The No. 10 Texas Longhorns entered the 2K Classic with some buzz surrounding them after winning their first two games by a total of 67 points, and putting on a show on the court that assured people would begin to respect the Longhorns. But Iowa didn’t buy into the hype and reality hit quickly for Texas as they found themselves trailing 30-24 at halftime after being outsmarted and outplayed in the first half by a deceivingly talented Hawkeyes club.
And then the Longhorns decided to show up to Madison Square Garden and absolutely dominated the second half, outscoring Iowa 47-27 in route to a 71-57 final, giving Texas a 3-0 record on the season.
But Rick Barnes’ Longhorns aren’t just showing us that they can be good. Texas is showing us signs of how utterly dominant and in control they can be when they’re zoned in and playing within themselves.
The 14-point victory now gives the Longhorns an average margin of victory of 27 points during the course of their first three games thus far, which goes to show how overwhelming Texas can be when their clicking on all cylinders. And by all cylinders, I mean that guys on the perimeter are involved and playing a crucial role as well, outside of the towering frontcourt that we all knew would be a problem for the opposition.
Through the first three games of the season, four the of the Longhorns’ top five leading scorers can all be found on the perimeter with Isaiah Taylor leading the way with 15 per game, while Jonathan Holmes is putting up 12 points, Demarcus Holland is contributing nine per night and Javan Felix is also just short of double figures with eight per game.
The lone Longhorn in the top five from the post is freshman standout, Myles Turner, with 12.5 points per game. With the biggest question mark surrounding Texas entering the season being their perimeter play, seeing the early signs of success while opponents load the paint is just one more reason why this Texas team is going to have loads of success this season.
Texas will play California for the 2K Classic Championship tonight, which will likely be another double digit victory for the Horns, who simply overmatch Cal, both inside and out. With a Longhorns team that is now seeing a significant contribution from the perimeter, suffocating teams defensively, still waiting for the frontcourt to explode and have one of the top freshmen in the country searching to find his role within the program, you’re looking at one of the deepest and most complete teams in college basketball. This, in turn, is leading to some completely dominating performances, which shouldn’t cease until the highly anticipated matchup with No. 1 Kentucky.
Of course, things will get much harder when they see arguably the most talented college basketball team in history in Rupp Arena in early December, but until then, let’s enjoy the early dominance of a Texas program that’s resurfaced into national prominence over the last year.
Next: College Basketball Rankings: Preseason Top 25 for 2014-15 Season