Four Point Play: Texas' season versus Tennessee despite spirited comeback effort

Texas fell 62-58 at the hands of Rick Barnes’ Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday despite the Longhorns’ valiant effort at a second-half comeback.

[Sign up for Inside Texas and get ONE MONTH for $1 using our March Madness special!]

Four takeaways? Four takeaways.

Sometimes stats say a lot…

More on Max Abmas and Dylan Disu as far as scoring production in a second, but…

Texas’ primary ball handlers in Abmas and Tyrese Hunter combined for 10 of the Longhorns’ 17 turnovers.

That is not conducive toward winning games in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, especially against a Barnes-coached team that won the SEC and has length and athleticism to play the style of defense he demands on a regular basis.

The Longhorn guards, if you include Ithiel Horton and Chendall Weaver along with Abmas and Hunter, had 12 of those 17 turnovers. Many of those took place in the first half, when one of Abmas or Hunter ostensibly lost their minds and gave away possession inexplicably. Tennessee had 15 total points off turnovers, with nine of them in the first half.

Those are all obviously negatives for Texas and were major factors that lead to the Longhorns being behind by nine at halftime with only 19 points to their name.

But the second half rally by can’t be forgotten, especially when it took place because of things that Rodney Terry learned from Barnes. Terry used some of those tricks to his own benefit against the Vols to make this second round contest a nail-biter in the second half.

Tennessee managed to shoot only 34 percent from the field and was a sub-mediocre 3-for-25 from distance on the night.

Three. For. Twenty-five.

Not all of those 22 misses were the Longhorns’ doing, but enough of them were, especially during the Vols’ 2-for-12 second half from three, to where Texas was able to make the final moments of the game heart racing no matter your preferred shade of orange.

The Longhorns even limited first-team All-American Dalton Knecht to a 5-of-18 night from the field. Like an All-American, however, he hit his last four free throw attempts when it mattered most to keep the Vols out of striking distance in the game’s waning moments.

Knecht hit them in the end, as did the rest of the Vols: Tennessee was 15-for-18 from the line and 8-for-10 in the second half.

The scoreboard and free-throw line weren’t the only place where Tennessee had the advantage. The Vols won when looking at…

• Made FGs: 22-20
• Turnovers: 12 to Texas’ 17
• Points of turnovers: 15-5
• Rebounds: 42-36
• Offensive rebounds: 14-7
• Second chance points: 12-6
• Points in the paint: 36-20
• Steals: 9-5

Those statistical lapses were just too much to overcome.

Texas did not get what it needed from Abmas and Disu

All season, the Longhorn offense has been focused on Disu and Abmas, the two players capable of creating their own shot via the dribble or an array of moves.

And with good reason. Abmas shot 43 percent and scored 17.0 ppg. Disu posted a 48 percent field goal percentage, was a first-team All-Big 12 selection, and averaged 15.7 ppg.

But on Saturday, they struggled to reach those averages. Disu scored 12 points on an agonizing 4-for-18 shooting, including 2-for-7 from distance. The misses were of all different varieties: in-and-out, short, long off the iron, off to the side. Many of the looks were opportunities Disu typically converts. They just went unconverted against the Vols.

Similar applies for Abmas, who was 3-for-10 and 2-for-6 from three. Abmas and Disu both made just two field goals apiece in the second half. Looking to tie the game with under 15 seconds left, Abmas took the ball on a play designed for him but fired up a contested shot from the corner. He has made those types of shots in his storied career, but the look was not the best for the situation especially with the Longhorns having a timeout in hand and a three not being necessary.

When two players typically relied on for 32 ppg only tally 22 against one of the best defenses in the nation, it’s going to make pulling a victory that earns a place in the Sweet 16 a difficult task.

Tyrese Hunter and a few others figure it out in the last 10 minutes

The Longhorns’ noble effort fighting back over the course of the final seven minutes of their season was spearheaded by Hunter.

Hunter lived the common coaching axiom of “forget the last possession.” There were a lot of “last possessions” Hunter had that were part of why Texas was in a late hole.

But over the course of the last six minutes, Hunter was 4-for-6 with nine points that were critical in making the game competitive up to its dying moments.

Hunter wasn’t the only one who made a number of winning plays. As he has over the course of the season, Chendall Weaver made a number of great plays on both the offensive and defensive end. Weaver and Hunter ended up posting 13 points for the Longhorns on a combined 9-of-18 shooting, including a 2-for-6 night from three. Weaver hit all six of free throws.

But in the end, Hunter’s final game of the 2023-24 season was as mercurial as the rest of his Texas career.

And now?

Abmas, Disu, Horton, and Brock Cunningham are out of eligibility.

Alex Anamekwe has already entered the portal.

Kadin Shedrick reportedly plans to return to Texas using his sixth and final year of eligibility.

And after that is a lot of unknowns.

What will veterans like Hunter, Dillon Mitchell, or Ze’Rik Onyema do? Do they stick around and become upperclassmen?

What about promising prospects like Weaver, Chris Johnson, or Devon Pryor? Do they stick around and join Tre Johnson, Cam Scott, and Nic Codie, members of the 2024 class?

These are the questions Terry now faces as the first offseason ahead of the debut year in the Southeastern Conference looms.