Four Point Play: Texas tops OSU, earns all-important Big 12 Conference win No. 8

The Texas Longhorns took care of business against Oklahoma State on Saturday, staving off a second-half run and pulling away to complete an 81-65 victory.

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Texas improved to 19-10 and 8-8 in Big 12 play. Here are four takeaways from the win.

The walk-ons played thanks to Chendall Weaver, Brock Cunningham

The fact that Chris Johnson, Gavin Perryman, Devin Pryor, and Ze’Rik Onyema played should say plenty about the level of control Texas had for most of this matchup. The Longhorns lead by 11 points entering halftime before Oklahoma State made its one and only run of the game between the 16:08 and 12:20 marks of the second half. What was a nine-point Texas lead at intermission was erased via sloppy offensive basketball rife with erratic shots and turnovers that the Cowboys converted in the form of free throws and easy layups.

Once the Longhorns got it together, with a lot of credit due to Brock Cunningham and Chendall Weaver, they retook control of the game and went on a 14-0 run.

After that run, Weaver scored the Longhorns’ 11 points to help bump the lead up to a game-high 19 points and bring the Moody Center crowd to its feet.

Cunningham was all over the floor for the Longhorns on Saturday, diving for loose balls (as he typically does) and providing Texas with extra possessions. His line was 8 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal, but of those 7 rebounds four were of the offensive variety. He created a number of tie-ups and showed off the type of game expected from a sixth-year senior against a middling conference opponent.

Weaver’s continued maturation and development was on full display, especially during his sizzling second half. He finished with 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting, but also added 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal. He was 1-for-3 from three, maybe hinting at what may be in the next step of his development.

Because of those two’s efforts, plus the typical strong scoring outings from Dylan Disu (17 points) and Max Abmas (15 points) the Longhorns were able to earn an opportunity for deep bench players to play in what turned out to be an easy win.

The path ahead

While Texas was favored on Saturday, that’s unlikely to be the case on Monday.

The Longhorns head to the new Foster Pavilion for the first time and play Baylor in Waco for the final scheduled time on Big Monday. The Bears have plenty to play for. Not only are they coming off a big win over the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday, they’re also looking to avenge a January 20 loss at Texas via a last-second Tyrese Hunter layup.

Playing one of the top teams in the country on their brand new home floor as part of what’s sure to be a hostile environment (like many Texas has stepped in this year) could be the Longhorns’ toughest challenge until a potential first-round game in the NCAA Tournament. Baylor is 14-2 at its new digs this season with their only losses coming against TCU and Houston.

If Texas can’t steal a sweep against BU in Waco, a final opportunity for win No. 9 will come next Saturday against Oklahoma as part of the Longhorns’ senior day.

Texas dominated Oklahoma in January with a 75-60 win over the Sooners in Norman. Since then, OU has gone 4-5 with three of those defeats coming on the road.

A split for Rodney Terry‘s team most likely turns the beginning of March Madness into the opportunity to win back-to-back Big 12 Tournaments and force commissioner Brett Yormark to hand a Longhorn head coach another trophy for a major sport instead of a place where Texas has to string wins together to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament field.

Positive contributions

Abmas and Disu providing their typical scoring output is a great sign for Texas as they head into the postseason. Abmas had been in a bit of a slump and that caused defenses to look a little closer at Disu than usual. With a 3-for-6 night from distance, Abmas helped create more space on the floor. That was space other Longhorns took advantage of with solid cutting and movement.

Hunter registering 9 points on 4-of-11 shooting is a positive sign as the Longhorns look to get him playing closer to his averages than varying wildly on a game-by-game basis.

Kadin Shedrick has provided decent minutes on both ends over the past few games. He provided 8 points and 6 rebounds in only 15 minutes. He managed to pick up four fouls in the process. Those still stand as positives compared to some of his late January/early February contributions. The more Texas can feel comfortable playing Shedrick on the floor, the better it will feel about rim protection alongside Disu.

Eight should do it, right?

The Big 12 has evolved into the toughest basketball conference in the country in recent seasons, and the quality of team from top-to-bottom obviously has an influence on the NCAA Tournament selection committee.

The following is a list of teams since the 2012-13 season that had at least eight conference wins and did not earn a NCAA Tournament bid, along with their final ranking in KenPom.

2013: 23-14, 9-9 Baylor – No. 28 in KenPom

• This Baylor team finished the season 18-14 before winning the NIT

2014: 17-16, 9-9 West Virginia – No. 58 in KenPom

• This team lost four of its last six, including a first-round conference tournament game by 17

2015: 15-17, 8-10 Kansas State – No. 81 in KenPom

• After a 5-2 start in conference play, these Wildcats lost eight of the final 11 games and the first-round game in the Big 12 Tournament

2018: 19-15, 8-10 Baylor – No. 34 in KenPom

• Texas and Baylor finished with identical records. The Longhorns were even behind Baylor in KenPom at No. 36, but Texas earned the bid.

2018: 21-15, 8-10 Oklahoma State – No. 59 in KenPom

• This was the season where Oklahoma State was implicated in the NCAA men’s basketball bribery scandal. Though they weren’t bared from this postseason, they were not selected

2019: 21-16, 8-10 Texas – No. 25 in KenPom

• 20-14, 7-11 Oklahoma made it. The Sooners were No. 32 in KenPom. This Texas team won the 2019 NIT.

2023: 20-16, 8-10 Oklahoma State – No. 46 in KenPom

• Maybe there’s a trend as it pertains to Oklahoma State

And consider this: there are more teams who went 8-10 that were not included on this list because they earned a spot in the field of 68 with that record.

Also consider this: the Big 12 has seemingly never been stronger. Ten teams are in KenPom’s top 50, and 12 are in the top 75. The 9-9 teams that missed in 2013 and 2014 were not playing in a Big 12 like the one seen today.

The Longhorns strengthened their NCAA Tournament resume with the win on Saturday, even if it came against the last place team in the league. The selection committee is going to value a solid record against the most difficult conference in the country.

That doesn’t mean that Texas is removed from the bubble, as some of the teams listed above could talk about for hours. But with one more win, whether at Baylor or versus Oklahoma on senior day, the Longhorns can feel great about their NCAA Tournament chances no matter what happens in the Big 12 Tournament.

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If they drop the next two? The Longhorns will still be sweating but should feel as if they’ve done enough to earn a spot thanks to the eighth win.