A Win For Texas

The University of Texas is many things in the world of sports, but its primary image is that of a titanic football school.

Darrell Royal. Bevo the Longhorn steer. The famed burnt orange.

Of course its most recent seasons were more reminiscent of RMS Titanic, as it has foundered.

For now, think of Texas as a basketball school. First-year coach Shaka Smart has put his intense and earnest stamp on a program that is ranked 24th by the Associated Press.

Texas’ record of 17-9 is not as exciting as the quality of its victories. The Longhorns knocked off No. 10 West Virginia 85-78 on Tuesday night, sweeping the season series and earning their fifth victory over a higher-ranked team.

West Virginia plays the same style as Smart’s teams at Virginia Commonwealth, where he preached what he called “havoc” – a pressure defense that forced turnovers and eventually a complete cracking by the opponent. And WVU leaned on the Longhorns in the early going.

“It’s hard to score on West Virginia and taking care of the ball is always an adventure,” Smart said.

Texas’s slow start led to an eight-point deficit early, but the Longhorns built a nine-point halftime lead and stretched that to 16 before getting a real battle down the stretch from the Mountaineers. That’s good preparation for Saturday’s meeting with No. 25 Baylor.

Texas may be struggling in football, but its turnaround in basketball is undeniable. Young talent helps immediately in basketball, and freshman guard Eric Davis Jr. lit the fire under Texas with his 3-point shooting, going 4 for 4 in the first half on his way to 15 points.

Football still drives the revenue at Texas and it will always be at the heart of athletics in Austin. But that basketball team is becoming something worth watching.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman