Chris Beard breaks down mistakes late in game vs Illinois

Texas started off the basketball season hot, winning their first six games straight and earning a No. 2 ranking in the polls. But unfortunately for the Longhorns, they suffered their first loss of the season last week when they fell to Illinois 85-78 in overtime. Texas head coach Chris Beard broke down the end of regulation following the matchup, detailing what exactly went wrong in their first loss of the season.

“Well the defensive possession was probably the most important because we could win the game,” Beard explained. “Illinois is in the bonus and we all know that but we foul 30, 40 feet from the basket, so I was really frustrated, it’s a mistake and I’ll have to learn from that. So we work on that every day in practice, that’s a play that will be tough to watch.”

The Longhorns had a two-point lead with 8 seconds left in the game when Texas guard Sir’Jabari Rice fouled Illinois’ Jayden Epps. Epps hit both of his free throws to tie the game, leaving Texas with just eight seconds left to take back the lead, but were forced to face overtime following a missed jump shot by Marcus Carr.

“Again it’s December, it’s all about learning, that’s a great learning opportunity. On offense we were just trying to get Marcus going to the basket downhill. You guys know me, I’m always going to trust the players, I didn’t like our spacing, once it wasn’t a full court play, kind of looked up there. Those are the things I’ve got to live with, maybe call a timeout there, try to win it, or an out of bounds play,” Beard said.

Carr is the Longhorns’ second-leading scorer, averaging 13.9 points per game, but unfortunately came up just short in the clutch of Texas.

“But if I’ve got the ball in one of our best player’s hands, more time’s than not we’re just going to trust the player to make the play. But credit Illinois, I thought they really collapsed,” Beard said. “Our spacing could have been better, I think Marcus’ heart is in the right place, he’s trying to go win the game but probably too crowded, probably should’ve kicked it out.”

The Longhorns ran out of gas down the stretch, being outscored 17-10 by Illinois overtime. It was not only their first loss of the season, but their first ranked one, beating ranked opponents like Gonzaga and Creighton this season before falling to the No. 19 ranked Fighting Illini.