After a harrowing week of basketball on the island of Maui, the Texas Longhorns returned to mainland action on Tuesday night, hoping for a quick recovery against Sam Houston State. Led by a stifling defensive performance, the Longhorns overcame 19 turnovers and long field goal droughts to cruise to a 28-point win.

Texas limited the Bearkats to only 0.506 points per possession on the night, while allowing just 21% shooting from the field. The Longhorns used excellent team defense and mixed in a variety of looks and lineup combinations to keep Sam Houston State frustrated throughout. That defensive dominance was never more apparent than in a stretch of eight-plus minutes, spanning both halves, in which the Bearkats managed just one field goal.

Texas stifled their opponents with sound man defense in the first half, hedging hard on ball screens while using a larger lineup. Facing a four-out, one-in look from the smaller Bearkats, Coach Rick Barnes elected to go with a smaller lineup of his own during the first half and the Longhorns began switching screens. In the second half, big man Cameron Ridley saw much more action as the Longhorns shifted into a zone defense that was just as effective.

One of the most impressive players on the defensive end was freshman Demarcus Holland, who earned his first career start. In his 26 minutes on the court, only four points were scored by players he was guarding.

The first bucket came as Sam Houston State rushed down the court and Holland couldn’t find his man, Paul Baxter, who dribbled through traffic before drilling a pull-up jumper from the free-throw line. The other basket came when the 6’2″ Holland was isolated on the block against 6’7″ Erik Williams. Even then, Holland played solid belly-up defense and kept his arms straight up, forcing Williams to take a hook shot as he stepped across the lane.

Demarcus seemed to be making the little plays all night long. In one instance, he bailed out Ioannis Papapetrou, who allowed James Thomas past him on a drive from the wing. Holland swiped at the ball, forcing Thomas to bobble it and ultimately travel along the baseline. Later in the game, Papi returned the favor for his teammate, standing tall to get a blocked shot after Holland was hung up on a screen at the free throw line. Holland also snagged five defensive rebounds, many of them coming as he sagged off to help from the weak side.

Offensively, Demarcus did not perform nearly as well. He missed one three-point attempt and had another one blocked, and he missed his two other shots on the night. He did score five points from the line, earning four of his seven free throw attempts by hustling for loose balls and rebounds. However, Holland was tagged with two turnovers for the game, one coming on an ugly pass at the end of the first half and the other coming when he simply held the ball in front of the aggressive Darius Gatson well behind the arc.

Those turnovers were once again a problem for the entire team, with the Longhorns losing it on 26% of their possessions. That number is ugly on its own merits, but when you consider that 26% is actually an improvement from the last game against Mississippi State, the scope of the problem becomes more overwhelming.

The most frustrating aspect is that many of the Texas turnovers happen because of a lack of awareness by players off the ball, while quite a few others come from making lazy passes. Javan Felix turned it over on a five-second call where he stood at least five feet behind the arc, while the rest of his team waited idly around the lane. Texas also lost one on a five-second call on an inbounds play where the Bearkats doubled to deny the pass, while no other Longhorns came back to help.

When starting the offense, passes between the two guards at the top of the key are far too often deflected or nearly stolen. This has been a problem all season long, and it was once again an issue against the Bearkats. Papapetrou has had numerous soft passes stolen as he gives the ball back to Felix, while Javan has given it away on simple passes to the wings. In this game, Felix was responsible for five turnovers, and could have had a sixth if the Bearkats had held on to one of his telegraphed passes to Holland on the wing.

Another recurring issue for the Longhorns is poor decision-making in the transition game. Texas has the athletes to get out and run, and with an offense that is struggling in half-court sets, easy transition opportunities cannot be wasted. Sheldon McClellan blew two of those chances in this game, while Holland spoiled another. McClellan barreled ahead in a two-on-three situation, trying to sidestep a charge before missing his layup. Later in the game, he had it poked away from behind as he sized up a one-on-one move. No team wants to waste their fast breaks, but an offense as inefficient as Texas’ certainly cannot afford to do so.

Although McClellan wasted those two opportunities, he did manage to lead the team with 16 points. Unfortunately, that came on 4-of-13 shooting, with six of those misses coming from inside the arc. Texas has had a lot of success finding Sheldon on baseline inbounds plays this season, and the same was true in this game. Using a different set from the one they repeatedly abused Mississippi State with, the Longhorns hit McClellan for a wide-open three on one baseline inbounds, one of the two triples he hit on the night.

McClellan came off the bench for the third consecutive game, as Coach Barnes continued to send the sophomore a message about effort, particularly on the defensive end. He ended up playing 28 minutes and contributing to the solid team D, although he did lose sharpshooter Will Bond in transition on one play, allowing him to hit his only three of the game.

In addition to freeing up McClellan on inbounds passes, Texas also did a good job isolating Jonathan Holmes on the blocks and finding him for easy buckets. While the young Longhorns are still struggling to get the ball into the post, Holmes was the recipient of two nice feeds for points in the paint. He also added a three-point bucket and a nice stickback on an offensive rebound that he grabbed despite being out of position.

Unfortunately, those issues with hitting the post players have cost Texas quite a few points this season. Many post feeds have been thrown at bad angles or zipped past the bigs far too quickly. Other times, the Longhorn guards and wings have just been completely oblivious to a wide-open teammate who has worked hard to get to the right spot on the floor. While the turnover problems are clearly the biggest issue right now for Texas, this certainly must also be high on the priority list for the coaching staff.

The Longhorn coaches will also be concerned by the team’s performance on the glass, as once again Texas could not exploit a significant size advantage. The Horns grabbed only 22.6% of their offensive rebounding opportunities, which was a huge reason why they could only manage a dismal 0.88 points per possession. Fortunately, it is clear that rebounding was a big talking point at halftime, and that the team responded to that message. The Bearkats held a 21-18 edge on the glass at half, but Texas turned the tables after the break, outrebounding Sam Houston State by a 29-14 count in the second twenty minutes.

The Longhorns also had a nice second-half effort from Julien Lewis, who picked up two early fouls and was limited to just 19 minutes for the game. He came out of the locker room and made an aggressive drive to earn two quick free throws in the second half, then followed it up with a nice backcut for a reverse layup and the foul. He also made a strong baseline drive later in the half to draw the defense and free up Ridley on the block, and he earned eight trips to the line with his constant dribble penetration.

Prince Ibeh also made a nice contribution in his limited minutes. Once again, he impacted plays inside by altering shots and keeping rebounding opportunities alive for teammates by tipping balls that were just out of his reach. More important, however, were the two strong, quick moves he made after receiving feeds in the post. After looking panicked with the ball in Maui, where he repeatedly allowed defenses to collapse on him as he froze up, seeing Ibeh exhibit some confidence is a welcome change for Texas fans.

With one more tune-up awaiting on Saturday before daunting games against Georgetown and UCLA, the Longhorns have to hope for even more improvement throughout this week of practice. Although shots weren’t falling for long stretches of the game, there were quite a few possessions where the Longhorns made nice, hard cuts and set solid screens to get the offense going. Although the effort waned throughout the game, it’s clear that some steps are being made in the right direction. Texas fans can only hope that those improvements both continue and accelerate in the coming days.

Up next: vs. UT-Arlington; 3 P.M. CT, Saturday

The Texas Longhorns return to action on the mainland tonight, hosting Sam Houston State at the Frank Erwin Center. After a pair of losses to open play in the Maui Invitational’s championship rounds, the Longhorns bounced back with a convincing win over a shorthanded Mississippi State squad. Texas hopes to build on that win tonight and establish some momentum this week before heading into a very tough pair of non-conference match-ups against Georgetown and UCLA.

Sam Houston State comes to Austin riding a two-game winning streak, having knocked off Liberty and UC-Irvine at home in the sub-regional round of the Legends Classic. This road trip to a big-time college arena will certainly not intimidate the Bearkats, as they have already battled Arkansas down to the wire in Fayetteville before being blown out by Indiana at Assembly Hall.

By the numbers

The Bearkats have struggled mightily on offense so far this year, scoring just 0.868 points per possession, a number that ranks 301st out of 347 Division I teams. A big part of this problem is Sam Houston State’s dedication to the perimeter. The team has taken nearly 39% of its shots from behind the arc, despite knocking down only 29% of those long range attempts.

Defensively, the team has bounced back against lesser competition after getting crushed by Indiana. The Hoosiers posted an insane 1.47 points per possession in their 99-45 win over Sam Houston State, but the Bearkats were able to hold Liberty and UC-Irvine to just .754 and .853 PPP, respectively. Although the Flames and Anteaters aren’t high-quality competition, it’s still impressive that the Bearkats were able to dominate the defensive glass against those two teams and turn most possessions into one-shot trips.

One number that is especially troubling for the Bearkats as they prepare to face Texas is their defensive free-throw rate. Against Arkansas and Indiana, Sam Houston State’s defensive FTRs were 62.8% and 83.0%, respectively. FTR measures how often a team gets to the line, so it is apparent that against bigger, more talented teams, the Bearkats were constantly being whistled for fouls. Although Texas has done poorly from the line, Sam Houston State still cannot afford to give the Longhorns as many free throws as they gave to their other major-conference opponents.

Meet the Bearkats

Sam Houston State has used a deep rotation so far this season, with 11 players averaging at least 11 minutes. Senior guard Darius Gatson (No. 1) is the team leader in minutes, and even he only averages 25.3 per game.

Typically, that kind of substitution pattern would be indicative of a run-and-gun, high-pressure squad, but that isn’t the case with the Bearkats. Coach Jason Hooten is trying to incorporate five junior college newcomers this season, while hoping to replace the loss of three starters from last year’s team. While the results have been mixed, so far the team is using a balanced attack, having a different leading scorer in each of their six games.

Gatson was the leading scorer in the team’s first game, pouring in 20 against Arkansas. For the year, he’s also leading the team in points, averaging 9.5 per game. At just 5’11”, he is a bit undersized to face most major-conference opponents. However, with Myck Kabongo still unavailable for the Longhorns, Gatson will be squaring off with Javan Felix, also an undersized guard.

Swingman DeMarcus Gatlin (No. 11) was one of three Bearkats who started against Texas in last year’s game, shooting just 3-of-10 from the field in 35 minutes of action. He’s is the team’s leading retuning scorer from 2011-12, but is averaging just 6.7 points this season.

Michael Holyfield (No. 35) is the team’s other returning starter and its only true big man. At 6’11”, he is typically the anchor of Sam Houston State’s four-out, one-in look, and is really their only option for posting up opponents. He has been struggling with foul problems all season long, an issue that has plagued him for most of his career. He fouled out against Texas after playing just 26 minutes last season, and he’s averaging more than seven fouls per 40 minutes this year.

With Holyfield filling the lane, junior forward James Thomas (No. 20) is the closest thing to a 4 the Bearkats have. He’s often used to set high screens and then roll to the basket. Although Thomas is just 6’5″, he has played very tough against the bigger lineups of Arkansas and Indiana, scrapping for every point and rebound inside.

Junior guard Jeremy McKay (No. 10) has started all six games for Sam Houston State, but is still struggling to find his shot. He’s made just 28.6% of his three-point attempts and only 27.7% of his shots from inside the arc. McKay showed a nice burst off the dribble against Indiana, but his inability to knock down long shots makes it easier for defenses to sag off of him and take away that driving threat.

Former walk-on Marquel McKinney (No. 2) has earned one start so far in his sophomore campaign, and he has proven to be the team’s only real three-point threat. He’s knocked down more than 40% of his long range attempts, and is third on the team with eight points per game. At 6’3″, McKinney also gives Coach Hooten a little more size in a backcourt that features two guards under six feet.

Forward Terrance Motley (No. 24) has played well after missing the first two games of the season for undisclosed reasons. Despite coming off the bench, he’s leading the team with six boards per game, and is second on the squad in scoring. Like Holyfield, Motley is averaging more than seven fouls per 40 minutes of hoops, so the Longhorns will want to attack him and hope to pile up the whistles.

Coach Hooten has another promising option on the bench in Nathaniel Mason (No. 33), a 6’4″ wing who transferred from Des Moines Area CC. He showed some nice driving ability and knocked down a three against the Hoosiers, but he’s only 25% from behind the arc on the year.

A trio of guards round out the deep rotation, with Aaron Harwell (No. 5), Paul Baxter (No. 21), and Will Bond (No. 32) combining to average about 37 minutes per game. Baxter is a freshman from Austin’s Bowie High, and the son of former Longhorn Ron Baxter. Harwell was a big contributor last year after transferring from Centenary, but has a limited role this season. Bond arrived in Huntsville from Trinity Valley CC, where he was a three-point marksman. This season, he’s hit more than 38% of his attempts from beyond the arc.

Keys to the game

1) Hang on to the ball – The Longhorns have been absolutely atrocious when it comes to turnovers this season, coughing it up on 29.4% of their possessions against D-I opponents. Even in their shocking loss to D-II Chaminade, the Horns ended 23.4% of their possessions with a turnover. Although the Bearkats aren’t known for a high-pressure D, many of the Longhorn turnovers this season have been unforced errors. With points and wins hard to come by on this young season, Texas simply cannot afford to waste possessions.

2) Dominate the glass – In their two Maui losses, the Longhorns were essentially shut out on the offensive boards. Chaminade and USC claimed 71.8% and 80% of the Texas missed shots, respectively, limiting the Horns to a seemingly endless string of one-shot possessions. Fortunately, Sam Houston State has had problems keeping their major-conference opponents from dominating the boards. Texas needs to exploit that size advantage and own the glass on both ends of the floor.

3) Get Sheldon McClellan going – Although McClellan had a nice game against Mississippi State, his performances have been streaky so far this year. Sheldon has appeared to get frustrated easily and not always embrace the role of go-to scorer that the team needs him to accept. Sam Houston State gave Texas a lot of trouble last year by doubling down on the baseline and trapping along the boundaries. McClellan can’t let that defensive approach frustrate him and take him out of the game this time around.

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 Texas Longhorns return to action at the Erwin Center tonight after a tough weekend in New Jersey. Despite holding second-half leads of eight and 18 at the IZOD Center, Texas stumbled down the stretch against both Oregon State and N.C. State, leaving East Rutherford with a pair of frustrating losses.

Fortunately, the Longhorns now have a pair of winnable games at the Erwin Center to rebuild their confidence before taking on UCLA next weekend. The team opens its short homestand tonight against Sam Houston State, a school that is winless in its four Division I games this season.

By the numbers

No matter how you slice it, the numbers aren’t pretty this year for Coach Jason Hooten and the Bearkats. According to stats guru Ken Pomeroy, Sam Houston State’s adjusted offensive efficiency is one of the 30 worst in all of Division I hoops.

The reasons behind the team’s struggle to put the ball in the basket are numerous. The Bearkats turn it over on 26.7% of their possessions, and are 32nd-worst in the nation when it comes to getting to the free-throw line. For a Texas team that sent Oregon State and N.C. State to the free throw line repeatedly in New Jersey, this statistic is a welcome one.

Sam Houston State is also struggling from long range, where they have made just 22.9% of their threes, the 14th-worst mark in Divison I. The Longhorns experimented with zone defense when they ran into foul trouble in New Jersey, and there’s no doubt that a team struggling this much from long range provides the perfect opportunity for the Horns to work on their zone at game speeds.

The three-point line has also been unkind to Sam Houston State on the defensive end. The Bearkats have faced four D-I opponents so far, and those teams knocked down more than 41% of their looks from behind the arc. Marksmen J’Covan Brown and Julien Lewis should be licking their chops.

Meet the Bearkats

To say that Sam Houston State is rebuilding this season would probably be a tad bit generous. The Bearkats lost four starters from last year’s team and return just three scholarship players. On a team filled with freshmen and junior college transfers, the returning players have accounted for just 23.3% of the team’s minutes so far this year.

The already-thin lineup took a major hit when Antuan Bootle, the team’s lone returning starter, was sidelined by a broken foot during the first week of the season and will be out of action for at least another four weeks. Last season, he led all Bearkat scorers when they faced Texas, just missing a double-double with his 16-point, nine-rebound line.

Big man Steven Werner will also likely miss tonight’s game after injuring his foot on Monday against Mercer. Werner was the team’s second-leading rebounder, averaging 6.7 boards per game. He was also third on the team in scoring, chalking up an average of 8.7 points.

While injuries have forced the Bearkats to get creative with the lineup, the team has received steady leadership from newcomer Konner Tucker. A transfer who played six games for Wake Forest, Tucker was also a juco stud at Lon Morris in Jacksonville, Texas. Averaging 34 minutes per game so far, Tucker leads the team with just under 11 points per game. Although the junior guard is “sneaky quick” in the words of his head coach, his paltry 22% success rate behind the arc means that opposing defenses can sag off and make it tougher for Tucker to blow by them.

The player most impacted by the injury shuffle is senior Marcus James, who has had to slide from the wing to the post in Werner’s absence. The 6’7″ Connecticut native had his own injury issues in the offseason, breaking a wrist playing pickup games back home. Fully healed, he’s now second on the team in scoring with 10.2 points per game and is averaging more than five rebounds.

At the point, junior Darius Gatson has stepped right into the role of floor leader. A juco transfer from Trinity Valley, the 5’11” guard is the only player on the team with more than 10 assists so far this season. Unfortunately, he has had some growing pains since jumping to D-I basketball, shooting less than 30% from the field while turning it over 13 times.

The Bearkats are also getting some immediate contributions from freshman Michael Holyfield and sophomore transfer Demarcus Gatlin. Out of New Mexico, Holyfield checks in at 6’11” and is unsurprisingly the team’s best rebounder, grabbing more than seven per game. Gatlin, who played his first season at Navarro, has started all five games and is averaging more than 27 minutes. He’s still working to find his footing, though, as he’s shooting just 24% from the field — 11% from behind the arc — and has 17 turnovers.

Off the bench, 6’9″ Aaron Thompson is chipping in valuable frontcourt minutes. One of the three returning scholarship players for Coach Hooten, Thompson is averaging more than 17 minutes per game but has scored only 14 points to date. Against Texas last season, the big man hardly saw the floor, logging just a turnover and rebound in his two minutes of action.

Coach Hooten also has a pair of backcourt reserves in Aaron Harwell and walk-on Marquel McKinney. Both have come off the bench in all five games, combining to average 2.9 points in roughly 25 minutes per game. Harwell arrives in Huntsville from Centenary College in Louisiana, a school that just transitioned from Division I to Division III, allowing the sophomore to be immediately eligible for Sam Houston State.

Keys to the game

Although Texas is going to have its struggles this season, there’s simply no reason why the Horns should lose this game. Instead, tonight’s match-up provides good opportunity to work on the issues that cropped up in New Jersey and get the team ready for big tests in the coming weeks from UCLA, Temple, and North Carolina. With that in mind, here are three things we’ll be watching.

1) How does J’Covan Brown respond? – Brown’s exit from the Legends Classic was an abrupt and unceremonious one, as his personal foul and nearly-immediate technical foul were the catalysts for a Texas meltdown against N.C. State. Before that, he was dominant, scoring 17 points while, in the words of Wolfpack coach Mark Gottfried, “slic[ing] us up like a side of fries.”

The words from Coach Barnes in the post-game presser weren’t that kind to Brown. He questioned the junior guard’s maturity and put him on notice in a very public setting. Against an overmatched Sam Houston State squad, Brown will need to pick up where he left off and also show poise when he feels foul calls are unwarranted.

2) Can Myck Kabongo regroup? – With Brown out of the game against the Wolfpack, it looked like Kabongo had suddenly misplaced his superhero cape. While Myck has struggled all season with finishing at the rim, he was suddenly unable to create any offense with the dribble and the Longhorns stalled out. Not only will we be watching to see how Kabongo looks with Brown back on the floor, but we’ll also be keeping an eye on how the offense works when the reigns are solely his to hold.

3) Can the Longhorns play defense without fouling? – As mentioned previously, the Bearkats are a perfect matchup for a Texas team that piled up the fouls in New Jersey. Rick Barnes is always a defense-first coach, and there’s no doubt he’s frustrated with his team’s inability to stop its opponents so far this year. Against a struggling Bearkat team, can Texas get back to the kind of defensive dominance it showed against Boston U in the season opener?

The Texas program has long been known for its defense. Under head coach Rick Barnes, the philosophy shifted from the run-n-gun style of Tom Penders to a well-disciplined, defense-first approach. It seems only fitting the the Longhorns put up their best defensive performance of the year on a night where Coach Barnes earned his 500th career win.

Texas cruised to an 84-50 victory over the Sam Houston State Bearkats in a game where the outcome was never in doubt. Both teams played an extremely sloppy first half, with 23 combined turnovers between the two teams. The Longhorns held SHSU to just a 29.2% success rate from the field, while posting an impressive 55% field-goal percentage of their own.

What looked good

The game was so one-sided on Tuesday night that it’s tough to extract any meaningful bits of information from the game. Was Texas really that good, or did the new-look Bearkats simply lay an egg in their first true test of the year?

The truth is likely found somewhere in the middle of those two extremes, but the raw numbers certainly look pretty. The Longhorns had an offensive efficiency of 1.14 points per possession, but the stats were even better on defense. Texas allowed the Bearkats just 0.68 points each trip down the floor, making it the team’s second-most efficient defensive performance since giving up 0.66 points per possession to Navy in the season opener.

On offense, the Longhorns were led by Jordan Hamilton, who matched his season average with 25 points despite only having to play 27 minutes in the blowout. He hit both of his three-point attempts on the night, was 5-of-6 at the stripe, and finished just a rebound shy of a double-double.

There is now no question that Hamilton will be the team’s leader this year, and it’s clear that he has matured during the offseason. After forcing up some bad shots in the pair of New York City games, Hamilton played smart, team basketball against Sam Houston State.

Surprisingly, the team’s second-leading scorer was senior point guard Dogus Balbay. The Turkish guard’s lack of a jump shot is an oft-noted deficiency, and he did miss the only short jumper he took against the Bearkats. But Balbay looked comfortable pushing the break, probing the interior D in half-court sets, and getting to the rim for easy layups.

His 14 points marked a new career-high, besting the 13 he posted against Texas Tech in January. Critics might point to the quality of those two opponents before giving Balbay credit, but the fact that he is once again looking to get to the rim will only serve to open up the rest of the offense.

Freshman Cory Joseph also had the best game of his young career, chipping in nine points on the night. Joseph led the team with four assists and managed to finish with just two turnovers in a game where it seemed like the Longhorns threw it away on every other possession. Cory has taken flak for the way the Pitt game finished, but he and Balbay are going to provide a dose of quality backcourt leadership this year. And we all know the adage about March and a team’s backcourt play…

The biggest subplot of the night, however, came at the free-throw line. The Longhorns finished 15-of-19 from the stripe, an improvement of a full 11 percentage points over the season average. Texas actually started their impressive free-throw streak during crunch time of the Pitt game, where they made eight out of 10 attempts over the final eight minutes of the game. Combining the numbers from those two games gives the Horns a 79.3% mark at the line over the last 48 minutes of basketball.

What needed work

For once, Tristan Thompson looked human. After making a huge splash in his first four games, including an absolutely incredible performance on back-to-back nights in New York, the freshman came back to Earth. Sam Houston State’s Antuan Bootle frustrated Thompson all night, limiting the Canadian to just three points and four boards in 28 minutes of play. He never seemed to get in the flow of the game, and with the outcome clearly in hand, Coach Barnes elected to give Matt Hill and Alexis Wangmene more minutes and experience.

The biggest flaw for Texas, though, was clearly the turnovers. While Texas turned things around at half and only coughed it up twice in the final 20 minutes, the first half was a disaster. The Longhorns had 12 miscues before halftime, and most of them were unforced errors. The team threw the ball into the crowd on multiple occasions, while J’Covan Brown and Gary Johnson combined to pick up five offensive fouls in the game. Considering the sloppy play was limited to just the first half, and that the team also had just ten turnovers in the entire game against Illinois, we figure it’s safe to chalk this one up as an aberration.

The other concern worth noting is the team’s continued struggles from three-point range. The Longhorns shot 30% from behind the arc last night, a sad number that is even more depressing if you were to remove Hamilton’s 2-for-2 performance. On the season, the team is 29.4% from long range. Take Hamilton and walk-on Dean Melchionni out of the equation — since Melchionni won’t see meaningful minutes this season — and the Longhorns are just 6-of-38 from three-point range, which is only a 15.8% success rate. Jai Lucas, who was the team’s best three-point shooter last season (46.2%) in his limited minutes, has yet to make one this year in his eight attempts.

Next up: vs. Rice Owls (3-2); Saturday, 3 P.M. CT