UT Basketball: Bring the Tape Measure

On Tuesday, the young Longhorns Hulk-smashed a hapless UTSA squad, in a 116-50 high efficiency washing, to up the recent winning surge to three games. A 66-point win against any team is impressive. But, y’know, you just wish they could save a few of those points for this Saturday.

There could not be a more diametrically converse turnaround. The Roadrunners were undersized and overmatched, unceremoniously dropping to a paltry 1-8, with other losses to luminaries Texas Southern and Texas-Permian Basin.

No.3 North Carolina, a potential Final Four contender, represents to Texas its greatest test of the season, by a million miles. No disrespect to the other teams Texas has played thus far, but this matchup serves as the first measuring stick by which the Horns should be measured. They will know exactly how far to mark positive progress, and it will inform their "needs improvement" areas.

The Tar Heels are led by Naismith Player of the Year candidate and point guard Marcus Paige, who’s instantly found his groove after coming back from a broken right hand. UNC presents lottery-pick backcourt talent and skilled size, at levels Smart’s new-look Horns have yet to experience. However, the Horns have one player who should give the mostly thin Carolina frontline fits in Cameron Ridley.

Averaging nearly a double-double, Ridley (12.4 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 2.9 bpg) has the ability to dominate on the either block. The key will be finding space among the jungle of long, agile Tar Heel arms, in Brice Johnson, Kennedy Meeks, and Justin Jackson.

The crowd noise in Frank Erwin Center will be largely ineffective on the Mensa-quick and road-tested Carolina squad. The Horns must cause unending disruption as a single organism, swarming to every loose ball and rebound like an eternally disturbed colony of yellow jackets.

The season has offered some good points to build upon, but there are significant challenges. They play with effort. They are talented. However, at times, the two qualities show up side-by-side, and not immersed and intertwined, on the same court. They are playing hard for Coach Smart, but not necessarily each other.

Since his hiring, the one word Coach Smart has preached is of his team locating and nurturing a holistic, on/off court connectedness, playing for and being enthusiastic about your teammates’ success. So far, results are mixed, at best: lots of ball spiking on shots that could be tipped toward teammates, out of rhythm threes because the pass was a hair too late, and getting lost and fighting over ball screens.

The sooner they see that extra pass that leads to much easier baskets, or that extra bit of detail in defensive coverage – thinking with one mind – the sooner these Horns will reach their potential. Time is of the essence. As conference play nears, inconsistency shown in previous games, like Michigan, Samford, and UT-Arlington, will be severely punished by better, more opportunistic teams.