Actually, what makes more sense is that the horns were overrated and overhyped at the start of the year. Combine that with an easy schedule, and you have a perfect recipe for a disastrous collapse. Losing at home to Baylor and coming within seconds of losing to the Ags is absolutely inexcusable. Like last year, I don't see the horns being more than a 1 and done team in the big dance.
Yeah, I know I should quantify this statement... But, I'm super tired- and watched this game in person (and many others this season). Rick Barnes needs to be given the axe. He has serious coaching issues, and is lost. He has no idea how to mesh the young talent (Hamilton, Brown, Bradley) with the veterans (Pittman, James). With the players we have, it really shouldn't be this hard of a struggle to get into an offensive scheme down the court. Oh, and the transition D is just abysmal.
Barnes has the same problem he always has - he can't do much without a dominant point guard. And somehow our 4-headed monster all suck at PG. But it's nothing worth firing over, and it's nothing that's going to lead him to get fired. The other problem is that these freshmen suck. Hamilton has one skill - shooting the ball. But he doesn't know when to shoot, so he's terrible at it. I'm not sure what the deal is with Bradley. He was the #1 recruit in the country as a shooting guard, but he's not a great shooter (not terrible). He shoots 47% from the free throw line. He's an OK ball handler. Good/great defender. But if you're not a great shooter at shooting guard, I'm not sure what made him the #1 recruit. Brown has potential, but he can't handle the ball well at all and he's not a good passer. I have no idea what's happened to Pittman.
I have to disagree. Barnes is a very good coach. I do think he has to let go of this idea that playing Balbay is a good idea. I think the 2nd half last night proved that he has to go with J'Covan Brown handling the ball. It's one thing to have Shane Battier or Ryan Bowen on the court, but when it's your point guard, it kills the offense. I think this team misses Varez Ward more than anyone thought they would. I'd be willing to bet that we see a starting line up next time out of Brown, Bradley, James, Johnson, Pittman.
Texas cruised in the first round last year against Minnesota, and came within one shot of potentially upsetting No. 2 Duke in the next round.
Understood, but for future reference, if you say a team will be "1 and done", 99.9% of the world uses that phrase in the context of a team losing in the first round.
That North Carolina win pretty much is in the gutter.... The Mich. St. game was a pretty nice win, but we shouldn't be kidding ourselves... right now, this team isn't a tournament bound team. They can't even make FTs to win games... now it's to the point where they're having offensive struggles to put the ball in the basket in crucial moments of games. Somethings gotta change.
Um, that's just ridiculous. You do realize that of Texas' four Big 12 losses, three were to Kansas, K-State and Baylor - all very good (ranked) teams at a minimum, and as bad as things have gotten since the start of conference play, they're still 5-4 and on a pace to win nine games. If you win nine games in arguably the best conference in America, you're almost assuredly going to the dance. Combine that with a 14-1 OOC mark, and you're just being downright silly. Unless you expect Texas to go 2-5 or worse for the duration of Big 12 play with neither KU or K-State on the schedule, there's no way in hell Texas comes anywhere near the bubble.
perspective, dude. You do realize that team they played Monday night is 23-1 and No. 1 in the country for a reason, right? Judging by the UT reaction, you'd think they had just lost to Iowa State. With home games left against Nebraska, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma left, yes, winning two games or fewer would shock anyone with any kind of objectivity. It would basically be the biggest collapse in the history of sports. Texas has its problems, but they'll win at least 10 Big 12 games and be a top seven seed in the dance, at a minimum. It's underachieving enormously, that's for certain - but let's keep it in perspective.
you mean that iowa state team we were trailing at halftime? what about that awesome texas tech team we struggled to beat? um, have you watched any of the ut games between the game we were ranked #1 (or even the game or two before) and the kansas game? since they were ranked #1, they have struggled in every single game. what was ou's ranking/record last saturday? a&m's when they took them to ot? osu when they struggled mightily and needed a career game from a freshman who's never met a shot he didn't like to pull out the win? texas tech's when they were leading at half in austin? what in the last month of basketball has led you to believe that losses to ou/osu/@baylor/@a&m/@missouri/@tech would be surprising? i wouldn't be surprised if they won those, but to act like it's a stretch for them to lose those considering the way they've played over now a third of the season means you're not looking at it objectively.
I've watched every one of them. Do you realize you can make this "struggled at half" argument with almost any team in the country? Kansas "struggled" with Nebraska at home, if you consider the judgment point what the score was early in the second half (they actually trailed). Kansas majorly struggled with Colorado and the earlier Nebraska game, as well. Kansas State "struggled" with Iowa State over the weekend. Texas Tech is a top 30 RPI team nationally, and Texas beat them by 12 - and were only semi-close thanks to the hottest shooting half I've seen any team have all year. If you pull this "came somewhat close" BS as you do when you reference Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Iowa State (average margin was by double digits, in conference, two on the road), you can basically make any team in America look bad. Kansas and Syracuse included. As a general rule of thumb, if you're citing three wins, all in conference - two of which came on the road, two by double digits against teams in the top 36 in RPI (read: tournament if it started today) - as evidence that a team might collapse and not make the tournament, you need perspective. Add to that the A&M game, a top 20 team in RPI. Are you sure you want to cite the above four games in a case of how a 19-5 team out of the Big 12 might not make the tournament? Texas isn't playing up to its potential, this is certain. But they have enough talent that to expect them to lose all (or all but one) of the games you mentioned is just silly. They might not look pretty, and I suspect they'll drop two or three - but eventually, talent will win out in at least half of them, just as it did against Tech, Okie State, A&M and Iowa State.
By the way, I could just as easily argue that if not for a Baylor airball (Texas wins that game, if not for an airballed shot pulling an NC State and landing directly in the lap of a Baylor player underneath the basket for a last-second layup to force OT) and a complete freak accident of a double-dribble from J'Covan Brown against kU... Texas could be 21-3, 7-2 in the Big 12, in the top 5 in the country and coming off a win vs. No. 1. They're not, of course. But Texas is what it is - they're a talented team with flaws, probably somewhere in the 15-25 range nationally, right now. They're too flawed to dominate most conference (read: competent) opponents, so they'll have some games where the bounces/shots fall their way late (see the three games referenced in previous post), and some games where they don't (see Baylor, and to an extent kU). But the key is that over time, with a team like this, you'll have games on both sides of that spectrum, and to suddenly expect all of them to fall to one side just isn't realistic. You somewhat implied that Hamilton's late surge against Oklahoma State was a measure of getting lucky. Eh, not really - there's a reason he was such a highly-regarded recruit. As frustrating as he is to watch (I highly doubt you've screamed at him through the TV as much as me, lol), there's a ton of talent there. At some point, he was going to have a game like that. Brown and Bradley probably will, as well. Law of averages.
my only point was that it wouldn't be surpising for a team that is 2-5 in their last 7 to go 2-5 in their last 7. it wouldn't be surprising to me if they went 5-2 either.
I think you took me wrong... I didn't say they wouldn't make the tourney... I just said they're not tournament bound to win... or at least I meant to say that... I could see them winning their first round and then losing the next round because of the major issues that they currently have, an upset could be likely.
