In expected fashion, the Texas Longhorns dismantled the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs on Thursday night, but the manner in which Sean Miller's squad attacked the game was truly astonishing.
Center Matas Vokietaitis and guard Isaiah Johnson unsurprisingly led the charge in scoring, combining for 31 of Texas's 98 points, and the Horns' big man also brought down the most rebounds (7).
However, Vokietaitis and Johnson were far from the only players to score in the double digits. In fact, Miller's entire starting lineup produced 10 or more points apiece, totaling 62 points, as did freshmen Marcus Spears Jr. and Joe Sterling.
One of the most exciting parts of the offensive performance may have been just how many of those points came from freshmen, with Sterling, Spears, Austin Goosby, and Coleman Elkins combining for 41 points.
Also read: Marcus Spears Jr. already looks ready to play with the big dogs as a true freshman at Texas
To have your entire starting lineup score in 10+ points is impressive. To have seven players accomplish the feat is incredible. Not to mention that the Horns out-rebounded the Bulldogs by more than a dozen boards, shot over 60% from the field, and forced 23 turnovers, while only giving up 10.
Sean Miller expects more than just high point totals from the Horns
Yet, despite the 48-point victory over the Bulldogs, Miller still wants even more from his team, and that could very likely be because he doesn't just believe, but knows, that this team is a National Championship-caliber squad.
“One of the things that I liked about our team is I thought we were really consistent with our effort, not perfect, but you know, really, if you evaluated our defense or our effort level, mid second half, early first half, late in the game, start of the second half, you know, I feel comfortable saying that I thought we had five guys that are really playing with effort and unselfish in playing to win," Miller said after the game.
Ultimately, Texas was not perfect. The Horns only brought down nine offensive rebounds, minimizing the number of second-chance opportunities they had on that end of the court. Similarly, the Longhorns only had 13 steals against a team of much lower quality and only had a minimal three blocks.
Yes, the Horns just mounted a 48-point victory to improve to 2-0 on the season. And yes, Texas is undeniably trending in the right direction.
However, it is a good sign that Miller felt comfortable enough to say that just five players performed as well as he thinks is possible. That means it is only up from here, and fans should get excited to see what this team can do over the rest of the season.
Add us as a preferred source on Google