Before the turn of the calendar year to 2025 and the start of SEC play in early January, Texas basketball and head coach Rodney Terry have one more game. Texas hosts the Northwestern State Demons at the Moody Center on Dec. 29 in the final tune-up game before SEC play starts in early January against the rival Texas A&M Aggies in College Station.
Where Texas basketball needs to progress before SEC play begins in January 2025
Texas has won double-digit games (10-2, 0-0 SEC) with only one contest remaining before the start of SEC conference play late next weekend. Terry and the Longhorns are coming off a dominant win over New Orleans at the Moody Center in the final game before the Christmas holiday break.
Junior guard Jordan Pope had a breakout game, scoring a career-high 42 points, in Texas's 98-62 win over New Orleans on Dec. 19.
While the Longhorns had some high points to start the inaugural regular season campaign as a member of the SEC conference, Terry and staff have some marked areas of improvement in the coming weeks.
Here are three New Year's resolutions for Terry and the Longhorns entering SEC play for the 2024-25 season.
Get Tramon Mark comfortable in the offense
Senior guard Tramon Mark made his season debut for the Longhorns after missing the first four games due to an injury with six points in a win over the Syracuse Orange in the Legends Classic in late November.
The first three games Mark played this season were coming off the bench as he got more minutes in each contest coming back from the lower-body ankle injury. Since he entered the starting lineup for five straight, he's reached double-digit scoring in three games.
Mark has been a big contributor on the glass and stretching the floor on offense for the Longhorns since his return to the starting lineup. He's averaged a career-high 4.5 defensive rebounds per game. Mark has given Texas a big boost with its backcourt and wing rebounding, with three straight games with at least a half-dozen boards dating back to the Dec. 12 victory over New Mexico State.
Where Terry and the Longhorns would still like to see improvements in Mark's efficiency on the offensive end is his shooting percentages. Mark has struggled from the free-throw line and finding his spots from inside the arc as a secondary playmaker and shot-creator for the Longhorns.
Mark has shot a career-low 61.1 percent for the Longhorns from the charity stripe this season.
Texas is still working to find its true identity on the offensive end of the floor in the backcourt rotation. The Longhorns haven't been able to get fully adjusted to playing in Terry's system, given the injury issues many key players have sustained that caused them to miss multiple games early this regular season.