*****GAME THREAD: #17 TEXAS vs. #12 VILLANOVA*****

[Aaron Carrara]

The #17 Longhorns host the #12 Villanova Wildcats today at the Frank Erwin Center in a matchup of ranked programs in the Big12/BIG EAST Battle.

Texas defeated  North Carolina 69-67 to win the Maui Invitational earlier this week, and Villanova defeated Hartford 87-53 on Tuesday.  The Wildcats lost their only game to Virginia Tech in OT 81-73 at the end of November.

WHAT:  TEXAS LONGHORNS (4-0) vs. VILLANOVA WILDCATS (3-1) 
WHEN:  Sunday, December 6, 2020
TIME: 12:00 NOON
VENUE:  Frank Erwin Center
LOCATION:  Austin, TX
TV:  ESPN

LAST MEETING BETWEEN THESE TWO TEAMS:  Texas defeated Villanova 67-58 (December 9, 2008 - New York, NY)
ALL-TIME SERIES RECORD:  Texas leads Villanova 2-1

 

[Aaron Carrara]

Kai Jones just hit back-to-back threes and Texas holds a 27-20 lead over Villanova with 6:28 left in the first half. 

 

[Ntx dog]

We sure like hoisting up hurried 3 pointers.

 

[Aaron Carrara]

HALFTIME:  Villanova holds a 32-30 lead over Texas.

 

[J.B. TexasEx]

Seeing the players on the bench in masks with chairs separated 3-4 feet is comical. ?

Because, science. C'mon, Horns!

 

[DBut82]

This team is exciting to watch. Down 4 but I expect them to pull it out

 

[J.B. TexasEx]

This team is exciting to watch. Down 4 but I expect them to pull it out

We need more movement on offense and off-ball screens ?

 

[joeywa]

Three really poor offensive possessions for Texas with under 2 to go sealed the deal. 

 

[RunRickyRun]

Same old horns.

 

[longhorn_mig]

Those back to back turnovers near the end sealed our fate. Tough loss.

 

[83Dee]

This team is a pleasure to watch.  It’s early but I think this will be Shaka’s best team at Texas.  
 

The issue with Shaka’s teams is typically shooting. I’ve often said that he values other things too highly over shooting in his recruiting evaluations. Well, this team isn’t a great shooting team but they also aren’t bad.  If they get adequate shooting they will be capable of beating any team. Their defense and hustle is outstanding!

So far so good for the Horns! 

 

[Tax Saver]

So many wasted possessions.  Passing just to pass.  No purpose.  Then passing up open shots to pass to someone not open.  

Without Ramey, this game would have been a route.  He kept us in the game.  Made some mistakes, but I saw a lot of loafing by other players.  Unfortunately Greg Brown was one of the loafers.  He's gonna have to pick it up or the NBA will laugh like they have at Sims.  I think he'll pick it up, though.

Villanova wasn't a whole lot better, and we SHOULD have beat them.  But...this looks to be Shaka's best team so far.

What does that mean?  Hell...I don't know.

But Coleman is vastly improved.  Ramey even more vastly improved.  Greg Brown shows signs, but he's not in the flow at this point.  Honestly, after all the hype I expected WAY WAY more from Greg Brown.  Kai Jones could be great, at least at the college level  if that's what he wants.  Obviously Cunningham is a scrappy guy.

Andrew Jones looks off...WAY off.  I hope he's OK.  Jericho Sims...not an ounce of improvement since his freshman year.  And while I'm willing to knock Shaka for stealing from UT, it's not Shaka's fault that Sims does NOTHING.  NOTHING.

Just a note:  We have the same problem that Texas has had for the last 30 years.  Lots of misses from point blank...lots.

 

[Bear19]

This team is a pleasure to watch.  It’s early but I think this will be Shaka’s best team at Texas.  

That’s a damn low bar to hop over.

 

[Ntx dog]

A. Jones makes a 3rd of his wide open shots we win.  Really like the athleticism of this team. It is a low bar to be sure but this is shaka's best team here.

 

[Huskie1]

Watched last night as I didn’t see the game live. I see some of the same disturbing trends we have seen under Shaka. No type of motion or flow on offense, cranking up too many threes when we don’t shoot them well, just not good on the offensive end. On the good side, these guys are athletic and play HARD. I thought they should have won that game. I’m afraid they will be up and down as a result of inconsistent shooting and poor offensive planning. Defense and hustle I believe will be there every night and I will watch and be pulling for them because they play so hard. 

just my 2 cents

Hook ‘em

 

[tejasrulz]

I also believe this may be his best team. Baylor is good, maybe the best in the nation, so we'll see soon.

Be that said, if you would have told me after playing Indiana, N Carolina and Villanova we'd be 2-1, I'd have taken it. 

 

[longhorn_mig]

PSA: We moved up to No. 13 in the polls. Nova moved to No. 9. Still coming in at No. 4 on Kenpom. Obviously not the 4th best team in the country, but including it for those that follow Kenpom.