What might have been

After leading their Big 12 tournament quarterfinal game for 39 minutes and 59 seconds, the Texas Longhorns lost to the Iowa State Cyclones at the buzzer, 69-67. Texas led by as many as 16-points in the game, as well as 10-points with about 4 minutes left, but could not hold on for the victory.

In their first two games against the Cyclones this season, both losses, Texas had to overcome major scoring droughts. Ultimately, Thursday evening’s game played out the exact opposite of those contests.

The Longhorns started the game by draining open jumpers in the first five minutes, forcing ISU to try and match them. With Texas hitting shots early and not running offense through the post, Wednesday’s star, Cameron Ridley, still managed to make his presence felt by grabbing rebounds and blocking a shot.

In the first 10 minutes, Isaiah Taylor did not score, or even attempt a shot, and had a turnover. Taylor, who finished with 13-points, didn’t score until the 1:25 mark in first half. However, Taylor’s teammates picked up the slack by starting 5-7 from three point range.

At the 8:00 mark in the first half, Texas led 25-14, cementing that this game would be unlike the first two tilts between these teams. In fact, the Longhorns went on a 12-0 run during a 9-minute scoring drought from the Cyclones, but ISU finished the half with an 11-point burst that sent a clear message that they would force Texas to play well in the second half.

At halftime the score was 36-25 – Texas shot 50% (6-12) from three point range and 48.3% overall. The Horns also enjoyed a 21-13 rebound advantage to go with four blocks, nine assists, and just five turnovers. Javan Felix led Texas with 10 points, and Jonathan Holmes was just off that pace with nine points.

The fact that ISU was even within striking distance should be attributed to Georges Niang. The Cyclones’ forward had 11 points to go with two assists in the opening half.

Holmes opened the second half with consecutive three pointers in first 90 seconds. In fact, seemingly every 3-4 point burst from ISU was answered by the Texas offense.

Around the 17:00 minute mark, the Longhorns had a frustrating possession that never ended with points and allowed the Cyclones to start building momentum. That failed series sparked a 10-3 ISU run that was ended by a three pointer from Kendal Yancy.

At that point, Texas was an unsustainable 10-16 from beyond the arc.

With less than 9:00 remaining and the Cyclones charging, Taylor had back-to-back scores on nifty dribble penetrations. For about a three minute period, Taylor carried Texas with nine consecutive points that pushed the lead back to 10 points. But with around 4:00 remaining, Demarcus Holland sank two free throws and those were the final points scored by Texas.

The Cyclones, known for their proficient offense, scored the game’s final 12 points over the next four minutes. Clutch free throw shooting and two 3-points shots evened the game with 1:47 left.

With the score tied, Texas missed two three pointers and had two turnovers to boot, allowing for Monte Morris to sink a game winning jumpshot as time expired.

Texas now to returns to Austin thinking about what might have been while watching other bubble teams’ results. Such is life when you lose in March without securing an NCAA tournament berth.

Post-game quotes

Rick Barnes: “Hate it for our guys, because I really thought they played a hard game and obviously when the game is over there are things that you think, I could have helped them a little bit more.”

Rick Barnes: “I just hate it for our guys, because, again, it got down to where, again, we made some mental mistakes. Again, the two plays at the end where Connor turned it over throwing it in and Isaiah’s 10‑second call and I should have called time‑out but I thought he was going to bring it across.”

Rick Barnes: “You look at ‑‑ again, in this environment I thought we were composed and played, I think our team is ‑‑ I love the way we are playing right now. And, again, it’s tough, losing the way we did, because just the turnovers in the last four minutes really.”

Rick Barnes: “We’re good enough to play and beat anybody in the country and I believe that.”

Isaiah Taylor: “I think based on our effort tonight and our past games I think we would be a good team to compete for a spot.”