Sirhornsalot
**The Official Horn Sports Landscaper and Landscap
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2013
- Messages
- 33,586
If you had told me back in October that the Horns would make the Dance, I would have laughed. Just didn't think we had enough to make a run in a coach's first year.
We started out slow, losing one, winning one, losing another. We lost to TCU and Texas Tech after we lost our key center, Cam Ridley. We had to find ourselves again, establish a new identity. Find new ways to win.
Now, he we are sitting in a tie with Kansas and OU for second place with a little less than half the conference schedule to go.
The thing is though, we just keep getting better. Each game, a different player steps up. The play is exciting. Isaiah Taylor is relentless. Felix is nails. Ibeh has discovered himself. Cleare is creating his niche. Roach is a beast. Lammert is a nightmare to guard.
Our date with OU on Big Monday will tell us a lot. OU just lost to K-State on the road. Are they having issues? Or was it just a slip up?
We follow that with a trip to Ames in a dangerous game. Always tough to beat a good team twice in a season.
Texas basketball quietly climbing up the Big 12 standings
Don't ask the Longhorns about the standings, they will claim ignorance.
But Shaka Smart and the players are aware, even if they don't mention it often, of the Big 12 standings and their place in them. And right now that position has never been higher.
Following Texas' 69-59 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday and the other weekend conference games, the Longhorns are just one game behind West Virginia in the Big 12 standings. At 7-3, the Longhorns are in a three-way tie for second with Kansas and Oklahoma. In addition, Iowa State and Baylor are two games back at 6-4.
It's a bunched group, and there's still plenty to be determined over the final eight regular season games. Six of Texas' final eight games come against teams in that five-team group, including two contests with No. 1 Oklahoma.
Texas, once considered a team at risk of the NCAA Tournament after starting 1-2 in conference play, is also making a rapid rise in the national rankings with a now 16-7 record. The Longhorns received one vote in the Associated Press Top 25 last week, and they have a shot to be ranked Monday following a pair of wins against Baylor and Texas Tech.
With the nation's 13th-toughest strength of schedule, Texas is ranked No. 20 in ESPN's RPI rankings. The Longhorns are also into the Top 30, at No. 28, of Kenpom's rankings for the first time all season.
Texas will return to action Monday night for a road game against Oklahoma. The game will tip-off at 8 p.m. and can be seen nationally on ESPN.
http://texas.247sports.com/Bolt/Texas-basketball-quietly-climbing-up-the-Big-12-standings-43551526
We started out slow, losing one, winning one, losing another. We lost to TCU and Texas Tech after we lost our key center, Cam Ridley. We had to find ourselves again, establish a new identity. Find new ways to win.
Now, he we are sitting in a tie with Kansas and OU for second place with a little less than half the conference schedule to go.
The thing is though, we just keep getting better. Each game, a different player steps up. The play is exciting. Isaiah Taylor is relentless. Felix is nails. Ibeh has discovered himself. Cleare is creating his niche. Roach is a beast. Lammert is a nightmare to guard.
Our date with OU on Big Monday will tell us a lot. OU just lost to K-State on the road. Are they having issues? Or was it just a slip up?
We follow that with a trip to Ames in a dangerous game. Always tough to beat a good team twice in a season.
Texas basketball quietly climbing up the Big 12 standings
Don't ask the Longhorns about the standings, they will claim ignorance.
But Shaka Smart and the players are aware, even if they don't mention it often, of the Big 12 standings and their place in them. And right now that position has never been higher.
Following Texas' 69-59 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday and the other weekend conference games, the Longhorns are just one game behind West Virginia in the Big 12 standings. At 7-3, the Longhorns are in a three-way tie for second with Kansas and Oklahoma. In addition, Iowa State and Baylor are two games back at 6-4.
It's a bunched group, and there's still plenty to be determined over the final eight regular season games. Six of Texas' final eight games come against teams in that five-team group, including two contests with No. 1 Oklahoma.
Texas, once considered a team at risk of the NCAA Tournament after starting 1-2 in conference play, is also making a rapid rise in the national rankings with a now 16-7 record. The Longhorns received one vote in the Associated Press Top 25 last week, and they have a shot to be ranked Monday following a pair of wins against Baylor and Texas Tech.
With the nation's 13th-toughest strength of schedule, Texas is ranked No. 20 in ESPN's RPI rankings. The Longhorns are also into the Top 30, at No. 28, of Kenpom's rankings for the first time all season.
Texas will return to action Monday night for a road game against Oklahoma. The game will tip-off at 8 p.m. and can be seen nationally on ESPN.
http://texas.247sports.com/Bolt/Texas-basketball-quietly-climbing-up-the-Big-12-standings-43551526
