Changing course

FINAL SCORE: Texas 61 – Baylor 59

1^st Half: Baylor 31 – Texas 24

• 2 turnovers by UT plus a steal by Baylor in the first 90 seconds. Foreshadowing?

• Texas spends about 75% of each offensive possession with 4 players at least 15 feet from the basket. Even in a 3-guard lineup, that’s not effectively using personnel.

• Isaiah Taylor got called for his 2^nd foul, 11 minutes into the game. This team needs him on the floor and now he’ll be forced to sit most the remaining portion of the half.

• Having Myles Turner catch-turn-shoot from 14’ is a much more effective use of his length than having him shoot jumpers. Baylor has no answer for that set early in the game.

• Yancy has trouble with his handle in traffic, but with Taylor on the bench, he’s the only one that will put the ball on the floor and attack the rim.

• Felix is really hustling on defense tonight.

• Looking at the stat sheet, Baylor is dominating the glass, points in the paint, and Texas turned it over 7 times….yet Baylor only leads by 7 at halftime.

2^nd Half: Texas 30 – Baylor 23

• It’s a small thing, but seeing Taylor dribble up the floor with his head up, actively surveying what his teammates are doing offensively is something NBA scouts will love.

• Between barking at his players and the referees, I’m surprised Scott Drew has a voice at the end of games. He’s non-stop.

• When Felix hit a 3-pointer to pull Texas within one point, the crowd erupted. These fans have been looking for an excuse to get involved tonight, and #3 gave it to them.

• The Bears are dominating the offensive glass and loose balls. Of their 37 points, 15 of them are second chance.

• Midway through the half, Texas went 2-11 from the floor, and Baylor hit a couple 3-pointers. The lead is now 10 points.

• As is typical of this team, a late-game flurry in the final 5 minutes had the lead down to one possession game. Then Jonathan Holmes hit a three pointer to tie with 55 seconds left.

• I’m not into what people “deserve”, but these fans deserve this win.

Overtime: Texas 7 – Baylor 5

• The mass scrum resulted in a handful of ejections on both sides, but replays looked pretty uneventful.

• Clinging to a 3-point lead, Texas went on a 2:48 scoring drought that allowed Baylor to tie the game.

• Isaiah Taylor’s game winner was set up by a great pass from Felix. He won’t be remembered, but that possession belonged to Javan Felix.

Top takeaways

1. Think what you want about Rick Barnes, but it’s inarguable that this team does almost nothing to help themselves when they’re on the floor. That’s not coaching.

2. Will an OT, come-from-behind win that featured a would-be shoving match finally spark the Longhorns into the winning streak that everyone thinks they’re capable of having?

The stat story

• Baylor had 20 total and 11 offensive rebounds in the first half (12 second chance points). The Bears finished with 21 offensive boards, and a +16 margin.

• The Bears were 2-12 in the first half from 3-point range.

• Baylor shot 2-9 from the floor in overtime.

• Myles Turner led the team in rebounds (7) and blocks (6).

• Demarcus Holland finished with a team-high 12 points. Only 2 other Horns scored double figures.

Looking ahead

The Longhorns’ final regular season game is on Saturday against Kansas State. After this win, Texas must build momentum and beat KSU, or tonight’s game is rendered meaningless.