The Longhorns continue a tough four game stretch with a trip to College Station to face rival Texas A&M on Saturday afternoon. They are coming off two tough losses to Georgia and Florida, but have no time to feel sorry for themselves. After visiting College Station, Texas will travel to Fayetteville on Wednesday to take on a good Arkansas squad. Sean Miller’s squad had opportunities with the lead in the second half against Georgia and Florida, but ultimately lost both games. Texas needs to put together a full game in order to secure their ninth SEC win and solidify their NCAA Tournament hopes.
The Aggies upset the Longhorns in Austin back in January with a 74-70 victory. Texas was coming off of two straight top 15 wins but Texas A&M delivered some humble pie to Texas. Texas made it interesting, but the eleven point deficit was too much to over come for Texas. One of the many great things about the Lone Star Showdown being back is the Longhorns don’t have to wait until next year to avenge their loss.
The Texas Defense Better Come Ready
Defense has been an issue all year and it has only gotten worse as of late. In the last three games against LSU, Georgia and Florida, Texas is gave up over 86 points a game. No matter how good your offense is, that is simply way too many points to allow and expect to win. In fact Texas was lucky to beat LSU 88-85 – had they not won that game their tournament hopes would really be in danger. In those three games Texas has allowed the opponent to shoot 47% from three.
The three aforementioned teams shot significantly better from three than what they average as a team. Prior to the game against Texas, Georgia was shooting 32% from three and ended up 11-20 from three. The consensus about Florida is they have a great offense but struggle from three. Yet against Texas they shot 8-18 from beyond the arc. There is a common theme here, and Texas simply must defend the three better against the Aggies. Texas A&M shoots nearly 37% from three and in the first meeting against Texas they shot 40 % from three. The Aggies like to play fast and get a lot of shots up. If Texas doesn’t communicate better on defense, it will be a long afternoon for Sean Miller’s bunch.
Can Texas Have a Better Offensive Flow?
In their 84-71 loss to Florida, Texas had a meager two assists as a team . On 25 made field goals, two assists seems impossible frankly. That shows Texas is playing way too much one-on-one basketball. When you do that it becomes a much easier offense to stop as a defense. Texas A&M likes to pressure their opponents in a way you don’t see by other SEC teams. Against Florida, Texas had 12 turnovers to their two assists. The Aggies will see that on tape and will bring even more pressure. Sean Miler’s guards, in particular, better be ready.
Senior guard Tramon Mark had one of his best games of the year against Florida with 15 points on 6-9 from the field. You could feel his presence in the game, which hasn’t always been the case this year. Mark has been much better at home than on the road in conference play, and Texas needs the home version of Mark to show up Saturday. In his last four road games in the SEC, Mark is averaging just five points a game – that is simply not good enough. We know Dailyn Swain will show up ready to play, but who will help him out? Mark is the best candidate to do so and if he doesn’t, it’s hard to imagine Texas leaving College Station with a victory.
Tipoff time is at 3:00 pm CST and the game will be shown on ESPN2.
