Texas Basketball: 3 players struggling mightily against top competition

After new head coach Chris Beard and the Texas basketball program looked to have some real momentum building against some sub-part competition in the last couple of weeks, it did die off a bit heading into the weekend. Texas fell short on the road back on Dec. 9 at the hands of the No. 23 ranked Seton Hall Pirates by the narrow final score of 64-60.

This meeting with Seton Hall was still an important one for Beard and the Longhorns to get a win out of. Texas hasn’t really proved themselves yet against any bona fide NCAA Tournament contenders as of yet. And this was yet another opportunity to prove that this top 10-ranked preseason squad is for real.

Texas now sits with a record of 6-2 (0-0 Big 12) following their four-point loss at the hands of Seton Hall earlier in the week. The two losses on the regular season thus far for the Longhorns came at the hands of Seton Hall and the Gonzaga Bulldogs (who were the No. 1 ranked team in the country at the time).

But the list of wins for Beard and the Longhorns thus far isn’t that great either. Texas doesn’t have a great NCAA Tournament resume through the first eight games of the Beard-era in Austin. Patience definitely must still win the day for Beard and the Longhorns early on this season, but adjustments still need to be made moving forward.

Texas basketball needs senior leaders like Courtney Ramey and Andrew Jones to play better when it matters most

According to the Kenpom rankings, there is only one team ranked in the top 200 in Division I hoops that Texas has a win over this season. And that team is the Northern Colorado Bears, who currently holds a record of 6-5 and sit at the No. 186 spot in the Kenpom rankings.

The loss to Seton Hall proves that the Longhorns have some real work to do. And a good place to start with where the Longhorns go next is figuring out which leaders need to step up through the stretch run of the non-conference slate.

Here’s a look into three key Longhorns players who are struggling against top competition so far this season and must step up from here on out.