Horns prepare for Tech and the road ahead

As Texas heads to the South Plains to wrap up a surprisingly successful regular season, it’s still not job-done for the Longhorns.
At 22-8 overall and 11-6 in Big 12 play, the Longhorns have already surpassed their overall and conference win totals from the last two seasons. But there’s much left to accomplish.

For starters, a win at Texas Tech would snap a much-publicized four-game losing streak away from Austin. Beating the Red Raiders, who’ll finish ninth in the conference standings, would send Texas into next week’s Big 12 Tournament with a restored sense of away-from-home confidence.

The Longhorns know full well their recent road performances won’t cut it, either Saturday or beyond. Sophomore Conner Lammert said as much following Texas’ win over TCU.
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“We have faced some adversity and that’s one thing that we just talked about in the locker room looking forward to Tech,” he said. “We know it’s going to be a great crowd there; we just have to handle adversity better and not make stupid turnovers.”

Going inside the numbers, it may not be so much committing the turnovers – Texas has averaged 14 per game in the four straight road losses. It may be that Texas isn’t forcing turnovers. Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa State and Kansas State only turned the ball over eight times on average. Not only must Texas protect the ball, it must create turnovers from the opposition – in this case the Red Raiders, who average nearly 12 turnovers per game.

Texas’ guards not only have to protect the ball, they must shoot the ball better. In the four losses, Isaiah Taylor, Javan Felix, Demarcus Holland, Martez Walker, Kendal Yancy and Demarcus Croaker have made just 41 of 152 shots from the floor, a frosty 26.9 percent. While Taylor showed signs of shaking his slump by making 7 of 14 shots against TCU at home, Holland, Croaker, Walker and Felix combined to make just five of 25.

Red Raiders’ opponents shoot 44 percent from the floor and 45 percent in conference games. Texas has been consistent, making 43 percent of its shots against conference and non-conference foes alike. Barnes believes the shooting will come around.

“I don’t think our guys have lost any confidence,” Barnes told Kirk Bohls in the Austin American-Statesman following the win over TCU said. “Now, Javan’s had a tough time, but he’s got to keep shooting.”

It’s about confidence, and the Longhorns should have plenty of chances to restore that confidence as the Red Raiders figure to pack their defense around Cam Ridley, who followed a double-double at Oklahoma with another against TCU.

“I told those guys they should be out playing H-O-R-S-E on the perimeter, because everybody’s guarding him,” Barnes said in the American-Statesman following the Oklahoma game. Now it’s time for Texas to start putting letters on the opposition.

While Texas won’t play in Austin again this season, a strong showing Saturday and in next week’s Big 12 Tournament might earn Texas a chance to play a little closer to home in the NCAA Tournament. San Antonio hosts second and third round games. Following Wednesday’s win over TCU, ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi revised his projections and for the first time thinks the Longhorns will indeed get that chance.

To make San Antonio a reality, Texas can’t afford another slip in the committee’s eyes. That means winning in Lubbock, which should guarantee Texas no worse than the third seed in the Big 12 Tournament and guarantee that Texas wouldn’t see Kansas before the title game if it can win twice.

Texas’ path to the title game is by no means guaranteed. If Oklahoma State beats Iowa State and Kansas State beats Baylor this weekend, Texas would be looking at a quarterfinal game against the resurgent Cowboys, who could enter the tourney having won five straight after Marcus Smart’s return from suspension. In their preseason poll, conference coaches thought OSU would share the title with Kansas.

The committee would surely like to see Texas win at least one game in the Big 12 Tournament to give it reason to reward the Longhorns on their turnaround season with a friendly NCAA tournament venue.
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