The Longhorns wrapped up the easy part of their schedule in impressive fashion, running away with a 53-point victory over Nicholls State in front of 4,435 at the Erwin Center last night. Texas started slowly, as has become the norm this season, leading the Colonels by just 10 with 5:23 left in the first half. That was as close as Nicholls State would get, as the Longhorns finished the game on a torrid run, limiting their opponents to just 13 points the rest of the way.

It’s easy to look at the numbers and get far too excited about the results. While there were certainly quite a few things to make Texas fans giddy, they can’t forget just how bad Nicholls State is this season. As we pointed out in yesterday’s game preview, the Colonels came into the matchup as the 21st-worst team in Ken Pomeroy’s rankings.

What looked good

Even against an opponent as overmatched as Nicholls State, the defensive performance by Texas was noteworthy. The Longhorns held their opponents without a field goal for a stretch of 15:37 that started late in the first half, allowing just five free throws during that time frame.

While Texas was able to find success by making the Nicholls State shooters take long jumpers, they also eliminated possessions by forcing turnovers and dominated the defensive glass, keeping the Colonels from extending possessions after missed shots. Nicholls State was 0-for-18 from the field during the drought, were forced into nine turnovers, and grabbed just five offensive boards.

The turnovers weren’t limited to that lengthy period of stifling defense, either. Texas was consistently jumping the passing lane and starting fast breaks. On the night, the team caused 20 Nicholls State miscues, earning a turnover rate of 28.8%. The only other team to force more mistakes by the Colonels was Louisiana State, who did it in the season opener. Texas also took advantage of all of the errors, scoring 25 points off of the turnovers.

One way the Longhorns got the ball back was by drawing charges. By my count, there were at least five times that Texas players drew the offensive foul, and there certainly could have been more. This has been a noticeable trend this season, with J’Covan Brown and Alexis Wangmene being particularly fond of planting their feet and earning the whistle. It’s a dangerous game to be playing with such a short bench and the constant risk that the referees will call a blocking foul, but so far the Longhorns seem to have mastered the skill.

When not taking charges, J’Covan simply took charge, scoring 11 of team’s first 17 points. He added three assists and four rebounds on the night, and kept a few other rebounding opportunities alive for his teammates by racing in from the perimeter and tipping the ball away from a Colonel. Brown finished with 23 points, his fifth game of at least 20 points this year. Only two of those 20-plus scoring nights have come in the last seven games, though. The Longhorns have proven to be well-balanced, but they will need Brown to perform like this more consistently as the schedule gets tougher.

Freshman Myck Kabongo is also trending upward as the team heads into the end of the non-conference slate. He only took two shots all night — both three-pointers — but was constantly able to set up his teammates with excellent court vision and an array of passes. He posted an excellent eight assists against just one turnover, with half of those assists setting up three-pointers for his teammates. He even added one for the highlight reel, tossing an alley-oop to Clint Chapman on a fast break in the second half.

The Longhorns also had their first double-double of the year, and it came from the bench. Jaylen Bond had a career night, scoring 18 points while grabbing 12 boards. He was practically unstoppable inside, as he scored 12 of his points right after ripped down offensive rebounds.

Tempo-free stats allow us to look at Bond’s numbers on a level playing field against those who play more minutes, and the stats are staggering. His offensive rebounding mark was 31%, which surprisingly was only his second-best performance of the year. Against Sam Houston State, Bond snagged almost 39% of his opportunities. Unfortunately, there have also been six different games where the freshman failed to secure even a single offensive board. With Wangmene and Chapman still rebounding inconsistently, it would be huge for the Longhorns if Bond could find some consistency of his own and become a reliable presence on the glass as conference play begins.

Finally, the play of Sterling Gibbs must be noted, as the freshman guard was perfect from the field, drilling all five of his shots en route to 14 points. In East Rutherford, Gibbs looked frightened and lacked confidence against even the slightest pressure. Last night, his quick catch-and-shoot rhythm was flawless, and he showed confidence in attacking the defense. Gibbs has shown this level of poise in the last two games, and he’s seen a spike in his minutes as a result. If he can keep this up against real competition, his role this season is going to be much larger than most people imagined.

What needed work

While the Texas defense was absolutely dominant for the last half of the game, the team still had its struggles coming out of the gate. Nicholls State was able to get to the paint far too easily, oftentimes without the aid of a ballscreen for the driving player. Alexis Wangmene had a particularly rough night, finding himself out of position far too often, and that difficulty kept him on the bench for much of the night. Fortunately, the Longhorns made adjustments and kept the Colonels in front of them, forcing long jump shots for much of the second half.

Clint Chapman also had his own struggles in this game, missing a ton of short, point-blank shots. He was 2-for-7 from the field, with one of those makes coming on the alley-oop from Kabongo. While Chapman missed a lot of easy looks, he at least made up for it on the defensive end, setting a career high with five blocked shots in just 22 minutes.

Up next: vs. Temple (6-2); Saturday, 1:30 P.M. CT

It was a one-sided affair at the Erwin Center on Saturday night, as Texas used runs of 26-4 and 29-10 to blow open the game against Texas State and cruise to an 86-52 victory. The Longhorns set season highs with 50% shooting from behind the arc and a 56.3% mark from the field.

What looked good

The excellent shooting percentage was the result of the team executing especially well in the half-court. Texas found great success on pick-and-rolls, and also scored a nice chunk of points off of dribble penetration with kicks to the crashing bigs on the baseline. In the second half, great ball movement against a short-lived Texas State zone allowed the Longhorns to drill six three-pointers within four minutes of leaving the locker room.

Amidst all of the excellent looks and easy buckets, Julien Lewis had a career night. The freshman led the team in scoring with 19 points, making him the fifth different player to lead the team in the last five games. Lewis made four three-pointers and a pull-up jumper during the first six minutes of the second half to put the game definitively out of reach.

Although Sheldon McClellan didn’t follow up his breakout game against UT-Arlington with another scoring barrage against the Bobcats, he quietly chipped in 13 points to the winning effort. He had another excellent game rebounding from the wing, securing six boards, and added an excellent block from behind during a Texas State fast break. McClellan also earned a steal for Lewis by pressuring Texas State’s Vonn Jones to throw an errant pass. For his hard work, McClellan scored a layup on the ensuing break.

That type of team defense is what allowed Texas to build such an insurmountable lead. In the first half, the Longhorns absolutely stifled the Bobcats, limiting them to only three field goals and 13.6% shooting. Texas played solid help defense and frustrated Texas State into forcing challenged shots. The Bobcats had one stretch of more than 14 minutes in the first half without a field goal. Unfortunately, the Longhorn effort waned as the team’s lead ballooned to nearly 40 in the second half, or else we could be talking about this as one of the team’s all-time best defensive games.

Texas also had a great night on the glass, as was to be expected against a much smaller Texas State team. The Longhorns posted their second-best defensive rebounding number of the season, securing 72% of the Bobcat misses. Combined with the excellent team D, that dominant work on the defensive glass completely shut down Texas State. While Texas will not see many teams this small as they move into conference play, hopefully this outing will crystallize the importance of defensive rebounding for the youngsters.

It was also great to see confident, aggressive play inside from Wangmene. In the past, he was often bobbling passes or rebounds, but over the last few weeks, he’s doing a much better job controlling the feeds and going to the rack. As Wangmene said in the post-game presser, “Either I would get fouled, or I would make the basket.” He also did really good work on the glass and could have challenged for a double-double if not limited to just 20 minutes in the blowout. The senior finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.

Over the last three games, Wangmene is averaging 9.7 points and 5.7 rebounds in 24.3 minutes. The most telling stat, though, is his 78.6% shooting percentage over that stretch. The guards are finding him in good spots to set up easy looks, and the big man is finishing. While the Longhorns could use even more rebounding from Wangmene, what he is providing right now on offense is exactly what Texas needs from him.

Freshman Sterling Gibbs also played very aggressively coming off of the bench. Listed generously at just 6’1″, Gibbs had issues against taller, active defenders earlier this season. Against Texas State, he put the ball on the floor and attacked the paint, earning eight free throws as a result. He knocked down seven of them, setting a career-high in the process with nine points.

What needed work

Texas still looked flustered against any type of pressure in the backcourt, but Clint Chapman was especially discombobulated. This has been a recurring problem for the big man, and it’s something that will have to be addressed before Big 12 teams start gameplanning for it. Although Chapman can hold the ball high to avoid a steal, he consistently has difficulty finding an outlet against pressure and looks panicked as a five-count approaches.

It was also disappointing to see the Texas defense give up a lot of easy looks in the second half. While that lack of focus can clearly be attributed to the huge lead, it still can make you wonder if the team will maintain the attention needed to play all-out, suffocating defense for 40 minutes. For the Longhorns to be successful in Big 12 play, there’s no doubt that they will have to play sound team defense from tip-off to the final buzzer.

It’s also worth noting that while Texas was consistently executing in their half-court sets, the Horns were also forcing things at times. The team ended up with 16 turnovers, which equates to a miscue on more than 24% of their possessions. Most of those came from guards trying to thread the needle on the pick-and-roll when the passing lanes were closing. Brown and Myck Kabongo combined for six turnovers on the game, many of them coming this way. The Longhorns have to make sure that they are only taking what the defense gives them and not trying to push the envelope too much.

Up next: vs. Nicholls State (2-6); Tuesday, 7 P.M. CT

It’s not just the J’Covan Brown show anymore.

Just a little over two weeks ago, the Longhorns absolutely melted down against N.C. State in East Rutherford with Brown on the bench. After the junior guard picked up a personal foul followed by a technical, he spent the final 8:25 of that game on the bench and watched as the Wolfpack rapidly erased a 13-point Texas lead.

Since then, the Texas offense has turned into more of a family affair. Led by Sheldon McClellan and his career-high 23 points, the Longhorns had five players score in double figures last night en route to an 80-62 win over a solid UT-Arlington squad.

Prior to the N.C. State disaster, Brown was averaging 29.3 points. In the four games since that loss, his scoring average is just 12.5 per game. The Longhorns are spreading the wealth and have enjoyed a 1.19 point-per-possession average over their last three games as a result.

What looked good

If McClellan’s 23 points aren’t enough to raise eyebrows on their own, the multitude of ways that the freshman was scoring should do the trick. In addition to nailing 4-of-6 from behind the arc, he impressed with slashing moves to the hoop and quick turnaround jumpers, including one that came just before the shot-clock buzzer. McClellan also did an excellent job on weak-side rebounding, logging six total on the night.

Julien Lewis also had an impressive game, scoring 13 points on 60% shooting from the field. On two different occasions, he drove the lane and pulled up for floaters in traffic. His body control and soft touch on the shot were very impressive, and make him another perimeter player that opponents cannot crowd on D.

After a rough start, Myck Kabongo really kicked it up a notch. He turned it over on two of the team’s first three possessions and was immediately replaced by Sterling Gibbs. But once the freshman came back in the game, he was on. Kabongo consistently drove the lane and found passing lanes, logging seven assists on the night. He had two great drive and dish plays to open his teammates up for three, plus a nifty no-look job on the fast break and a nice shovel pass to Wangmene for a dunk after driving baseline near the end of the game.

With Kabongo in the game, Texas also did a good job of being patient and dictating the tempo. As mentioned in our game preview, UT-Arlington loves to get out and run, and they often rush opponents into mistakes. After their initial jitters, the Longhorns were methodical on offense, often using more than 25 seconds of the shot clock. Three different times, in fact, the Horns drilled a shot as the buzzer sounded. Their careful ball control also limited UTA’s efficiency, as Texas’ 17.3% turnover mark was the best performance by a Maverick opponent in seven games this year.

The Longhorns also found success stretching the defense with a high-low game, pulling Alexis Wangmene and Clint Chapman out to the wings and feeding McClellan and Jonathan Holmes on the low block. Although Wangmene was the only one of the bigs to record an assist from these sets, it is great to see it working so early in the season for Texas. Not only will it lead to easy hoops on the block, but it will also pull bigger defenders out of the lane and open up the drive for all of the athletic Longhorn guards and wings.

In addition to the inside bucket, Holmes also showed solid elevation on his pull-up jumpers. He finished with seven points and shot just 3-of-8 from the field, but his form on the made jumpers was beautiful. If he can consistently do that this year, he’ll find even more success against the bigger, tougher, and more experienced frontcourts in the conference.

We should also note that while the Longhorns had another middling performance on the offensive glass, they did an excellent job shutting out the Mavericks on the other side of the rebounding battle. UTA entered the game as one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country, but they were only able to reclaim 33.8% of their missed shots. That mark was the second-worst for the Mavs all season, just marginally better than their 33% performance against Baylor.

What needed work

Initially, it looked like the biggest problem for the Longhorns was going to be needless turnovers. But, just like they did against UCLA, the Horns tightened up the reins and held on to the ball. The area that did still cause them problems was inbounding against the full-court press. On two different occasions, Chapman had major difficulty finding an outlet, even resulting in a five-count and turnover in one instance.

It was also concerning how much Brown was forcing it the first half of the game. He limited himself to three-point shots, even taking a couple when the defenders were in his face. Rather than put the ball on the floor and attack to either score or open up his teammates, he restricted himself to a perimeter game that just wasn’t there.

In the second half, J’Covan changed his approach. Although he didn’t score his first field goal until 34 minutes into the game, he worked his way to the line by drawing fouls on the dribble penetration, and utilized the drive-and-dish to add four assists. With Kabongo’s confidence picking up over the last few contests, having both the freshman and Brown willing to attack the defense with the bounce will make Texas much harder to defend.

Next up: vs. Texas State (6-2); Saturday, 7 P.M. CT

It looked like more of the same early Saturday afternoon for the Longhorns. UCLA beat them handily on the offensive glass, while Texas coughed it up at inopportune times. The Bruins even managed to get hot from long range, where they had been struggling all year long. Then, the lights went out.

A power outage extended the under-four media timeout to roughly a fifteen minute intermission, a break that Rick Barnes and the Longhorns used to make adjustments and charge back from an 11-point deficit. Texas went on a 9-4 run to close out the half and then opened the second stanza with a 17-7 spurt to build a lead they would never relinquish.

The tale of two games renders moot our usual post-game structure of “What looked good” and “What needed work,” because everything that needed work in the first half was adjusted in the second. Fans can only hope that this game is a microcosm of the season as a whole, with the young team learning and adapting for a stretch run in conference play.

The most glaring issue for Texas in the opening twenty minutes was a tendency to give away possessions. Whether it was turnovers or an inability to secure defensive rebounds, the Longhorns constantly gave UCLA extra opportunities with the ball. Texas allowed eight second chance points on eight offensive rebounds, including one possession where the Bruins grabbed their miss three times and only gave the ball back when a shot bounced over the backboard.

The Longhorns also coughed it up seven times in the first twenty minutes, which fortunately only led to six UCLA points. But in a game that finished with only 56 possessions, that many self-inflicted wounds were huge. Many of the turnovers could have been easily avoided, as Alexis Wangmene and Clint Chapman were each stripped while holding the ball near the free throw line, and a handful of Texas passes were thrown off the mark.

Both of these issues were practically erased in the second half. While the Longhorns still gave up another nine offensive boards, they only allowed one second-chance point. UCLA players who grabbed the missed shots typically found themselves amidst a cadre of Longhorn defenders standing tall and altering shots. In the first half, UCLA made 46% of their shots from inside the arc, with most of them coming in the paint. In the second, Texas limited the Bruins to just 24% on their two-point shots.

The Horns also limited their miscues in the second half, turning it over just four times. In fact, two of those came in the game’s final minutes, with the result already well in hand. As Texas came from behind and took charge in the second half, the team went nearly 16 minutes with only one turnover.

While we’ve spent much of the season’s first month talking about the problems facing Texas on the glass, that storyline has evolved. The Longhorns are still one of the worst defensive rebounding teams in the country, and gave up more than 44% of their chances against UCLA. But at times this season, Texas has done excellent work on the offensive glass, as was the case again yesterday. The Longhorns posted their best offensive rebounding percentage of the year, reclaiming 49% of their missed shots. Against a formidable frontline like UCLA’s, that was a huge accomplishment.

Texas also impressed with their ability to find easy looks in the second half. The Longhorns scored 22 points in the paint, with a majority of the buckets coming on the fast break or excellent passes to the interior. Dribble penetration and great passing also opened up good looks from the perimeter, where the Horns knocked down 5-of-11 to fuel the scoring run. All told, the ball movement led to 13 Texas dimes, for an assist percentage of nearly 45%.

Individually, Myck Kabongo really stood out. He logged eight of the 13 Texas assists, and added 13 points on 55% shooting. His success from the field came as a result of being patient, a point best illustrated on the one three-pointer he knocked down. Kabongo received a ball screen, but the defense reacted. He simply waited for the screen to be set a second time, then took advantage of the brief space and drilled the triple.

From a statistical standpoint, it’s interesting to note that Kabongo’s best game to-date came on a day where he didn’t attempt a single free throw. Coming into the UCLA game, the freshman guard had the highest individual free-throw rate in the country. Kabongo’s sky-high FTR of 128.6 meant that he had taken even more free throws than field goals.

After a couple of quiet games where J’Covan Brown was deferring to teammates, there was no question who was the go-to guy when the team kicked it up a notch. Brown was absolutely nails from long range, making 4-of-8 en route to a 22-point performance. Three of those triples came in a 3:29 stretch that sandwiched the half, a time span that saw Texas outscore the Bruins 13-4 and tie the game.

Clint Chapman also had a solid performance in front of friends and family who had made the trip from Oregon. Although his mid-range jumper was cold and he refused to follow his shot, he came up with a ton of clutch rebounds in the second half to keep UCLA at bay. He also had two big blocks, including one on Reeves Nelson just before the half that helped to maintain the Texas momentum heading into the locker room. While Clint still needs softer hands at times, he answered the bell when it mattered against a good group of UCLA forwards.

With UCLA sputtering to a 2-5 start to the season — and with one of those wins coming against Division II Chaminade — the Bruins are dangerously close to spiraling out of control. Nelson sat for the entire second half of the game, which coach Ben Howland said was due to a missed defensive assignment at the end of the first half. While that might be the case, Nelson’s recent history suggests that he may have said or done something in the locker room to warrant the punishment.

If Nelson’s attitude issues bring this team down, Texas will be deprived of a quality win when it comes time to build the brackets in March. The Longhorns will certainly get credit for winning on the road, but Texas fans have to hope that UCLA can get things figured out and put together a respectable conference record.

Texas meanwhile, has a trio of winnable home games next on the docket. If they can take care of business in those games, the Longhorns will be sitting at 8-2 as they head into a tough pair of tests against Temple and North Carolina.

Up next: UT-Arlington (4-2); Tuesday, 7 P.M. CT

After blowing two second-half leads in New Jersey and sleepwalking to a win over Sam Houston State, the Longhorns needed a solid, convincing win heading into this weekend’s road trip to UCLA. Texas got exactly that against North Texas last night, cruising to a 16-point win in front of a paltry crowd of just 5,415.

What looked good

It was clear from the start that Myck Kabongo was going to have a solid game. Right out of the gate, he was attacking the paint off the dribble, but more importantly, he was getting to the line. In the first two weeks of the season, Kabongo had oftentimes thrown himself into the midst of the defense and was unable to finish inside. Against North Texas, he found the defender’s body and drew the whistle, resulting in ten tries from the stripe. Only one time did Kabongo fail to go up strong towards the basket, taking an awkward running jumper early in the game as he cut directly across the lane. That would be his only missed field goal all night.

Kabongo also looked more confident shooting the basketball. In these last two games, Sam Houston State and North Texas often gave him space on defense, neutralizing his speed on the drive and forcing him to beat them with a shot. On one occasion in last night’s game, he simply drove to the top of the lane and dropped a jumper as the defense converged. Behind the arc, he drilled both open looks that the defense gave him.

Julien Lewis also had a sound game after struggling against Sam Houston State. Not only did he score 11 points, including two three-pointers, but he had incredibly active hands on defense and made some excellent passes to find open teammates. Lewis was credited with two steals and two assists on the night.

Fellow freshman Jonathan Holmes also turned in a solid effort, leading the team in rebounds on a night where they were very hard to come by. He also continued to shoot the three when it presented itself, something that is going to keep opponents honest and help to spread the floor. He only knocked down one of his three looks from behind the arc, but confidently stepped right into the open jumpers when he received the pass. On one of the three attempts he did hesitate before shooting it, and it messed with his rhythm. As expected, that attempt clanged off of the iron.

As a team, the Longhorns not only spaced out the floor with their big men, but also utilized excellent ball movement. The team ended up with 13 assists on 24 buckets, and sometimes might have even been too unselfish. J’Covan Brown only ended up with six points, and could have had more if not for a few plays where he passed up a short jumper for an interior pass that ended up being tipped by the defense.

All told, being too unselfish is a good problem to have. Coach Barnes took a few players aside when they passed up shots that they shouldn’t have, so there’s little doubt that they will learn throughout the season when to pull the trigger. After seeing a few stretches this year where the guards became ball-dominant and the offense stalled around the perimeter, it’s great to see the team making a clear commitment to spacing and ball movement.

The Longhorns also seem to have made improvements on the defensive end. In New Jersey, the team piled up the fouls, not only sending their opponents to the line, but also causing issues with their limited bench. The team was whistled for just 17 personal fouls against North Texas, leading to just 19 free throw attempts. As a point of comparison, the Horns were whistled 28 times against N.C. State, resulting in 44 free throws.

It’s also worth noting that Sterling Gibbs showed a little bit of scoring punch, adding five points in his 11 minutes on the floor. He drained a three when the defense sagged off of him and scored on another mid-range jumper after an aggressive drive. Unfortunately, he still has major issues when the defense puts pressure on him, and it resulted in two turnovers. As teams get more film on him, it’s almost certain that the book will be to trap him on the wings in the halfcourt and to press when he brings it up the floor.

What needed work

Just as rebounding will likely be one of our “Keys to the Game” in every single preview this year, it will also likely lead our “What needed work” section in every game wrap. Texas was soundly beaten on the boards in this one, as the Mean Green dominated with a 46-30 rebounding edge. The Horns gave up 16 offensive boards in the second half, including eight in the final three minutes. There is no doubt that the game was in hand by that point, but a team that struggles this much on the glass can’t afford to mentally check out when there is still game-speed practice to be had.

In terms of tempo-free numbers, it was the worst defensive rebounding performance yet for Texas. They allowed North Texas to reclaim 49.4% of their offensive rebounding opportunities, the third time this year they’ve allowed a mark of at least 43%. Offensively, it was also the team’s worst performance, as Texas grabbed just 26.8% of its own missed shots. While the Longhorns have had a tough time on the glass, their own offensive rebounding percentage had yet to dip below 30% this season.

The Longhorns also only made 33% of their three-point attempts against North Texas, a performance that comes on the heels of their 23.5% night against Sam Houston State. While the team’s season average is still hovering just above 36%, it is beginning to look like the insane 42.6% start in the first two games was built on outlier performances and that the numbers are regressing to the mean.

Up next: at UCLA (2-4); Saturday, 3:30 P.M. CT

It certainly wasn’t pretty, but the Texas Longhorns put a stop to their losing streak on Saturday night, grinding out a 56-40 win over Sam Houston State at the Erwin Center. Despite taking nearly six minutes to make their first bucket and shooting less than 32% from the field, the Longhorns were able to pull away in the final minutes to push their record back above the .500 mark.

What looked good

There was hardly anything that looked good in this one, but there were some bright spots for Texas. Most importantly, the Longhorns were able to come out on top of the rebounding battle, something they have struggled with all season. It should be noted that Sam Houston State went with a small lineup all night, oftentimes running four guards at a time. But when winning the battle on the glass is as tough as it has been for Texas this season, you have to take the victories when you can get them.

The Longhorns were able to reclaim more than 40% of their missed shots, only the second time they’ve done so this season. They also reached that mark in the loss to Oregon State, with their numbers in the three other games all mired in the mid-30 percent range. Defensively, they held the Bearkats to just a 30.6% offensive rebounding mark, but allowed those second chances to turn into 10 extra points.

Individually, the biggest breakthrough came from Alexis Wangmene, who scored seven of his 13 points in the final 7:28 to help Texas stretch their lead. Alexis was able to capitalize on his good looks inside, something that had proved difficult for the big man in the past, and he held onto rebounds and loose balls instead of fumbling them away. He logged eight boards in his 27 minutes.

The only player to outscore Wangmene was Jonathan Holmes, who also fought hard for his points inside and even tested his three-point range. Although the freshman was just one of three from behind the arc, getting that long-range shot on tape will give opposing defenses one more thing to consider while game-planning for the Horns. Holmes was just one rebound shy of a double-double, and could have had even more points if not for some point-blank misses.

It was also nice to see Wangmene and Clint Chapman getting extended minutes at the same time, and actually being successful while doing so. They certainly got some help from facing a the smaller Bearkat lineup, but when the pair was faced with defensive situations in the post, they performed admirably. On one particular occasion, Wangmene went to the floor trying to draw a charge, leaving his man isolated on a Texas guard. Chapman slid across the lane and blocked the shot, saving an easy bucket.

What needed work

Other than those bright spots, there wasn’t much else to get excited about for Texas. Although J’Covan Brown cracked double-digits in scoring, he did so by shooting just 26% from the field. He also continued to drive baseline against a Bearkat defense that had shown it would double along the boundary and cut off both driving and passing lanes. Julien Lewis also had a tough day at the office, missing all three of his three-point attempts and going just 1-for-7 from the field in his 26 minutes of work.

Texas struggled the most in the early stages of the game, allowing Sam Houston State to build a lead as large as 12 just eight minutes into it. While the Longhorns missed a few good looks early, they clearly started to press on the offensive end, taking quick shots instead of being patient with their possessions. Late in the first half, the team made a brief commitment to scoring in transition and working the ball in low, and that is when they found the most success.

It was also troubling to see the Longhorns struggle at the line late in the game. Texas was 8-for-9 from the stripe in the first half, but made just 8-of-17 in the second. Myck Kabongo missed three of four in the final 15 seconds, while Wangmene missed two opportunities to complete three-point plays down the stretch. When Texas finds itself in close games later this season, a repeat of this charity-stripe performance will surely end in defeat.

Not only did Kabongo struggle at the line in the final minutes, but he once again had a rough day from the floor. McClellan mentioned in the post-game interview that the Longhorns were overthinking on the offensive end, passing up good looks for fear of repeating their poor shot selection from earlier in the game. Kabongo certainly looked like he lacked confidence in this one, and he missed his first five shots before finally draining a last-minute three.

The freshman has had trouble finishing inside this season, so adding in these problems with the jump shot only makes him easier to defend. Without a shot to keep opponents honest, it’s going to be hard for Kabongo to find cracks, create, and dish out the assists.

Up next: vs. North Texas (1-2); Tuesday, 7 P.M. CT

The consistent storyline this season has been the youth of the Texas Longhorns. How quickly would this young team produce, and how soon would the freshmen mature? On Monday night in New Jersey, it turned out to be the team’s junior leader who had a costly moment of immaturity.

The Longhorns built a lead as large as 18 points against N.C. State in the second half. The Wolfpack had clawed back to within 13 points with just 8:25 to play. That’s when J’Covan Brown and the Longhorns unraveled. Whistled for his fourth foul, Brown said it was “bullshit” on his way to the bench and was tagged with a technical foul, which was also his fifth personal. His night was over, and so were the hopes for a Longhorn victory.

North Carolina State seized the momentum and stormed back, turning the remaining 13-point deficit into an eight-point lead in less than six minutes. The Texas offense stalled out, earning just two points during the meltdown, with both coming at the free throw line.

The Longhorns managed to wake up and stay competitive in the final minutes, but it was too late. A potential game-tying three pointer from Julien Lewis was slapped away as time expired. Although the ball was on its downward flight when it was blocked, it was well short and already below the iron, sending Texas home with an 0-2 record in New Jersey.

What looked good

For the first thirty minutes, the Longhorn offense was clicking. Early on, the freshmen were the ones lighting up the scoreboard, as Brown took more than 12 minutes to log his first bucket. Jonathan Holmes was aggressive from the start, scoring the team’s first seven points. He was confident with the ball and tenacious on the glass, finishing the night with 16 points and eight boards.

Texas’ early success was built on smart basketball, with the first five buckets all coming after an assist. The Longhorns moved the ball well, kept N.C. State on its heels, and looked for the open teammates for easy finishes. Although Brown’s early exit limited him to just 28 minutes on the floor, the junior was again the major facilitator, dishing out seven dimes to go with his 17 points.

Sheldon McClellan also had another solid game for Texas, consistently putting the ball on the floor and driving to the paint. His aggressive play earned him seven trips to the line, and he knocked down five freebies, finishing with 16 points. The freshman logged 28 points and eight rebounds in his two games in East Rutherford and was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Perhaps the biggest thing for the Longhorns was that they won the rebounding battle for a second straight game. Even more importantly, they did their best job on the defensive glass all season, allowing a very talented N.C. State frontcourt to win just 27.6% of their offensive rebounding chances. In the first three games, Texas had not held an opponent below 41% on the offensive glass.

The Longhorns also continued their success at the free-throw line, knocking down 76% of their attempts. Unfortunately, the team missed three out of five in the minutes following Brown’s foul-out, including the front end of a one-and-one. With the offense struggling so much during the N.C. State run, missing the freebies only made things worse.

It was also encouraging to see solid defensive efforts from the Texas big men early on. Alexis Wangmene and Clint Chapman both blocked a shot in the first few minutes of the game, and Wangmene frustrated the Wolfpack’s Richard Howell, setting the tone early with sound post defense.

What needed work

Obviously the most glaring issue in this one was a lack of maturity by Brown. He claimed after the game that his words weren’t directed at the referee and were said when he was almost to the bench. Regardless of the where or why, he cannot even put himself in a situation where he could be misunderstood. The simple fact of the matter is that he has to know better.

His coach said as much in his post-game comments. “That’s where he’s gotta grow up,” Barnes told the media. “This happens too much. Sooner or later he’s going to have to figure it out. It’s a team game. It’s not about him.”

Unfortunately, Myck Kabongo and the rest of the Longhorns went into their turtle shells after Brown left the game. The Texas offense deteriorated into weak attempts at dribble penetration, followed by taking the air out of the ball at the perimeter when those drives were turned away. Earlier in the season, Kabongo was able to put the ball on the floor and create offense. After Brown’s departure, it looked like the freshman point guard had completely forgotten how.

That disappearing act by the Kabongo coupled with the frightened play of Sterling Gibbs against Oregon State is huge cause for concern. If Texas has no other guards to step up in Brown’s absence, any foul trouble for the junior will spell disaster for the Longhorns. It wouldn’t even be that surprising to see future opponents get a little chirpy in Brown’s ear in an effort to set him off and eliminate Texas’ leadership.

In addition to Brown’s maturity issues, the Longhorns have to be concerned with how careless the team was with the ball early. Texas turned it over seven times in the first 12 minutes of play, but still managed to hold a five-point lead. Most frustrating was the fact that many of the turnovers were simple miscommunications or lazy passes when the Wolfpack had little or no pressure on the ball. Fortunately, Texas was able to calm down and only turn it over six more times the rest of the game, but their miscues still led to 21 points for the opposition.

Texas also continued to have difficulties with foul trouble. Every Longhorn outside of Gibbs picked up at least three fouls, and the team drew 28 whistles in total. The team’s defensive free throw rate was an improbable 100%, meaning that the Wolfpack took as many shots at the line as it did from the field.

There’s something to be said about the fact that N.C. State was in the bonus before the first media timeout of the second half. But at the same time, the Longhorns have to be cognizant of the fact that they have a short bench and they must play defense with their feet rather than their hands. We saw quite a bit of zone from Texas in New Jersey when foul trouble began to build, and there might be a lot more of that in the future if the Horns cannot play man-to-man defense without drawing whistles.

The big picture

While losing two second half leads to drop two consecutive games is annoying in its own right, these defeats are even more frustrating when considered in a larger context. The Longhorns have a tough round-robin schedule awaiting them in conference play, and precede that with road trips to UCLA and UNC. Quality wins are going to be tough to come by, and for a team that is likely going to be on bubble watch all season long, these two losses are squandered opportunities.

N.C. State and Oregon State are both teams that will likely surprise people in their conferences. The Pac-12 appears to be wide open outside of a strong Cal squad, while the ACC is top heavy with North Carolina, Duke, and Florida State leading the charge. A win in either game this weekend would have looked very good come March. Now, Texas will have to wait to build its résumé.

Next up: vs. Sam Houston State (1-2); Saturday, 7 P.M. CT

The Longhorns had a fresh-faced 23-year old on the bench Saturday night. He sat with graduate assistants Connor Atchley, Royal Ivey, and Chris Mihm. He listened in from the back of team huddles. He even pulled freshman point guard Myck Kabongo aside for a few quick pointers. About the only thing Kevin Durant didn’t do at the IZOD Center last night was check into the ballgame. Coach Rick Barnes probably wishes that the NBA superstar could have.

With the most famous face of the Texas basketball program looking on, this year’s young batch of Longhorns surrendered a late lead and lost to Oregon State in overtime, 100-95, in the semifinals of the TicketCity Legends Classic. It was a script that likely seemed all too familiar for Durant, as his 2006-07 Texas squad lost their own November tournament semifinal to Michigan State on a last-second shot from Drew Neitzel.

For this year’s team, the well-known weaknesses of depth and rebounding came home to roost. Five Longhorns fouled out in the game, forcing little-used walk-on Andrew Dick to check in for action in the final seconds of action.

Unfortunately, it never had to come to that point. The Longhorns had the game in hand with less than 30 seconds left. Up by two points, J’Covan Brown missed a three as the shot clock expired and managed to race across the top of the key to secure his own rebound. But as he dribbled towards the left wing to await the inevitable foul, Oregon State’s Jared Cunningham stripped him from behind and flipped the ball to a teammate as he fell out of bounds.

Cunningham knocked down three of four from the line in the game’s final 18 seconds, while Kabongo made one of two and had his potential game-winning layup blocked at the regulation buzzer. The Longhorns would take an early lead in overtime, but the ensuing 9-0 push from the Beavers proved to be the difference in the game.

Wilting under the pressure of the final few minutes underscores the youth of this team. Players are still defining their roles, and no one seemed prepared to step up and be the leader in the clutch. Fortunately the season is a long one, and the Longhorns have many months to grow.

What looked good

In the first half, the Texas offense was humming. They moved the ball crisply around the perimeter and on kickouts off of the drive. The Longhorns were 6-for-12 from behind the arc in the first half, but strayed from the long ball after half. Texas shot just three three-pointers in the second half as Oregon State whittled away the five-point Texas lead.

Brown was again the star for Texas, just missing a double-double with 25 points and nine assists. He created shots for himself and for teammates with penetration, piling up the dimes with easy drop offs to the bigs underneath when the defense collapsed on him. There were still times that the junior guard tried to force things and play one-on-five, but Texas fans have to be happy with Brown’s commitment to finding his open teammates this season.

Brown was not the only one creating shots. Sheldon McClellan looked very confident with the ball, proving that he can put it on the floor and knife through the defense for good looks. Despite coming off the bench, McClellan scored 12 points on 56% shooting and grabbed five rebounds.

Jonathan Holmes also did a good job on the boards, snagging five in his 21 minutes of play. Unfortunately, his playing time was limited by foul trouble, an issue that dogged the entire Texas lineup all night.

The Longhorns also continued their success at the free throw line, knocking down 73.3% of their attempts. Texas will likely find themselves in a lot of close games this season, and every single point will be huge. Some fans might point to the eight missed free throws in this game and bemoan missed opportunity, but the overall trend is much more important than dwelling a few single shots. These new-look Longhorns are more than 11 percentage points better at the line than last year’s squad.

Fans can also take solace in the fact that Texas actually won the rebounding battle and did a solid job on the offensive glass. The Longhorns reclaimed 47.5% of their misses, a massive improvement over their first two games. The offense has been highly efficient through three games, and if they can build on this success on the glass and continue to extend possessions, it will only make them even tougher to stop.

What needed work

While the offensive rebounding was solid, Texas still had a terrible time on the defensive glass. They allowed the Beavers to grab 43% of their missed shots, leading to 26 second-chance points. Time and again the Longhorns let balls come off the weak side and fall into the hands of a waiting Oregon State player for an easy putback.

Most troubling about the continued issues on the defensive glass is that Texas struggles regardless of the opponent. The Beavers were a very average offensive rebounding team in their first three games, but absolutely obliterated their previous season high with their performance against Texas.

A big reason for Oregon State’s success was that Alexis Wangmene and Clint Chapman were practically non-existant on the glass, combining for only six rebounds in 42 minutes on the floor. Although they were the beneficiaries of the Texas drive-and-dish attack, scoring 17 combined points, they absolutely have to show up on the glass if Texas wants to find success this season. With games against intimidating frontlines like UCLA and North Carolina still to come, the Longhorn bigs have their work cut out for them.

Texas also looked wild and out of control at many points in the game. The Longhorns have proven to be a run-and-gun team so far this season, but didn’t have any issues handling the ball in their first two wins. Against the Beavers, however, they coughed it up 23 times, which equated to miscues on 28% of their possessions. Kabongo actually turned it over five times against just three assists.

Freshman Sterling Gibbs had the most trouble hanging on to the basketball. He absolutely froze against the Oregon State pressure, twice dribbling himself right into traps. He turned it over three times in just three minutes of play, including an inexplicable one in the final seconds of the game where he simply dribbled it out of bounds. Gibbs did have a couple of key buckets during the team’s late comeback bid in overtime, but he’s going to spend much of the year on the bench if he can’t hang on to the ball.

Jaylen Bond also had a rough night, and it all stemmed from problems on defense. He couldn’t seem to keep any of the Beavers in front of him, and was constantly drawing whistles by hacking from behind the play. He only played 22 minutes and still managed to foul out.

Cunningham played out of his mind for Oregon State, and Texas could do little to stop him. He scored 37 points, earning 20 of them in 23 trips to the line. Unfortunately, Texas is going to have trouble with strong, slashing players like him all season long. The guards and wings were picking up tons of whistles trying to contain Cunningham, and UT actually switched to a zone defense to limit the foul trouble. That led to too many open looks for their shooters — who fortunately made only two threes in the second half — as Texas’ closeouts weren’t very quick.

It’s also concerning that while Brown played with fire and intensity early, he disappeared for the second half and overtime. He had only eight points in the final 25 minutes of the game, and was clearly frustrated as the game came down the stretch. He yelled at McClellan for not passing the ball on one possession and had to be calmed down by Kabongo. Brown and Kabongo also appeared to squabble over who should be handling the ball on a later possession. With such a young team, Brown is going to need to be a leader, so he cannot afford to be petulant when he’s struggling.

All told, it was a tough loss to swallow, as the Longhorns were just seconds away from victory and have an even tougher task awaiting them in the form of NC State on Monday. There were a lot of teachable moments in the game and Coach Barnes will certainly take full advantage of building on them. But teams can learn from close wins just as much as they can from close losses, and for a team that might be sweating the bubble in March, this November win would have been huge.

When six freshmen make up the majority of your roster, you’re bound to have some growing pains. Texas coach Rick Barnes might not have expected them to happen so soon, however. His Longhorns made it interesting against Rhode Island yesterday afternoon, building and then conceding a 17-point lead before finally finishing off the Rams, 100-90.

Texas fans were able to see brief glimpses of their team’s problem areas in a thoroughly dominating win over Boston University on Sunday, but the flaws came out in full force as the Horns slowly gave up their double-digit lead against Rhode Island. Poor rebounding, failure to control the ball, and a cold spell from long range allowed Rhode Island to erase that 17-point deficit and briefly claim a 59-58 lead early in the second half. Fortunately, the backcourt of J’Covan Brown and Myck Kabongo took charge and attacked a pesky Rhode Island defense, guiding Texas to the win.

What looked good

After tying his career high with 28 points against Boston, Brown upped the ante with an impressive 35-point performance against the Rams. He was 5-of-10 from behind the arc and earned 10 points at the line by pressuring the aggressive Rhode Island D with dribble penetration.

But while his epic scoring totals are impressive, Brown’s assist numbers are just as important. J’Covan dished out six assists, giving him 14 on the season. Opponents are going to be keying on the junior guard this season, so it’s a good sign that he is already looking for and finding his open teammates. When other teams start throwing double teams at Brown, he’ll have to make them pay with timely passes.

The Longhorns also found a spark in freshman Jaylen Bond. When the team was having difficulties on the glass, he simply went out and got the basketball. Bond showed nice hops and ripped his rebounds out of the air, not allowing the ball bounce to around like many of his teammates have been. In just 17 minutes on the floor, the freshman secured six rebounds, four of them on the defensive end.

The team leader in rebounding was Clint Chapman, who grabbed eight boards on the afternoon. He also showed a little more agility with the ball than fans have seen in past seasons, unveiling a few nice face-up offensive moves. He finished with seven points, which is really all that Texas can expect at this point from the big man. While he still was beat for some rebounds that he should have controlled, overall it was a satisfactory performance.

On the perimeter, Julien Lewis picked up right where he left off, knocking down a triple to open the scoring for Texas. He took one ill-advised three early in the first half and was promptly removed and talked to by Barnes, but he learned from the mistake and stuck to open looks the rest of the way. Lewis finished 3-for-7 from long range, giving him a cool 50% success rate for the season.

Texas also found success at the free-throw stripe, a welcome sight for fans used to seeing the team struggle there in recent years. The team earned a whopping 44 free throw attempts and missed only nine of them. Bond and Jonathan Holmes, who didn’t make any trips to the line in the season opener, combined to go 9-for-10.

Not only are Horns knocking down 78.6% of their free throws so far this year, they showed great awareness in getting there against Rhode Island. With the refs calling a very tight game and the Rams playing even tighter defense, the guards put the ball on the floor and drew a hefty share of fouls all the way out on the perimeter. As a result, Texas’ free-throw rate — measured as free throw attempts per field goal attempts — was a ridiculous 74.6%. For comparison, last year’s national leaders at Northwestern State posted a 50.6% FTR.

What needed work

Unfortunately, Texas made this game much closer than it ever needed to be. The Horns were sloppy in the transition game, costing them a lot of points on turnovers and bad shots. They often careened right into the defense on the break, forcing up challenged looks or getting into positions where their only option was to throw a terrible pass at the last minute.

Kabongo was one player who especially had issues with this, and it underscored the fact that he isn’t quite the inside finisher that former point guard D.J. Augustin was. If Myck isn’t strong enough yet to score amongst the trees in the paint, he will have to be more under control on his drives. Flying headlong into good interior D with no passing options to bail him out simply won’t work.

Texas also had trouble with the transition game on the defensive end. As Rhode Island put together their late first-half run, their speedy guards were able to get deep into the defense and often all the way to the rim without a single Horn trying to stop the ball. When Texas did manage to turn away dribble penetration, often someone else failed to pick up an assignment coming down the court, leading to mismatches and open threes.

The Rams also utilized a ton of full-court pressure during their comeback, and the Longhorns had quite a few issues against it. Rather than beating it with the pass, their only solution was to wait for Brown or Kabongo to beat the press with their dribble. Once Texas can learn to move the ball quickly with smart passes, they can score a lot of easy points against aggressive defenses like this one.

While Chapman had a generally positive game, Alexis Wangmene struggled early and saw his playing time diminish. Early on, he had a rough time keeping up with the quicker Orion Outerbridge when the forward played face-up against him, and Barnes elected to go with Chapman and Holmes instead. Wangmene also continued to have issues hanging on to the ball on passes, rebounds, and loose ball situations. Fortunately, he did do quite a few little things right, taking a charge, setting some good screens, and sinking the midrange baseline J he took late in the game.

Finally, it is also worth mentioning that different players had defensive lapses at different times throughout the game, which is to be expected with such a young team. Barnes was liberal with the hook and took advantage of the teaching opportunities, talking over the mistakes with each player as they came off the court. Even though these Longhorns are going to have to run-and-gun to beat quite a few teams, Barnes is still very focused on teaching sound defense.

Up next: vs. Oregon State (2-0) in East Rutherford, NJ; Saturday, 8 P.M. CT

It was only one game, but the future certainly looks bright for the Texas Longhorns.

Led by junior J’Covan Brown, Rick Barnes’ freshman-laden roster settled down after some early adversity and cruised to an easy, 36-point win in front of a home crowd on Sunday night. Brown tied a career-high with 28 points and added eight assists, despite enjoying the final five minutes of the blowout from the bench.

What looked good

Brown’s scoring outburst gives Texas fans a lot to be optimistic about, as there is no doubt that he will have to be the team’s leader this season. He scored in a variety of ways, knocking down three triples, earning his way to the line for five points, and repeatedly sinking a soft pull-up floater. Texas also found success multiple times on backdoor cuts for the junior, giving him easy finishes at the rim.

Perhaps most importantly, Brown finished the night with eight assists. One of the most consistent complaints about his game last season was his troubling habit of dominating the ball to the detriment of the team. Against Boston, he was willing to give up the rock when his teammates were in a position to score. Although Brown took a few bad shots early in the game, most of them came on possessions where the entire team was standing idly in the half-court set.

In addition to Brown’s career night, the team’s defense was another reason for excitement for Longhorn fans. Texas made the Terriers uncomfortable all night, forcing turnovers on a whopping 34.2% of Boston’s possessions. The Longhorns utilized ball pressure well past the perimeter, often making it difficult for the Terriers to even get into their offense.

The active hands of freshmen Sheldon McClellan and Jonathan Holmes earned them each a pair of steals. Both used their lengthy wingspans to simply reach around the ballhandler or disrupt passing lanes on multiple ocassions.

In the post, Alexis Wangmene gave a solid defensive effort to kick off his senior campaign. He did an excellent job standing tall and forcing players to take bad shots, and even blocked five in just 26 minutes on the court. A few of those swats came when he was the help defender, bringing to mind the excellent team defense of last season’s squad.

The only knock on Wangmene’s defensive performance was that on a few instances, it was a little too easy for his man to back him down to the blocks. Fortunately, even on those plays, he typically stiffened up the D at that point and made the Terriers earn their points.

The senior also impressed with his off-the-ball play on offense. He had a few good seals as his teammates were driving to the hoop, giving them easy access to the rim, and he set some stout high screens to free up the guards. While Texas will likely need a little more than his four point output on some nights, fans have to be very happy with his seven-rebound, five-block performance.

Senior Clint Chapman is the other half of the big-man puzzle for Texas, and while he didn’t land on any All-American lists last night, he showed that he might be a serviceable option this season. Chapman utilized some nice face-up skills late in the game, lumbering baseline for an easy dunk and taking another defender to the hole for a layup.

Freshman phenom Myck Kabongo lived up to his billing as point-guard extraordinaire, logging seven assists in just 22 minutes. While he didn’t have any highlight-reel assists, he did showcase excellent court vision on some really nice interior feeds in the second half. Kabongo also added a three pointer and a pair of steals to his stat line.

Guard Julien Lewis was one of three freshmen in the starting lineup, and he unveiled a great catch-and-shoot ability behind the arc. His Longhorn teammates constantly found him open from long range, where he knocked down 4-of-7. Seeing the team repeatedly find Lewis in the flow of the offense was a very welcome sight for Texas fans who have watched some recent teams force things from long range. Lewis also added some easy layups to score 18 in his debut.

Fellow freshman Sterling Gibbs didn’t do anything exceptionally flashy in his 20 minutes off the bench, but he knocked down his one open look from behind the arc and notched three assists.

One of the most exciting developments of the night was at the free throw line. After a season in which the Horns shot just 65.4% at the line, the team’s 75% mark in last night’s game seemed downright unbelievable. Although Brown missed his first attempt — breaking the streak of 28-consecutive makes he began in last season’s Big 12 title game — he knocked down his other five. Kabongo and McClellan were the only other Horns to make it to the line, so only time will tell if Holmes, Bond, or Lewis are comfortable at the stripe.

What needed work

The number one concern for this team heading into this season was its weakness in the frontcourt, and that problem manifested itself in a poor rebounding effort against the Terriers. Although Boston was a smaller team and had just been worked on the glass by Northeastern on Friday night, the Terriers claimed a 43-35 edge on the boards.

Some of the rebounding problems were a result of Wangmene and Chapman still struggling to control the ball when it came to them. There was also a surprising number of long rebounds that would fall loose around the free throw line or perimeter, with nothing but red jerseys around to claim it. The Longhorns allowed Boston to reclaim 43% of their missed shots, a number that is going to be absolutely deadly when replicated against a team that makes those second chances count.

There were also stretches of play where the Texas offense seemed to lack any direction or flow. For much of the first half, the Longhorn offense turned stagnant, as players stood around or half-heartedly made weak cuts along the baseline. Oftentimes, those possessions ended with Brown trying to take control and being forced into bad looks.

At halftime, the team seemed to make adjustments, coming out of the locker room with lots of motion in the half-court set and excellent interior passing to the bigs or guards cutting along the baseline. But as the Texas lead expanded, the Horns once again became complacent, jacking up an inordinate amount of threes down the stretch. Hopefully this lack of focus was simply a result of the lopsided score, and not an indication that the youngsters might camp out on the perimeter this season rather than run an offense.

As always, it’s important not to put too much stock into the results of one game, and it’s especially important not to do so after a season opener. But for Texas fans who had a multitude of concerns about this year’s team, it’s a relief to see the team play as well as they did last night.

While the frontcourt will have its share of issues against deeper, more-experienced units this season, the play of Wangmene and Chapman gives fans hope that they can hold down the fort and let the backcourt carry the team. And although the youthful Longhorns will certainly have growing pains as they face tougher teams down the road, all of the freshmen looked confident in Sunday night’s debut.

Next up: vs. Rhode Island (0-1); Tuesday, 3 P.M. CT