Texas was able to pick up a resume-boosting win last Saturday at Texas A&M. The Longhorns followed that up with a blowout loss to Arkansas on Wednesday. That makes Saturday’s game against Oklahoma another must-win if they want a sweat-free selection Sunday. The Longhorns are in a great spot to receive an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament, but a loss to Oklahoma would hurt the resume. A win at home on senior night is a game everyone should view as a must-win regardless of the opponent, but especially against a rival.
Oklahoma is trying to do what Texas did last weekend. That is, avenge a loss on the road to a rival who beat them at home earlier in the year. The Longhorns beat the Sooners 79-69 back in January, largely due to a second half surge. Texas will look to play a more complete game this time around. Oklahoma enters Saturday’s game 12th in the SEC standings, but don’t let that fool you. They are playing their best ball of the season and are riding a three game win-streak and would love nothing more than to spoil Texas’ Senior Night.
The Longhorns Defense Remains an Issue
The Texas defense played better than usual last Saturday in College Station, but their woes showed up against Arkansas. Sean Miller’s team held the Aggies to a very respectable 70 points in their 76-70 victory, with A&M shooting just 5-19 from three. That raises the question of if the defense was solid, or if the Aggies just missed shots. With the 105 points Arkansas scored against Texas, it seems that the Aggies may have just missed shots they should have made. Many of the shots the Razorbacks made felt uncontested, much like they were in the gym alone. If Texas can’t force the opponents to make tough shots, their postseason won’t last long.
The communication on defense remains a major issue but at this point and it’s not going to improve. Texas needs to simply limit the open three’s and not foul like they have been. When they find any of their starters in foul trouble, it typically turns out to be a long game. Nic Codie stepped up big time when Matas Vokietaitis got into foul trouble early against the Aggies. The reality is the Longhorns can’t expect that every game, so Vokietaitis needs to stay on the floor. Texas just doesn’t have the interior depth that one would like.
Jordan Pope Needs to Show Up
Senior guard Jordan Pope has been extremely up and down this year. Often times he’s simply unplayable due to his defense, which showed up more than ever against Arkansas. Pope had three fouls by the under 12 minute timeout, which is unthinkable for a guard – especially given that Pope isn’t known for his defense. He picked up his fourth foul nine seconds into the second half and didn’t reenter the game, finishing with just four minutes and attempting one shot.
In the post game press conference Sean Miller mentioned he thought Pope just didn’t have any interest in playing. For the head coach to say that publicly about a senior is embarrassing for everyone involved. Clearly Miller is coaching Pope hard because he knows his ability and what he can do for the team. It’s time for Jordan Pope to show up and deliver for Texas when they need him. His last game with more than 18 points was against Alabama on January 10th when he had 28 points. A 20 plus point game isn’t too much to ask for, and he is capable of it. Let’s see how he responds after being called out publicly before the last home game of his college career.
