One month ago, Texas stood atop the college basketball world. Since then, they've gone 3-5 and look like a team that would struggle to get out of the first weekend.
Prior to back-to-back road losses to K-State and UConn, the Longhorns weren't only winning but winning in style and big (Wins included Sparty, UNC and Pitt at home.). Now, they can't beat Oklahoma and got manhandled by Kansas. On Saturday, they returned to early season form, routing a mediocore Nebraska team by 40. As of today, their RPI sits at 27. They still rate highly in Pomeroy Ratings, 8th overall and 6th in AdjD.
They still rate highly as a team in many categories. They're 3rd in scoring offense, 27th in FG %, 17th in FG % defense, 15th in blocked shots and 13th in rebound margin. They're near the bottom in FT shooting which worries you in a close game (Along with what has to be an issue in confidence.) and turn the ball over a lot. And if we break down the season, all the numbers above are trending downwards through the conference season, especially rebounding margin and defensive FG %.
Where does Texas go from here? They still have road games at Mizzou, Texas A&M and Baylor. The schedule isn't easy but maybe they can catch some of that early season mojo and some confidence heading into the deepest depths of March...or they could continue their downward spiral into an abyss of 8 versus 9. Hook 'em Horns!
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