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

The Texas Longhorns braved the Santa Ana winds and a delay caused by light failure to escape Los Angeles with an important road win against UCLA this weekend. Now, they return to the Frank Erwin Center for a four-game homestand before facing a daunting UNC team in Chapel Hill.

Although Temple provides a solid test at the end of the homestand, tonight’s opponent is one of the most dangerous mid-major teams in this part of the country. UT-Arlington returns four starters this year, and that experience kept them within arm’s reach of Baylor two weeks ago, ultimately ending in a 75-65 loss in Waco.

The Texas schedule approach usually involves a handful of big-time opponents and a slew of low-major cupcakes to fill in the home dates. This year’s slate is no different, but the Mavericks provide the Longhorns a chance to knock off a team that could find its way into the NCAA field as Southland Conference champs.

By the numbers

These Mavericks love to run up and down the floor. They are currently averaging an adjusted tempo of 71.3 possessions per game, a pace that is 23rd-fastest in D-I hoops. In their first six games, only one team — Samford — was able to keep the game under 74 possessions, allowing the Bulldogs to pull out a win. The Longhorns have certainly proved that they can run with other up-tempo teams, but they may want to ensure that the Mavericks aren’t the ones dictating the pace.

That up-tempo style of Maverick basketball often comes out looking sloppy. UTA turns it over quite often, coughing it up on 24.1% of their possessions, one of the 65 worst marks in D-I hoops. Of course, they also force a ton of mistakes by their opponents, too. The Mavs have a defensive turnover percentage of 28.4%, which is sixth-best in the nation. Against Baylor, the Mavs took advantage of a turnover percentage of more than 30%, although quite a few of the Bear miscues were unforced mental errors.

When the Mavs don’t turn the ball over, they also are able to utilize great offensive rebounding numbers to extend possessions. UTA has reclaimed nearly 41% of their missed shots, a mark that puts them in the Top 20 nationally, although those numbers are buffeted a bit by the 51.5% mark they posted against UNT. Of course, Texas fans will recall that the Longhorns could only grab 26.8% of their offensive rebounding chances when they played the Mean Green.

The Mavs also work their way to the line fairly frequently, posting a free-throw rate of 47% in their five Division I games. The Longhorns had problems in their first few games defending teams without sending them to the charity stripe, although they have certainly turned that trend around in their last three games. The Horns will still have to be careful against a UTA team that loves to put the ball on the floor and attack the paint.

Meet the Mavericks

With the up-tempo approach of coach Scott Cross, the team spreads out their minutes across a core rotation of nine guys. With the exception of senior star LaMarcus Reed III (No. 31), no one even plays 22 minutes per game, and everyone in that core rotation sees the floor for at least 17 per night.

Reed will prove to be quite a handful for the Longhorns tonight. Although he’s just 6’5″, he’s incredibly strong and athletic and can easily finish inside on his frequent drives to the paint. He made 40% of his three-point shots last season and is off to a 37% start this year. Even if defenders play him tight and have the help inside in case he blows by the perimeter D, Reed has shown the ability to knock down fadeaway Js from 17 feet out once he gets the defender backpedaling.

The team’s second-leading scorer is TCU transfer Kevin Butler (No. 24), who is chipping in 12.5 points per game for the Mavs. He’s an inside-out threat who will post up against bigger defenders despite his 6’5″ frame. He can also stretch the defense, as Butler has connected on 6-of-10 from behind the arc so far this season. Perhaps the biggest knock on his game right now is that Butler is often too aggressive on defense, leaving his teammates out to dry on the block when he overpursues for steals.

Senior forward Bo Ingram (No. 1) is another 6’5″ guy who poses a three-point threat, but also loves to be aggressive with the dribble and attack the paint. He’s one of many strong, athletic guys on the Maverick roster who know how to finish through contact once they get inside.

The big man in the middle is junior Jordan Reves (No. 55). He leads the team with nearly seven boards a night and is also tops on the team with eight blocks. Reves looked a little tentative early against the intimidating Baylor frontline, but he has proven himself to be a smart defender who understands positioning and rotation. Unfortunately, that also means that he often picks up unnecessary fouls when other players overextend or are out of position. Those cheap fouls on the lone big man really hurts an undersized team like UTA.

After Reves, the team’s second-best board man is sophomore Brandon Edwards (No. 35). He’s averaging just over six rebounds per game to go with nearly seven points, and is second on the team in blocked shots with four. While Edwards does solid work on the glass and scoring inside, he is often stuck in defensive mismatches in the post when Reves finds himself in foul trouble. Although Texas doesn’t have an imposing front line, this is something worth watching if Reves starts to pile up the whistles tonight.

In the backcourt, sophomore Shaquille White-Miller (No. 12) provides tough-nosed defense while also facilitating the offense. As a freshman, Shaq had just a 1.04-to-1 assist-to-TO ratio and was criticized for sometimes playing out of control. So far this season, he’s cut back on the turnovers and has upped that ratio to 1.53-to-1. In addition to his growth as a sophomore, television viewers will likely also hear about White-Miller’s connection to Texas’ J’Covan Brown, as the pair played high school ball together at Port Arthur Memorial.

Junior guard Cameron Catlett (No. 25) is a 6’3″ point guard who also gives the Mavs flexibility by being able to play the wing or a shooting guard role. Although he only attempted 12 three-pointers last year, Catlett knocked down half of them. He’s 0-for-3 to start this season, so it would seem like the junior is due to make some threes tonight.

In addition to White-Miller and Catlett, the only other real option at point is tiny Jorge Redmon (No. 4). He has a 40% mark from long range, and is certainly not shy about pulling the trigger. More than two-thirds of his shots have come from behind the arc, and quite a few of those have come very early in the shot clock. You wouldn’t expect a player on an up-tempo team to milk the clock, but you would also expect a guard to be a little more selective than Redmon is with his shots.

Senior guard Bradley Gay (No. 10) is the type of player that won’t stuff a stat sheet, but does all the little things, earning him Coach Cross’ title of “glue guy.”

The Mavs also have a bit of height on the bench in the form of sophomore center Stuart Lagerson (No. 5), a seven-footer who averages 13 minutes a game. He’s still extremely thin and is easily pushed around down low, but he’ll likely add some strength and playing time as the season progresses.

The only other Maverick to play more than five minutes a game is Polish product Karol Gruszecki (No. 33). Like Lagerson, he needs to add some weight to hold his position, but he does possess the face-up game and outside shot to mitigate that strength disadvantage against other forwards. Unless things go horribly wrong, Gruszecki won’t see much playing time tonight.

Keys to the game

1) Control the basketball – Against the up-tempo attack of UTA, many teams have found it difficult to hang on to the ball and run their offense. Fortunately, the Longhorns have not had many problems with turnovers this season. The young Horns did play a little sloppy in the early minutes of the UCLA game, but managed to control things as they came from behind in the second half. Texas must avoid those early-game jitters tonight and avoid giving UTA extra possessions with careless mistakes.

2) Convert turnovers into easy points – While the Longhorns need to avoid their own mistakes, they can probably count on quite a few from UTA. The Mavericks typically play fast and loose with the ball, so the Longhorns need to capitalize upon those mistakes. When UTA turnovers stay in play, Texas needs to beat the Mavs in transition and convert those mistakes into uncontested buckets.

3) Clean up the defensive glass – Texas is one of the worst 15 teams in D-I hoops when it comes to securing defensive boards, while the Mavericks are one of the nation’s best at reclaiming their missed shots and extending possessions. That could be a recipe for disaster for the Longhorns tonight, so they must do better work boxing out once UTA puts their shots up. If not, the Horns could find themselves in danger of an upset against a solid Maverick squad.