By Steve Habel/Senior Editor
AUSTIN, Texas — No Mo was no problem for the Texas men’s basketball team, as the Longhorns showed Tuesday against outmatched New Hampshire.
Junior forward Dylan Osetkowski poured in 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead five Longhorns in double-figure scoring as Texas stormed past the Wildcats, 78-60, at the Frank Erwin Center as part of the PK80 presented by State Farm.
Texas played without freshman [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]center Mohamed Bamba, who sustained a concussion during practice Sunday and continues to be treated and evaluated as part of the program’s concussion protocol.
For Osetkowski, it was his second double-double in the season’s first two games after sitting out last year as a transfer from Tulane.
“To me, when (Osetkowski) is out there having fun, playing with a clear mind and communicating with his teammates, he can be really good,” Texas coach Shaka Smart said. “He’s not perfect, but he doesn’t have to be. Dylan is a bit of a perfectionist, so he will be hard on himself for the things he didn’t do right tonight.”
Smart has said he thinks Osetkowski can be the Longhorns’ version of Draymond Green, the do-everything forward and heart and soul of the NBA champion Golden State Warriors.
“He’s told me that, but I have a long way to go before I can even think about that,” Osetkowski said. “I’m going to get back in the gym and do what I can to get better. We knew New Hampshire was going to be strong inside, and we took tonight’s game as a challenge, especially with Mo out. The whole team responded well.”
The Longhorns (2-0) also got 16 points from Andrew Jones, 12 from Kerwin Roach II, and 11 points apiece from Jacob Young and Eric Davis Jr. in the rout. Texas outshot New Hampshire, 47.5 percent-31.7 percent, including a 53.3 percent-29.4 percent edge in the second half.
“We want more. We want to continue to get better,” Davis said. “It’s OK to be greedy about winning and improving. That’s been Coach Smart’s message throughout, and it’s what he told us after the game. We can get better but that comes with time, with practice and with in-game experience.”
Tanner Leissner led New Hampshire (1-1), which competes in the American East Conference, with 14 points. Iba Camara added 12 points and 10 rebounds and Jacoby Armstrong tallied 11 for the Wildcats before fouling out with 9:03 to play.
Texas led by as many as 14 points in the first half as Osetkowski racked up 12 points — five of which came from the free throw line — and eight rebounds while playing all but one minute in the half. Armstrong led the Wildcats with 11 points in the half.
New Hampshire cut the Longhorns’ lead to 29-23 in two free throws by Armstrong with 3:45 to play in the first half. Texas responded by scoring 10 of the final 12 points in the period and took a 39-25 lead at intermission.
“We were in a good spot late in the first half after we chipped away and had a little control but that got away when we started to foul,” New Hampshire coach Bill Herrion said. “We forced Texas into some tough shots in the first half but didn’t have enough guys play well, especially after halftime.
“Texas is good but we really didn’t give ourselves much of a chance.”
Any chance the Wildcats had to get back in the game was derailed in the first six minutes of the second half when Texas forged a 12-6 run and pushed their advantage to 51-31.
“Our guys had a good level of respect for New Hampshire,” Smart said. “There were a couple of stretches tonight on defense when we played really well but we have to be more consistent with that. It starts with knowing that every possession is important and we are getting better with that with every practice and with game.”
On Tuesday, Bamba was named to the 50-player watch list for the John R. Wooden Award, which is presented at the end of the season to college basketball national player of the year.
“This team is not about one player,” Smart said. “Mo is a big piece of it on both ends of the floor, but we are a lot more than just Mo.”
Bamba is progressing well through concession protocol and is expected back for UT’s next game, a 4 p.m. tipoff this Saturday against Lipscomb at the Erwin Center. It’s the last “warm up” game for the Longhorns before they head to Portland to play Butler and then likely Duke in the “Motion Bracket” of the PK80 tournament.
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