By Colby Gordon
AUSTIN, Texas — As Texas enters the second half of Big 12 play with Saturday’s home game against Texas Tech, its chances to build tournament-résumé wins are slowly dwindling.
The two games left against the Red Raiders, and one apiece against Baylor and West Virginia, mark the Longhorns’ best chances to accumulate wins that would get them on the tournament bubble.
It’s one reason why the [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]next three days are almost make or break for Texas’ season — and possibly Shaka Smart’s tenure as the UT coach — as the Longhorns (14-8, 4-5 Big 12) host Baylor Monday night, a little more than 48 hours after the result of the Tech game will be known.
“When you play a good team and a good program you have to, as a competitor, look at it as a good thing,” Smart said Friday at his weekly meeting with the media. “There’s a ton of opportunity there and that’s the best way to help yourself … is to be completely in the moment and engross yourself in that game and in that day.”
Texas has left itself very little margin for error over the rest of the season. The Longhorns are ranked 64th in the analytical rankings on kenpom.com and are in the “Next Four Out” section of Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology on ESPN, meaning there are likely seven teams between a spot in the tournament and Texas heading into the weekend.
Wins over Texas Tech and Baylor would skyrocket UT up the analytical rankings and likely put them in the tournament field heading into the final stretch of the season.
Lose both games, and the Longhorns are in an almost possible position of having to go at least 5-2 down the stretch and win a couple of games at the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City.
Split the games, and Texas is likely in a somewhat slightly better position than today, but being a bubble team leaves a lot of things out of the Longhorns’ control.
“For us, it’s more about winning the next game and moving forward. It’s about beating Texas Tech,” Smart said. “Our guys have done a really good job this week preparing. For us, it’s obviously a really, really important time of the year and it’s important to go back to what your core elements are as a team. What we’ve emphasized is we’re best when we’re connected, together and helping each other.”
Smart noted multiple times Friday that it’s important for Texas to be the aggressor.
The Longhorns have played their best when being aggressive on both sides of the court this season, but have rarely been able to sustain that for an entire game.
“The biggest thing that sparks it is losing yourself in the fight,” Smart said. “When we run in transition offensively, it allows us to be more aggressive. When we walk it up, it’s not as impactful, and we don’t get as much as a jumpstart on a possession.
“Defensively, anything we can do to get our guys to extend themselves, whether it’s full-court pressure or guarding ball screens more effectively.”
If the Longhorns are going to make a late-season run and get into the NCAA tournament, they will need to start playing a complete 40 minutes.
“The way to keep that going is to get past ‘hard,’” Smart said. “(Monday at Kansas) it’s a two-point game with 11 minutes left and at that point there has to be a steel-minded resolve. That’s not unique to us, but we have to take that next step.”
Ultimately, the solutions to Texas’ tournament resume issues are simple.
“Win,” Smart said.
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