By Riley Zayas
AUSTIN, Texas — “You have to be the best you can be in the moment and try to win, and if you (win) then you put yourself in a better position,” Texas men’s basketball head coach Shaka Smart said Saturday. “If not, you need to win the next game. That’s where we are right now. Obviously in this league, you get a lot of really good opportunities, but that means it’s a really good team and you have to play at a high level.”
The Texas men’s basketball team will indeed get two great opportunties this upcoming week, as the Longhorns play Baylor at home, then travel to Iowa State, and seek to salvage their season after dropping two straight ballgames this week.
The Baylor game[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] at 8 p.m. Monday marks the third game in a rigorous three-game stretch that also included matchups against Kansas and Texas Tech, both of which Texas lost. Monday’s game will be a part of ESPN’s “Big Monday” schedule.
The Bears, led by head coach Scott Drew, have held the No. 1 spot in the polls for four straight weeks now, and show no signs of slowing down, maintaining a 20-game win streak after Saturday’s win over Oklahoma State. Recent wins over Kansas and Texas Tech have only built upon their impressive non-conference schedule, which included wins over ranked teams like Villanova, Butler and Arizona, preparing the Bears for the rigorous schedule in Big 12 play; Baylor is 10-0 in conference games so far.
One of the biggest components of the Bears’ high powered offense is redshirt junior forward Mark Vital, whose top plays this season — and there have been several — have been captured on Baylor basketball’s twitter with the hashtag #GoingVital. A hard-nosed defensive-minded player, Vital is often the one who ends up with the loose ball, or gets just high enough for the block. His stats have reflected his playing style, with a team-high 37 steals to go along with 15 blocks. If Baylor needs a defensive stop, this is the guy Drew is almost certain to put on the floor.
Carrying the offense through conference play has been guard Jared Butler, a perimeter threat who is sixth in the Big 12 in three-pointers made. Shutting him down should be UT’s No. 1 goal on defense, although Baylor is anything but a one-man team. Along with MaCio Teague and Davion Mitchell, Baylor’s passing creates more than a few open looks throughout the game.
“The schedule is what it is, (and) Baylor’s a terrific team. Our job is to step forward and play the way we started today and finish the game that way as well,” Smart said after the loss to Tech.
The Longhorns edged Iowa State two weeks ago, 72-68 two weeks ago. Texas will make its second-longest road trip of the season to Ames, Iowa for the rematch at 1 p.m. Saturday, a game between two teams hoping to salvage NCAA tournament hopes that will be broadcast on ESPN2.
Iowa State has gone 1-1 in the two games since the lost to the Longhorns, falling to No. 13 West Virginia before bouncing back with a 10-point victory over Kansas State. With a 3-7 conference record, the Cyclones are in the bottom half of this league, but in a conference with so much parity, no team can be underestimated. Despite being very young, ISU has held its own against teams like Seton Hall, Michigan and Oregon State in non-conference play.
Tyrese Haliburton and Rasir Bolton each had 14 points in the first game against Texas, but Haliburton’s status for the Texas game is unknown after he re-injured his wrist against Kansas, prompting initial reports that he could miss “at least a week” (he originally injured it in a December practice). This duo leads a dynamic offense that relies on quick passes around the key until an open shot emerges, something the Cyclones have done extremely well all season, as they rank second in the league in points per game, averaging 74.0 per game.
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