Texas men’s basketball flips narrative, forces its way back into NCAA Tournament conversation

By Colby Gordon

Just when it seemed the Texas men’s basketball season was essentially over and the Shaka Smart era was coming to a close, the Longhorns have found new life.

A four-game winning streak, including impressive and important résumé wins over West Virginia and Texas Tech, has put Texas squarely back on the NCAA tournament bubble.

It is a stunning turn of events as the Longhorns are playing[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] with multiple players out with injuries and the winning streak coming on the heels of a 29-point loss at Iowa State that at the time looked to have sealed Smart’s fate and all but ended Texas’ chances at making the NCAA tournament.

“You want your guys playing with confidence at the end of the year heading into March,” Smart said Monday at his weekly meeting with the media. “Our guys have done a really good job with preparation, and they’ve done a nice job with not making excuses. We’ve had some challenging situations, but the guys have taken ownership of what we needed to do. The best part about these last few games is the guys have done a good job of losing themselves in the fight, playing together, helping each other and holding each other accountable.”

Ironically, in its most desperate of times, Texas seems to be playing with the most confidence and the loosest it has all season. The Longhorns overcame a seven-point halftime deficit Saturday in Lubbock and won by 10 in a game in which they were projected to lose by double digits.

“Sometimes the best performers are somewhat on the brink,” Smart said. “It’s a matter of being your absolute best. But you can’t lose your mind, either. Our guys know what goes into winning. From the coaches’ perspective, we’ve beat the drum of, ‘This is what it takes. This is what we have to do, this is what it takes to beat that specific team.’ But the bottom line is we’ve had been great ownership of that lately by the players.”

Smart pointed to guards Andrew Jones and Courtney Ramey leading the players. Jones earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors after torching both West Virginia and Texas Tech for 22 points, shooting 55 percent from the field in the process.

“The fact Andrew Jones is playing so well, that’s because of his teammates and his influence on them, and their influence on him,” Smart said. “He has an energy to him that is allowing him to continue playing. He’s come a long way. He’s built his body, put a lot of work in and done a great job of taking care of himself. His spirit and confidence is at a very high level.”

Texas (18-11 overall, 8-8 in games against the Big 12) enters Tuesday’s road game at Oklahoma (18-11 overall, 8-8 Big 12) with another player likely out with an injury, as Donovan Williams got hurt against Texas Tech. With his team’s lineup constantly in flux, Smart was asked if that actually gives him a coaching advantage since opponents don’t know who to expect on the floor.

“Maybe so,” Smart said with a pondering look. “Trust me, if it was up to me, I want a fully healthy team. But give the guys that are playing a ton of credit for playing aggressive, confidence and loose basketball. One advantage of having a shorter rotation is guys know if they make a mistake, there’s not a ton of options to take them out.”

While the game against the Sooners may not be a must-win for Texas, a win would likely put the Longhorns in the NCAA tournament field. However, a loss makes Saturday’s home game against Oklahoma State a must-win, so either way, the pressure is not off the Longhorns despite winning four in a row.

“The best thing we can do to help ourselves is win and play well,” Smart said. “Our guys understand that and that’s what we’re going to focus on.”

It’s a much better situation to be in than the one Texas was in two weeks ago, when it wasn’t even in the bubble conversation.

“This time of year, there’s a lot of projections and predictions, and that just goes along with college basketball and the way things are,” Smart said. “I told the guys yesterday, if they’re not making projections about you, then that means you’re probably having a really bad year.”
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