After leading the Horns to the Sweet Sixteen, bringing in a recruiting class and transfer portal group that both ranked in the top five nationally, and hyping up the elite abilities of his players, expectations were high for Sean Miller and the Texas men's basketball squad.
Despite all of that, the Longhorns fell well short of those expectations on Sunday afternoon as they took on the St. John's Red Storm and were defeated by double digits.
Out of the nine players that Miller rotated into the lineup on Sunday, only one created a positive margin while on the floor. It wasn't one of the highly-touted freshmen like Marcus Spears Jr. and Austin Goosby, or even one of the elite transfer additions like David Punch or Isaiah Johnson.
Also read: Isaiah Johnson ensures that the Horns have that 'Texas Fight' in them at SEC Tipoff
It was Bo Ogden, another one of Texas's true freshmen and a local Austin product whose father has actually been on the Horns' coaching staff for a few years.
Even when you look at the numbers from Texas's only returning starter, center Matas Vokietaitis, he produced a -21 margin, something that is far from acceptable for the Longhorns.
No. 7 Longhorns must bounce back from exhibition loss to No. 13 Red Storm
The final score was 87-74 in favor of St. John's, despite the fact that the Horns had fewer fouls, produced more bench points than that of St. John's backups, and even outshot their opponents beyond the arc.
Despite all of that, St. John's was able to pull off the double-digit win.
Simply put, Miller has to find a way for his team to take advantage of the opportunities that it creates for itself. Something the Longhorns clearly couldn't do against the Red Storm.
The exhibition matchup won't count toward Texas's overall record, but it was an undeniable sign that the Horns might not be quite as ready for the regular season as outsiders thought they looked before Sunday.
Texas was ranked No. 7 in the preseason AP Top 25 Poll, and the Red Storm was ranked No. 13. If the Horns want to remain in the top-10 conversation, then they have to be able to play cleaner ball.
While the Longhorns shot well from deep and played a more disciplined game when it came to committed fouls, St. John's was able to actually take advantage of the mistakes it forced from Texas.
The Red Storm scored 20 points off of turnovers, while Texas only scored seven points off of St. John's giving up the ball. Similarly, the Horns were only able to produce 12 second-chance opportunities, while St. John's was able to score 14 points.
Texas is expected to compete at the highest level this season. That much was reflected in the Horns' preseason ranking. Now, it's time for them to play like it.
The Longhorns' regular season will tipoff on Monday, Nov. 2, with a home game against the Chicago State Cougars. The game is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. CT and will be aired by the SEC Network.
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