Hoops Preview: No. 22 Missouri versus Texas

Texas welcomes No. 22 Missouri to Austin in what amounts to a must-win game for the Longhorns. The SEC gauntlet does not let up for Rodney Terry, as his team is in the middle of a four game stretch against ranked opponents. To put things into perspective as to how strong the conference is, seven of the first eight SEC games for Texas come against ranked opponents. It has been a difficult schedule to navigate, but there is no time for excuses. The bottom line is the Horns are 1-4 in conference play and this season is getting away quickly.

Missouri comes into the game on the opposite end of the spectrum. The Tigers are 4-1 in conference, including a win at No. 5 Florida. The Tigers have not played the tough schedule that Texas has, but 4-1 in the SEC is good no matter how you dice it. Mizzou’s schedule gets increasingly difficult, with the Tigers playing four straight ranked teams after they visit Austin. There is no doubt third season head coach Dennis Gates would like to get to 5-1 in conference with a win over Texas to give his team some room for error moving forward.

Texas Must Play a Complete Game

Texas needs to put together two good halves in order to beat just about anyone in the SEC. So far, the Longhorns have only outscored Auburn in the second half. That was a game in which Texas was down more than 20 points at halftime, so the second half stats were a bit misleading. When you constantly lose second halves it gives you very little chance to win. Rodney Terry and company need to find a solution to quell those woes.

The good news for Texas is Missouri has struggled in the second half as well. In five SEC games they have won the second half just twice – against LSU and Arkansas, and they won each of those by just one point. Missouri typically has a double digit lead at halftime, with the exception of the loss to Auburn. They have the potential to be a really good basketball team. The game against the Longhorns should be interesting, as neither team can afford to go flat in the second half. Should Texas win the second half they will have a fighting chance against the Tigers.

Texas Must Contain Missouri’s Three Point Shooting

Since Missouri’s conference opening loss to Auburn they have heated up from beyond the arc. In the last four games, the Tigers had only one game in which they shot below 41% from three. They still shot 37.9 % from three in that game, which was the upset of No. 5 Florida. In their last four games Missouri is averaging over 25 three-point attempts per game and making nearly 44% of them. That is a high percentage. If Texas cannot contain them, things could get dicey.

The ‘Horns do not need to get into a three point shootout with Missouri. They have struggled from three in conference play and need to attempt less threes. Jordan Pope and Tre Johnson are great in the mid-range and they need to focus on scoring more on those looks. If you are a team that is averaging less than 35% from the arc, which Texas usually is, you welcome your opponent to take more threes. Against Florida, the Longhorns took fewer attempts from three, but still managed to go just 4-16. If you’re shooting 25% from three, 16 attempts is too many. If Terry and the Longhorns are going to turn around their season, they need a better shot selection.