to take care of business as far as this matchup on paper. But Cal Baptist has proved to be a scrappy team with some underrated players that will fight to the very end. And if Texas continues to have some slow starts early this season, it could cost them against the Lancers.
Yet, this looks like a situation where the Lancers are just outmatched. Top Longhorns players such as junior big man Tre Mitchell, Ramey, and redshirt senior shooting guard/wing Andrew Jones are some two-way forces that I believe Cal Baptist can’t really contend with.
dark. Next. 3 players who are already exceeding expectations
Mitchell is one particular weapon for Beard and the Longhorns in this game to note. He had another strong outing in the win over San Jose State. Through four games this season, Mitchell has averaged around a dozen points per game, five rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block. And he’s shot around 57 percent from the field, 50 percent from beyond the arc, and 82 percent from the free-throw line.