Photo: Mikala Compton/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Texas Men’s Basketball team started the year undefeated (6-0) through the first 6 games for the first time since the 2014-2015 team started 7-0 under former head coach Rick Barnes. While the 6-0 start is obviously impressive, the Longhorns move to 6-1 now following their overtime loss to Illinois at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. Let’s do a quick recap of each game so far.
The Horns started off the year with a 57-72 victory over the UTEP Miners a month ago. Leading scorer for the Longhorns in that game? Well, if you have been following along this season, you probably have the right guy in mind. Iowa State transfer Tyrese Hunter led the way with 18 points and played the most minutes with 31. The Longhorns in this game had 9 different players play 10+ minutes, and 11 players touched the floor at some point.
Next came Houston Baptist University (HBU). I won’t spend too much time on this one, as the Horns were firing on all cylinders, and won soundly by a score of 31 to 82.
Then came the Gonzaga Bulldogs. In a highly anticipated top-12 matchup, the Horns pulled away in a ferocious, dunk-heavy second half and ended up beating the then 2nd-ranked Bulldogs by 19 points. Drew Timme, as most would expect, led Gonzaga with 18 points and also had the most rebounds for the Bulldogs with 9. Looking at Texas, Tyrese Hunter put the nation on notice with 26 (!) points in only 26 minutes, and the Horns had 4 total players score in double-digits. The Longhorns got their revenge on the Bulldogs from their 2021 matchup when they lost 74 to 86. Not only did they get their revenge; they seemed to have get their swagger.
Northern Arizona then faced off against the Longhorns in Edinberg, Texas, a few days before Thanksgiving at Bert Ogden Arena. Similar to the HBU game, Texas dominated for a majority of the night and ended up beating the Lumberjacks by a score of 48 to 73. Returning senior Marcus Carr led the Horns with 17 points and continued to flash his improvement in his overall game and scoring ability.
Texas-Rio Grande Valley then traveled to Austin to play in one of the most unique environments in college basketball: Gregory Gym. “The Greg”, as some students call it, is the former home to the Longhorn basketball and swimming teams and holds roughly 4,000 people. The basketball teams moved out in 1977 to the Erwin Center and “The Greg” is now home to the Texas Women’s Volleyball Team. The gym is obviously small and man, does it get loud. That noise and atmosphere may have had an impact, as the Longhorns soundly defeated the Vaqueros 54 to 91. Sir’Jabari Rice, the transfer senior from New Mexico State, led the way with 19 points and started to really establish himself as a potential key player for Texas moving forward.
Now to the Creighton Bluejays. Texas came into this game ranked 2nd in the nation… and lived up to the hype. The 7th ranked Bluejays were led by center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who had 20 points along with 13 rebounds (both team highs), and had all 5 of their starters play 30 or more minutes. Marcus Carr had yet another big game for the Horns with 19 points and 5 boards. While the 67 to 72 final score may be slightly deceiving, both teams shot poorly from the 3-point line, with Creighton going 4/27 and Texas shooting 4/19. Nonetheless, the Longhorns grinded out a nail biter and took down the Bluejays to remain unbeaten.
Lastly, the 16th ranked Illinois Fighting Illini met Texas at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night to kickoff the Jimmy V Classic. Illinois, coming off a hard fought loss to 13th-ranked Maryland last Friday, showed off the moves in the first half with some swift isolation combos and led the Horns by 3 at the half. Star player Terrence Shannon Jr. struggled throughout regulation yet turned it around in a big way late in the game. Texas started off strong as well as they led a majority of the first half, yet let the Illini come back late in the game and eventually forced OT. Forward Timmy Allen played his best game of the season for the Horns with a 21-7-8 stat line and was one of only 2 scorers to have double digit points for Texas. In OT, Marcus Carr struggled offensively… and it was Shannon Jr.’s takeover time. The 6’6 senior scored 12 of his 16 total points in overtime and led the Illini to an 85 to 78 victory.
Overall, the Longhorns 6-1 start has included some unique playing environments and 3 top-20 matchups. Even though it’s early in the season, this Longhorn team seems to have all the talent and leadership that 2nd year head coach Chris Beard desires. Now, in what appears to be an easier stretch of the season coming up for the Horns, will Beard and co. continue this early season success?
