Texas beats up on no. 21 Georgia, 87-67, behind stellar second half effort

Sean Miller’s squad came into this game badly needing a conference victory after losing to Kentucky on Wednesday and Texas A&M a week ago. Their opponent, the Georgia Bulldogs, came in with the highest-octane offense in college basketball, leading the nation in possessions and points per game. It was a tall task for an up-and-down Longhorns team, but they stepped up to the plate in a big way by dominating the second half after shooting poorly through the first 20 minutes.

They did an excellent job preventing the Bulldogs from getting into transition, slowing the game down and making them earn their buckets. They held Mike White’s team to 67 points, down from their average of 94.8 so far this year. They forced them into highly contested looks from deep, where they shot just 6-19, as well as out-rebounded them 32-25.

Texas shot the ball much better in this game than they did against Kentucky, hitting 58% of their shots from the field and going 8-21 from deep. They also managed to win a game win which they shot significantly fewer free throws than their opponent; Georgia shot 25 to Texas’ 12.

The most shocking aspect of the game was that the ‘Horns managed to outscore Georgia 19-13 in points off of turnovers and, even more surprisingly, 13-7 in the fast break. Considering this is Mike White’s bread and butter, the fact Texas was able to win those categories proves their versatility, that they can play different styles given the proper effort.

They outscored the Bulldogs 57-30 in the second half and won, 87-67, in front of a crowd that brought the energy despite the inclement weather in Austin.

Player of the game

The best player on the floor tonight was Dailyn Swain, who had a monster night: 26 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 steals. He was absolutely swarming the Bulldog ball handlers, picking pockets, and reading passing lanes. Three of the five steals led directly to transition opportunities the other way for the Longhorns. It may be odd to talk more about his defense when he managed to lead all scorers, but it was that impressive. He at times single-handedly stopped Georgia possessions due to his switch-ability, lateral speed, and physicality.

Tramon Mark deserves a shout as well, as he scored 23 points and was a constant source of offense during times when Texas struggled to find scoring from other places. At one point in the second half, he scored 10 points for the Longhorns in a row, utilizing a midrange game that the Georgia defense is not built to stop.

For UGA, no player stood out particularly on the offensive end. Jeremiah Wilkinson had 17 points, but shot just 4-12 from the field. Somto Cyril had 12 on 5-8, but was essentially a non-factor in the second half of the game, scoring 1 point and committing 3 personal fouls.

Implications

What does this win mean for Texas?

For one thing, it certainly bolsters their NCAA Tournament resume. As of today, they were considered a “First Four Out” team by bracketologists (which is about as legitimate an area of study as therapeutic interpretive dance). Getting three ranked wins, two of which were by 20 points, certainly puts Texas back into the field as of right now.

Don’t celebrate yet. There is plenty more basketball to be played, and plenty more tough games on the horizon for a Texas team that has proven it can play well in spurts, but has yet to prove it can play well over long stretches of the season.

Most of the starters are good – Swain, Mark, Matas Vokietaitis, and Jordan Pope all range from reliable to very reliable. The problem is that this bench is not productive enough. Even in today’s win, they got four total points off of the bench – for reference, the Bulldogs had 19.

Despite that, today is a day for celebration. Huge win for a Texas team that badly needed to pad its stats come tournament time.