Texas named the brand-new Moody Center Arena Wednesday night with a significant win in the first major test against ranked opponents since the venue opened earlier this year. After Tyrese Hunter finished with his 26 points, the Longhorns defeated his No. 2 Gonzaga with his 93-74 beatdown, making him one of the best and funniest teams in college basketball. Showed strength as one.
Gonzaga hung around early and took the lead in the first half, but the Zags quickly slowed down as Longhorns fans lit up the arena to lead their team to a 10-point halftime lead. They didn’t hold back, building a 23-point lead in the second half before winning by 19 points. The loss was Gonzaga’s lopsided total margin since he lost by 23 points to Arizona in March 2014.
In Texas, everything seemed to be going well, but in Gonzaga, the wheels fell off the wagon (and the wagon was sitting on a cinder block in the middle of an intersection). Texas scored his 3 seconds on 13 in his 33 attempts, free to the end, never missed his throw (from the line he finished 12 of 16) and made a mistake on the perimeter I put a lot of pressure on Zags. That was the beginning of Gonzaga’s struggle, committing 20 turnovers that night, 11 of which came in the first half, of which Texas converted for 27 points, his one turnover in particular was at the Moody Center. It was part of Texas’ frenetic sequence that nearly blew the lid off.
Gonzaga manager Mark Few said in the preseason that his team’s non-meeting schedule was the most ambitious he remembers, and Wednesday was just one example of that challenge. It’s just five days after surviving a near-buzzer-beater on the carrier against State University, ahead of its November 20th matchup with the major No. 4 Kentucky.
With the win, Texas tied a program record for defeating the highest ranked AP opponent. His last win against a second-placed team in the AP Top 25 came in 2009 against rivals Oklahoma.
Here are some key points about this game.
Texas… is back?
Declaring Texas is back in football is a bit old and tired, but basketball in Texas may really be back. did. The team has had its ups and downs with his 22-12 record. But Year 2 seems to have amassed a crew that fits the style you want to play. This team is capable of playing above the rim with its athleticism, plaguing teams on the perimeter with hard nose defense, and has enough shooting to spread around and do its job.Me Ranked 2nd in the Big 12the highest prediction of all of our whoop crew, and even so far, it feels like it was underestimated. I don’t want to give you a knee-jerk reaction, but considering how well Texas played against such a great opponent, tonight was a show of changing expectations.
Gonzaga gains rare humility
Gonzaga has lost no more than five games in each of the last six seasons. Leading all college hoops in scoring margins in each of the last four seasons, the Zags rarely lose. His 19-point loss on Wednesday is the fifth-biggest loss since 2010. CBB referenceOnly four times in that span have they lost by a greater margin.
zag depth is question mark
Losing a star like Chet Holmgren or a solid guard like Andrew Nenhardt like Gonzaga did in the offseason creates a problem. period. But it escalated quickly for Zag. They lack the rim protection Holmgren offers around the paint and tend to commit about 17 per game to boot. This ranks slightly higher than 300 out of 363 Division I teams. Second-year guard Nolan Hickman is his X-factor that the Zags need to move forward this season to reach the ceiling. Drew said Tim and Julian Strother each scored 18 points and he scored 13 points so he’s 1-2, but a third has emerged as a reliable factor for Gonzaga to really blossom. I have to.
