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Texas Gets A Tournament-Caliber Win

Posted by srr50 on December 22nd, 2009 under Basketball

I’ll let Trips give a detailed post-game to go with his pre-game analysis, but there were a couple of items that just jumped off the Frank Erwin Center floor tonight in the Horns 79-68 win over Michigan State.

Dexter Pittman had 4 points and 1 rebound.

To compare Texas’ free throw shooting with, say, the St. Andrew’s 6th grade boys team would be an insult to St. Andrews.

And yet Texas beat a Top Ten team by 11 points.

This win was more important than the UNC effort — this was, as Rick Barnes said beforehand, a game for men. This was a first-class lesson in March Basketball for the freshmen, and it was also another example of the value of Damion James.

Michigan State is an excellent half-court offensive team. They set multiple screens, and try to run you through a ringer until the backdoor cut is there, or a wide-open 3 is also available. During the first half you could see Bradley and Brown fight through the screens, thinking they were being fouled. They weren’t fouled, at least those aren’t fouls in March, and today they found out just how much harder they have to play to reach the elite level. In the second half they adjusted.

Michigan State is an excellent half -defensive team, they deny the elbow and you have to be tireless in screening and moving. In the 2nd half we were much better at screening and popping and getting Damion James space to create. James was a man among men, getting 23 points and 13 rebounds. He produced 48 points and 28 rebounds against back-to-back Top Ten teams. He probably thinks he made the right choice to come back for his senior year.

Again, for March, this game meant so much more for the younger players than UNC. Jordan Hamilton went brain dead for a stretch in the 1st half, Barnes didn’t give up on him, and Hamilton rewarded him with a couple of 3-point daggers to the Spartan’s heart. Hamilton, Bradley, and Brown all found out where their game is in December — and where it needs to be in March.

The crowd was tournament quality as well — the kind usually reserved for Kansas or A&M in the Frank Erwin Center.

Here is the scary part. Texas beat Michigan State by 11 points, and they haven’t even touched the surface on how good they can play.

That is scary. Scary good.

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41 Responses

  1. ransomstoddard said:

    December 22nd, 2009 at 8:33 pm

    Did we just witness the coming out party of Gary Johnson? My goodness, he absolutely wrecked State with about 4 minutes of explosive defense and jumping jack ability. If we shoot even moderately well from the free throw line, this game is not close.

  2. craigbiggiosdirtyuniform said:

    December 22nd, 2009 at 8:34 pm

    New to the site. Ya’ll do good stuff.

    The team will be unstoppable later in March if we can avoid a free throw contest.

    Really happy with Lucas contributing and our entire team D locked down in the 2nd half.

    Game ball to our guard D on the perimeter. Just lock-down D in the 2nd half which fueled our D. James explosion all over their faces.

    Very satisfying win over college basketball royalty who’s had our number as of late.

  3. tangentorange said:

    December 22nd, 2009 at 8:35 pm

    If free throws are made – they win by 20. Guard defensive play wrecked havoc on the Mich State guards. All this, and they can still get a way lot better.

  4. KilgoreTrout said:

    December 22nd, 2009 at 8:42 pm

    I think you are peaking too early. :) You’ll win 90% of your games with your defense. Bilas seemed to think the only part of the game you need to work on is half court sets. Free throws won’t show up until late in the tournament. I don’t see my Ags winning either game this year. Hopefully all your good players will leave for the NBA so next year we have a chance.

  5. mack tripper said:

    December 22nd, 2009 at 8:47 pm

    Gary Johnson was great the final five minutes or so, but before that he must have fallen down about 27 times.

  6. Blueshorn said:

    December 22nd, 2009 at 8:50 pm

    That was a hell of an effort by the Horns, especially in the second half. Balbay did a defensive number on their point guard. Johnson was huge down the stretch and has really picked up his game. James has elevated his stock considerably with his play against Carolina and the Spartans. The freshmen all showed flashes of brilliance.

    I can’t wait for the Jayhawks to come to town.

  7. E said:

    December 22nd, 2009 at 8:52 pm

    We won by double digits with no free throw shooting, no sexy and terrible referees. On a night where everything doesn’t go wrong, we would simply dismantle most of the top ten…

  8. Blueshorn said:

    December 22nd, 2009 at 8:54 pm

    And with all that said, our free-throw shooting is utterly abysmal. That we can beat two good teams that convincingly and not be able to shoot free throws is nothing short of amazing. Unfortunately, it will bite us on the ass eventually if we don’t improve.

  9. CrazyJoeDavola said:

    December 22nd, 2009 at 8:58 pm

    Great crowd, great win. Our on-ball defense is nightmarish for our opponents. Kalin Lucas will be seeing the grinning maw of Dogus Balbay in his dreams for a while. And when the Turk finally fades from view, he’ll be replaced by a tag team of Gary Johnson and Avery Bradley.

    I’ve decided that I’m just not going to let the free throw shooting bug me. It’s a conscious choice, like not letting Houston traffic on 610 get on my nerves. It’s there, and there’s nothing I can do about except, as the Marines would say, “embrace the suck”.

  10. srr50 said:

    December 22nd, 2009 at 9:02 pm

    I just found this quote from Rick Barnes after the game, and I love it.

    ” I told them that if this is as good as we’re going to be, then we’re in trouble. The great thing about it is that we really have a lot of room to grow.”

  11. Honna said:

    December 22nd, 2009 at 9:52 pm

    Airhorn girl’s attempts at airhorn ultimately proved futile.

  12. UT wildcatter said:

    December 22nd, 2009 at 10:02 pm

    I hope our free-throw shooting proves to be as big of an Achilles heel as our offensive line

    We sure talk about it as much the same.

  13. Tdiddle said:

    December 22nd, 2009 at 10:25 pm

    Air horn girl was great. If this were UNC she would’ve been arrested.

  14. Texoz said:

    December 22nd, 2009 at 10:28 pm

    Holy Fuck. I’m watching the A&M game vs Wash and one of the Aggie players just snapped his leg bone in 1/2 right above the ankle. It’s Joe Theisman like. They’ve stopped the game to take the player off in a stretcher.

    I think it’s #3. Derrick Roland

  15. uthookem said:

    December 22nd, 2009 at 10:28 pm

    Owww…our free throw shooting…yikes….what will we ever do?

    WTF? Yes, our free throw shooting sucks. It sucked last year. It may suck for the rest of this year. It is one area that we can get batter.

    However, have we missed free throws late in a game that would have iced it for us? No. Until we do, let’s quit being pussies and live with the 10+ point wins.

    Hook ‘em!

  16. CrazyJoeDavola said:

    December 22nd, 2009 at 10:29 pm

    Um, say some prayers for the Ags’ Derrick Rowland. He just got Theismanned at Washington.

    Horrible.

  17. Texoz said:

    December 22nd, 2009 at 10:30 pm

    I was watching the screen and thought, “Why the Hell is that guy’s foot over THERE and his upper leg is over THERE?”

  18. CrazyJoeDavola said:

    December 22nd, 2009 at 10:30 pm

    Sorry to step on your post, Texoz.

    This thing was shiver-inducing. Sloan is pretty fucking distraught right now.

  19. CrazyJoeDavola said:

    December 22nd, 2009 at 10:34 pm

    They just showed a replay from midcourt of the injury. You couldn’t actually see the break happen, but you could see the entire Ag bench and the entire section of Washington fans behind them all cringe at the same time.

  20. Noonan said:

    December 22nd, 2009 at 10:35 pm

    You’re right, this was like a tournament game. The refs let both teams play, and that usually benefits the deeper and more athletic team, which is going to be us like against everybody. I have been following TX basketball since Lemons won the NIT in the late 70s, watched some fun, fairly decent teams along the way (top 5 in early 80s, BMW Penders, the Barnes era with high profile players doing well in the nba), and yes, suffered through the buttlick era. I have no qualms saying this is the best Texas team ever. Just dominant. Enjoy it while it lasts. Isn’t it glorious to be a TX fan right now.

  21. Texoz said:

    December 22nd, 2009 at 10:37 pm

    Damn. I was about to go to sleep.

    I’m guessing Sloan heard the snap because in the replay I can see Sloan look back at Derrick right after it happened. Sloan heads down the court on defense and then loses it (cries) after the play at the other end of the floor comes to a stop.

  22. CrazyJoeDavola said:

    December 22nd, 2009 at 11:16 pm

    You could hear the snap on the telecast. Just watching it, you thought it was some random noise, but I had it on DVR and it sounded like a gun-shot.

    It reminded me of those soccer injuries you see when a guy has his foot planted and someone comes in with a tackle that just snaps their legs in two.

    It was a close game to that point. Ags just couldn’t muster anything after the injury.

  23. Triston27 said:

    December 22nd, 2009 at 11:16 pm

    That leg injury was bad. I’m glad you couldn’t actually see the injury. That injury completely deflated the Aggies.

    They weren’t fouled, at least those aren’t fouls in March, and today they found out just how much harder they have to play to reach the elite level.

    Absolutely true. Michigan State is a great team to play to prepare yourself your March. It’s a big confidence builder leading into league play.

  24. CrazyJoeDavola said:

    December 22nd, 2009 at 11:25 pm

    I especially liked the fact that we got such a difference in styles so soon after the UNC game. Like srr and others have said, this was great prep for the tourney.

    In the space of 4 days, we got to see:

    – Uptempo
    – Slow-it-down
    – A team with a huge and talented frontcourt
    – A balanced team with excellent guard play
    – Two hall-of-fame coaches
    – Playing with a lead
    – Playing from behind
    – Playing in a regular-sized arena with a hyped crowd
    – Playing in a Final Four-style cavern with a neutralized crowd
    – Shooting well from the line
    – Shooting poorly from the line
    – Dex going out of his mind
    – Dex getting relegated to the bench
    – Etc.

  25. Dave said:

    December 23rd, 2009 at 1:24 am

    The scary part for me is that in a tournament sport consecutive wins against Top Ten teams does not set off celebrations but induces fans to try and draw conclusions about the tournament.

  26. beowulf said:

    December 23rd, 2009 at 5:40 am

    Missing FTs simply gives us another opportunity for an offensive rebound and possession.

    Half full type of guy here.

  27. Duke of Ohio said:

    December 23rd, 2009 at 5:58 am

    Guy Lewis called and he wants his free throw shooting back.

  28. CrazyJoeDavola said:

    December 23rd, 2009 at 6:14 am

    I’ll trade Guy V 5 free throws for an oxygen tank..

  29. jinx said:

    December 23rd, 2009 at 7:26 am

    The best part is that we can be a completely different team based on match-ups. As the commentators pointed out, Dex was getting fouls for simply being bigger. I even thought the one where the guy hit the ground hard was a flop based on the slo-mo replay. I nearly blew a gasket on the fourth foul, but then realized that we needed to shift to the exact lineup that we did.

    Put James (a 3-4) with another (3-4) dirty work guy like Johnson and put two shooting guards with Dogus on the perimeter. When those shooting guards are lock-down defender Bradley and “magic man” J’Covan Brown you are doing pretty good. We went to this line-up for the end of the game and MSU couldn’t match up. Hopefully Barnes will keep playing the match up games against opponents until we cut down the nets. It seems that we can mirror what ever the other team wants to do line-up wise and beat them in spades.

    Truly an awesome gathering of talent on this team. And Hamilton still hasn’t found his groove.

    Last thought….J’Covan should start and play around 30 minutes per game. He is incredible. At one point where he looked like he dribbled into trouble on the baseline, I was thinking “No J’Covan” then he makes the beautiful up and under and I just shook my head in disbelief. The commentators made a comment about how it looked like a bad decision too, until he made the shot. Congrats to that kid for keeping his head straight with all of the obstacles he has had to face to get to this point.

  30. EggNog said:

    December 23rd, 2009 at 7:34 am

    J’Covan’s defense was the best I have seen all year. He was light on his feet and did a great job of steering his man. We didn’t utilize his FT shooting and still won.

  31. Lowdenswain said:

    December 23rd, 2009 at 7:41 am

    Mr. Bilas, meet Mr. Brown.

  32. eloy said:

    December 23rd, 2009 at 7:50 am

    is it too early to start the big hype machine for Damion James for player of the year? that guy just played out of his mind against to top ten teams. i am especially excited with the way this team played considering dex pretty much had no impact on the game

  33. eloy said:

    December 23rd, 2009 at 7:58 am

    also, how sweet is it to see Dogus rise up and mash a few in the end?

  34. ransomstoddard said:

    December 23rd, 2009 at 8:05 am

    Anyone notice how Mason started the second half but was replaced after 40 seconds? I don’t think he played again.

  35. The Wood Shed said:

    December 23rd, 2009 at 8:43 am

    Can anyone tell me who Jay Bilas thought was the best player on the floor last night?

  36. Jay Bilas Bot said:

    December 23rd, 2009 at 9:12 am

    Damion James.

  37. Diego said:

    December 23rd, 2009 at 9:13 am

    Justin Mason did return a few times in the final couple of minutes as a defensive substitution. I believe he was in for 3 Michigan State possessions and “1″ Texas possession that was the Balbay steal for a breakaway dunk.

    I’m assuming the Jay Bilas comment was sarcasm, but on ESPN Radio after the game he was saying Damion James was far and away the best player on the floor.

  38. panchoclaus said:

    December 23rd, 2009 at 9:18 am

    Playing Jai Lucas in both these games was brilliant. He really looked better tonight and if he continues to get comfortable we should be in good shape for just about any matchup in March.

  39. Barking Carnival — Blog — Texas Hoops vs. Michigan State Post Mortem said:

    December 23rd, 2009 at 9:33 am

    [...] antics aside, what a tremendous win for the program, a tournament caliber win as srr50 aptly calls it. Lose your best weapon, play a style you’re not entirely comfortable [...]

  40. Barking Carnival — Blog — Happy Festivus! said:

    December 23rd, 2009 at 12:19 pm

    [...] and srr50 are fired up about last night’s win. And rightfully so. I must say, though, I’ve never [...]

  41. Barking Carnival — Blog — The View from The Drum and Sundries . . . said:

    December 23rd, 2009 at 8:32 pm

    [...] you have not already read the excellent posts from srr50 and Trips Right, then do so now, or I will give HenryJames your IP address which could lead to you [...]

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