UConn tops Texas, 71-66
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Isaiah Taylor. (Will Gallagher/IT)[/caption]
Overall Game Thoughts by Tim Preston
Poor perimeter shooting by the Longhorns and some clutch shot making by UConn’s backcourt players ended Texas’ six game winning streak in a frustrating end to what was a winnable game.
Unsurprisingly, with Ridley out, much of Texas’ offense was going to come from three point shooting. In that form, the Longhorns attempted 23 three pointers. The problem is they made only six of them.
The Longhorns couldn’t make up the difference and now have to prepare for their Big 12 opener in Lubbock on Saturday coming off a loss to consolidate losing Ridley.
Offense:
If not for Tevin Mack further coming out of his shell by hitting 5 of 9 perimeter jumpers, the Longhorns would have lost this game by 20. Texas air-balled four three pointers. Only a Javan Felix three late made it that any other Longhorn than Mack hit from deep. Texas’ starting five combined to shoot 1-12 outside the arc. It simply wasn’t the kind of performance a team without their interior anchor could afford.
Still, more frustrating was that Texas continuously failed to establish any type of game getting to the rim except for Taylor as a penetrator. Texas only scored 28 points in the paint. Texas only scored nine second chance points. Texas’ big men (Cleare and Ibeh) combined to take only four shots in 30 minutes.
Those are tangibles that won’t lead to many wins against even average Big 12 teams, let alone top 10 teams like KU, OU and ISU.
Now, Felix has proven he’s not the 28.6% shooter he was tonight and, certainly, Davis has proven he’s not the 0% shooter he was tonight. However, Texas simply can’t afford for its backcourt scorers to do anything but or they will lose games to quality teams.
Defense:
Texas must do a better job of staying in front of opposing ball handlers around the perimeter because when UT’s help defense has to rotate against penetration, they get overly susceptible to both offensive rebounding and open perimeter shooting. Davis, in particular, has to get better about playing with better awareness and timing as a defender.
Over and over UConn was able to exploit Texas’ inability to keep them out of the paint. This led to foul trouble for Ibeh and 15 second chance points for the Huskies.
Still, other than that (glaring) struggle, Texas did a nice job of forcing difficult shots, closing out with energy and length and making UConn be ball movers against pressure and quickness. The Huskies turned the ball over well more than their average (13 times as opposed to an average of only 9.2 this year). Texas even did a great job of limiting Daniel Hamilton and Sterling Gibbs (two of UConn’s better shooters).
It wasn’t enough, and some parts must get much better, but the defense was good enough.
A Look at the Numbers:
Connecticut shot 46.6% (27-58) overall, 35.3% (6-17) from three, and 64.7% (11-17) from the line.
Texas shot 39.7% (23-58) overall, 26.1% (6-23) from three, and 70% (14-20) from the line.
UConn had more rebounds (35-34) and more assists (9-8) while Texas had fewer turnovers (10-13).
Star of the Game: Tevin Mack
Tevin’s scoring (20 points on 6-13 shooting) certainly stands out (as does his 5-9 from deep). But, to me, it was his rebounding (6 boards), defense and screening that was most impressive.
Mack looked comfortable as an area rebounder and was clearly doing his best to chase rebounds in space (want to goes a long way with rebounding). As a defender, he looked to play big and hedged well. And as a screener, Mack utilized decent timing and presented a good target on step aways and pops.
It wasn’t perfect, but if Texas can get even half of what Mack gave them tonight, finding a solution to the Ridley puzzle will be easier.
Great game from Mack when the rest of the team didn’t come with their best stuff.
The Endgame:
I’m just going to say it once and then be done with it, but when Taylor got in Purvis’ face in that late game situation, you knew he was going to miss the next free throw. That can’t happen from their team leader in a close game like that. He makes both of those and the game looks wildly different. He misses it and they are looking at a two possession game the rest of the way.
Frustrating.
Otherwise, this game played out like one would have suspected. Texas played hard (which they will) and struggled to find their new identity (which is understandable) but didn’t have enough to beat a solid team with playmakers off the bounce.
The good news for Texas is that they open the league slate with Tech and Kansas State. Two of the weaker teams in the league.
The bad news is that Tech is 10-1 (and on a nine game win streak) and KState is 10-2. So neither is the pushover it would have been nice to face in working to build some comfort in Ridley’s absence.
Not an enviable task for Coach Smart, but the task nonetheless. Tough loss.
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Shaka Smart. (Will Gallagher/IT)[/caption]
UCONN 71, Texas 66 game story by Mike Blackwell:
AUSTIN -- Game One A.C. (After Cam) came Tuesday night at the Erwin Center, a contest that ended with Texas losing to the University of Connecticut, 71-66.
Ironically, the game was iced by former Texas guard Sterling Gibbs, who made four free throws in the final 26 seconds as Texas effort to pull out the win. Another Husky with a Texas connection, Daniel Hamilton, added a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left to UConn as well. Hamilton is the brother of former Longhorn Jordan Hamilton.
Isaiah Taylor's free throw with 57 seconds remaining cut the UConn lead to 65-61, and the UT guard made one of two free throws with 33 seconds to slice the lead to 65-63 before the Husky tandem clinched the win for Kevin Ollie's team. Javan Felix's three-pointer with seven seconds left proved to be too little, too late.
The Felix three was the only non-Tevin Mack three pointer made by the Longhorns in the game. Mack, who led the team with 20 points, was five of nine from beyond the stripe; the rest of the Longhorns were one of 14. Ouch.
Rodney Purvis paced UConn with 16 points, while Hamilton and Shonn Miller each had 13. Gibbs, who has also played for Seton Hall in a much-traveled career, scored 12 points.
The game was played on the same day Texas center Cameron Ridley underwent surgery on his foot, which suffered a break at practice as Texas prepared for the Huskies. Prognosis for Ridley indicates that he will - at the earliest and if at all - return to action in "8-10 weeks, but potentially longer" according to Texas coach Shaka Smart, so Tuesday's game marked the first look at the Longhorns post-Ridley.
Reviews were cautiously optimistic.
Prince Ibeh and Connor Lammert were the bigs who started Tuesday night in the Cam-less lineup, along with Javan Felix, Isaiah Taylor and Eric Davis. Ibeh finished the game three points and four rebounds. Lammert's box score read seven points scored, along with eight rebounds. Minutes-wise, Lammert played 27, Ibeh 18 and the other frontcourt player who figures to get some of Ridley's time, Shaq Cleare, played 12 minutes. Cleare finished the game with five points (he made both of his shot attempts) and grabbed six rebounds.
Blocked shots? Ridley was averaging 3.4 per game; Ibeh had five, while Lammert and Cleare were shut out in that category.
"This is a tough one, because I thought we had a good level of enthusiasm for the majority of the game," said Smart. "We just didn't get the stops we needed to in the second half. And we had a few possessions in the second half where we lacked poise and took a couple of bad shots."
As for missing Ridley, Smart said, "Obviously we were not able to throw it inside as much as we did the first 11 games. But I thought (the other bigs) did some good things, Shaq rebounded the ball really well."
Smart said Ridley's surgery went "well" and added that the senior was in good spirits after the procedure.
The first half was back-and-forth, ending with the Huskies ahead, 34-33. Mack came out blistering for the Longhorns, scoring a dozen points on four of eight shooting from the field, three of six from beyond the three-point line.
After starting the game with an 8-2 lead, UConn cooled and Texas surged ahead 16-10 after a Mack three-pointer with 12:05 left to play. The two teams continued trading buckets: a Purvis three-pointer gave the Huskies a 25-24 advantage with 6:51 left, and a Lammert three-point play pushed UT back in front, 27-25 just 30 seconds later.
Felix canned a couple of free throws to give the Longhorns a 29-25 advantage, but Gibbs drained a three-pointer to cut the UT lead to 29-28 with 4:41 remaining. After a pair of UConn buckets, the Longhorns scored their final points of the half with 2:03 left to play, giving Texas a 33-32 lead before a Purvis layout gave UConn the halftime advantage.
Ollie said he was particularly impressed with Gibbs.
"That's what fifth-year seniors are supposed to do," Ollie said. "At the end of the game, I know I can count on him to make big plays for us."
Connecticut improved to 9-3 on the season, while Texas fell to 8-4. Attendance for the game was 13,931, and included former Longhorns LaMarcus Aldridge and P.J. Tucker. Texas opens Big 12 play Saturday at Texas Tech, tipoff set for 1 p.m.
Isaiah Taylor. (Will Gallagher/IT)[/caption]
Overall Game Thoughts by Tim Preston
Poor perimeter shooting by the Longhorns and some clutch shot making by UConn’s backcourt players ended Texas’ six game winning streak in a frustrating end to what was a winnable game.
Unsurprisingly, with Ridley out, much of Texas’ offense was going to come from three point shooting. In that form, the Longhorns attempted 23 three pointers. The problem is they made only six of them.
The Longhorns couldn’t make up the difference and now have to prepare for their Big 12 opener in Lubbock on Saturday coming off a loss to consolidate losing Ridley.
Offense:
If not for Tevin Mack further coming out of his shell by hitting 5 of 9 perimeter jumpers, the Longhorns would have lost this game by 20. Texas air-balled four three pointers. Only a Javan Felix three late made it that any other Longhorn than Mack hit from deep. Texas’ starting five combined to shoot 1-12 outside the arc. It simply wasn’t the kind of performance a team without their interior anchor could afford.
Still, more frustrating was that Texas continuously failed to establish any type of game getting to the rim except for Taylor as a penetrator. Texas only scored 28 points in the paint. Texas only scored nine second chance points. Texas’ big men (Cleare and Ibeh) combined to take only four shots in 30 minutes.
Those are tangibles that won’t lead to many wins against even average Big 12 teams, let alone top 10 teams like KU, OU and ISU.
Now, Felix has proven he’s not the 28.6% shooter he was tonight and, certainly, Davis has proven he’s not the 0% shooter he was tonight. However, Texas simply can’t afford for its backcourt scorers to do anything but or they will lose games to quality teams.
Defense:
Texas must do a better job of staying in front of opposing ball handlers around the perimeter because when UT’s help defense has to rotate against penetration, they get overly susceptible to both offensive rebounding and open perimeter shooting. Davis, in particular, has to get better about playing with better awareness and timing as a defender.
Over and over UConn was able to exploit Texas’ inability to keep them out of the paint. This led to foul trouble for Ibeh and 15 second chance points for the Huskies.
Still, other than that (glaring) struggle, Texas did a nice job of forcing difficult shots, closing out with energy and length and making UConn be ball movers against pressure and quickness. The Huskies turned the ball over well more than their average (13 times as opposed to an average of only 9.2 this year). Texas even did a great job of limiting Daniel Hamilton and Sterling Gibbs (two of UConn’s better shooters).
It wasn’t enough, and some parts must get much better, but the defense was good enough.
A Look at the Numbers:
Connecticut shot 46.6% (27-58) overall, 35.3% (6-17) from three, and 64.7% (11-17) from the line.
Texas shot 39.7% (23-58) overall, 26.1% (6-23) from three, and 70% (14-20) from the line.
UConn had more rebounds (35-34) and more assists (9-8) while Texas had fewer turnovers (10-13).
Star of the Game: Tevin Mack
Tevin’s scoring (20 points on 6-13 shooting) certainly stands out (as does his 5-9 from deep). But, to me, it was his rebounding (6 boards), defense and screening that was most impressive.
Mack looked comfortable as an area rebounder and was clearly doing his best to chase rebounds in space (want to goes a long way with rebounding). As a defender, he looked to play big and hedged well. And as a screener, Mack utilized decent timing and presented a good target on step aways and pops.
It wasn’t perfect, but if Texas can get even half of what Mack gave them tonight, finding a solution to the Ridley puzzle will be easier.
Great game from Mack when the rest of the team didn’t come with their best stuff.
The Endgame:
I’m just going to say it once and then be done with it, but when Taylor got in Purvis’ face in that late game situation, you knew he was going to miss the next free throw. That can’t happen from their team leader in a close game like that. He makes both of those and the game looks wildly different. He misses it and they are looking at a two possession game the rest of the way.
Frustrating.
Otherwise, this game played out like one would have suspected. Texas played hard (which they will) and struggled to find their new identity (which is understandable) but didn’t have enough to beat a solid team with playmakers off the bounce.
The good news for Texas is that they open the league slate with Tech and Kansas State. Two of the weaker teams in the league.
The bad news is that Tech is 10-1 (and on a nine game win streak) and KState is 10-2. So neither is the pushover it would have been nice to face in working to build some comfort in Ridley’s absence.
Not an enviable task for Coach Smart, but the task nonetheless. Tough loss.
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Shaka Smart. (Will Gallagher/IT)[/caption]
UCONN 71, Texas 66 game story by Mike Blackwell:
AUSTIN -- Game One A.C. (After Cam) came Tuesday night at the Erwin Center, a contest that ended with Texas losing to the University of Connecticut, 71-66.
Ironically, the game was iced by former Texas guard Sterling Gibbs, who made four free throws in the final 26 seconds as Texas effort to pull out the win. Another Husky with a Texas connection, Daniel Hamilton, added a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left to UConn as well. Hamilton is the brother of former Longhorn Jordan Hamilton.
Isaiah Taylor's free throw with 57 seconds remaining cut the UConn lead to 65-61, and the UT guard made one of two free throws with 33 seconds to slice the lead to 65-63 before the Husky tandem clinched the win for Kevin Ollie's team. Javan Felix's three-pointer with seven seconds left proved to be too little, too late.
The Felix three was the only non-Tevin Mack three pointer made by the Longhorns in the game. Mack, who led the team with 20 points, was five of nine from beyond the stripe; the rest of the Longhorns were one of 14. Ouch.
Rodney Purvis paced UConn with 16 points, while Hamilton and Shonn Miller each had 13. Gibbs, who has also played for Seton Hall in a much-traveled career, scored 12 points.
The game was played on the same day Texas center Cameron Ridley underwent surgery on his foot, which suffered a break at practice as Texas prepared for the Huskies. Prognosis for Ridley indicates that he will - at the earliest and if at all - return to action in "8-10 weeks, but potentially longer" according to Texas coach Shaka Smart, so Tuesday's game marked the first look at the Longhorns post-Ridley.
Reviews were cautiously optimistic.
Prince Ibeh and Connor Lammert were the bigs who started Tuesday night in the Cam-less lineup, along with Javan Felix, Isaiah Taylor and Eric Davis. Ibeh finished the game three points and four rebounds. Lammert's box score read seven points scored, along with eight rebounds. Minutes-wise, Lammert played 27, Ibeh 18 and the other frontcourt player who figures to get some of Ridley's time, Shaq Cleare, played 12 minutes. Cleare finished the game with five points (he made both of his shot attempts) and grabbed six rebounds.
Blocked shots? Ridley was averaging 3.4 per game; Ibeh had five, while Lammert and Cleare were shut out in that category.
"This is a tough one, because I thought we had a good level of enthusiasm for the majority of the game," said Smart. "We just didn't get the stops we needed to in the second half. And we had a few possessions in the second half where we lacked poise and took a couple of bad shots."
As for missing Ridley, Smart said, "Obviously we were not able to throw it inside as much as we did the first 11 games. But I thought (the other bigs) did some good things, Shaq rebounded the ball really well."
Smart said Ridley's surgery went "well" and added that the senior was in good spirits after the procedure.
The first half was back-and-forth, ending with the Huskies ahead, 34-33. Mack came out blistering for the Longhorns, scoring a dozen points on four of eight shooting from the field, three of six from beyond the three-point line.
After starting the game with an 8-2 lead, UConn cooled and Texas surged ahead 16-10 after a Mack three-pointer with 12:05 left to play. The two teams continued trading buckets: a Purvis three-pointer gave the Huskies a 25-24 advantage with 6:51 left, and a Lammert three-point play pushed UT back in front, 27-25 just 30 seconds later.
Felix canned a couple of free throws to give the Longhorns a 29-25 advantage, but Gibbs drained a three-pointer to cut the UT lead to 29-28 with 4:41 remaining. After a pair of UConn buckets, the Longhorns scored their final points of the half with 2:03 left to play, giving Texas a 33-32 lead before a Purvis layout gave UConn the halftime advantage.
Ollie said he was particularly impressed with Gibbs.
"That's what fifth-year seniors are supposed to do," Ollie said. "At the end of the game, I know I can count on him to make big plays for us."
Connecticut improved to 9-3 on the season, while Texas fell to 8-4. Attendance for the game was 13,931, and included former Longhorns LaMarcus Aldridge and P.J. Tucker. Texas opens Big 12 play Saturday at Texas Tech, tipoff set for 1 p.m.
