Quick survey: if I told you that Texas held Omer Yurtseven to 10 points & four rebounds, Georgetown only hit five threes, Texas would shoot 90% from the line, and Matt Coleman would go 6-6 from three, how much do you think Texas won by? 10? 20?

Yea, about that. The problem is that Georgetown also shot over 50% from the field and shot 28 free throws (made 21 of them), which nullifies basically everything I mentioned above. In the first half, the Hoyas were making really tough shots; they had an amazing ability to pull up from 6 inches inside the three-point line and hit a really long (and usually contested) two. If a team is hitting those, fine; it’s not ideal that they’re hitting shots, but those are some of the worst shots on the floor so you can live with that. In the second half, uhh, the shots were....less difficult. The end result is Georgetown turned a five-point halftime deficit into an 82-66 win where Texas was repeatedly flummoxed. This has to be the best game Georgetown has played on the season which is saying something considering they haven’t been playing world-beaters to this point. A recalibration is in order for the Longhorns, probably in the form of a Yaklich-sized foot up their collective ass. Actually, he may watch the film and put it up each of their asses individually. He’s very detail-oriented and will want to tailor his shoe size for each player.

The Good

Matt Coleman

Matt Coleman - or as Dan Dakich called him at least 4 times “Will Coleman” - was all-world tonight. He scored 22 points, hit 6-6 from three, made smart reads on offense when there were options available, and played good defense against a cadre of good Georgetown guards. If Coleman can play at this level for the season, he’s going to be in the running for a 1st-team Big 12 selection which is saying something considering the competition. He’s really stepped into his own so far.

Jericho Sims

Omer Yurtseven is a load down low, one of the best rebounders and low-post bigs in the country thus far this year. Sims did a quality job limiting Yurtseven’s effectiveness on the night. Sims didn’t generate a lot of stats, but he consistently pushed Yurtseven a couple feet further from the basket than he’s comfortable and managed to play 19 minutes while only getting 3 fouls. Sometimes a stalemate is a victory.

Assists

Texas assisted on nearly 74% of their made baskets, which is well above their (already solid) average on the season.

The Mixed Bag

Royce Hamm Jr

Hamm grabbed some big rebounds, hit a couple buckets, but also accounted for a couple costly turnovers and dumb fouls. I think I’ve finally figured out the football equivalent to Hamm: Robert Killebrew. He always gave a lot of energy, contributed to the stats in a way that fans noticed, but managed to get a massive personal foul at the worst possible time. Hamm is kinda like that; you don’t doubt his motor or his willingness to D up an opponent, but sometimes he makes a play that makes you want to put your own head through the drywall the same way he put his head through the sternum of an opponent five yards out of bounds. If he could just cut that crap out, he’d be a really good backup big. I don’t know if he ever will though.

The Bad

Second-Half Defense

I went back and watched the second half again, because either I want to write a better recap or maybe it’s my version of cutting. I NEED TO FEEL ALIVE. As much as some people want to give credit to Patrick Ewing for an insightful adjustment, the reality is pretty simple: Texas got beat in man defense, and without help defense behind them Georgetown was getting into the paint.

This is basically it. Luke Yaklich’s defense is predicated upon not sending a ton of help, which means the PnR defenders have to keep their man in front of them. This didn’t happen much; Coleman was good in this situation, but Gerald Liddell, Courtney Ramey, and Jase Febres got burned multiple times. Some of that is due to Georgetown’s experienced guards, but a lot of it is on the Longhorns defenders. Lift the big from the paint, start the PnR, and get downhill. The Hoyas did this to great effect in the second half and it helped kickstart their offense. Sometimes the answer is pretty simple.

Non-Coleman Threes

Texas was 11-29 from three; take away Coleman and they were 5-23. Andrew Jones, Jase Febres, Courtney Ramey, and others need to pick up the slack on the makes if Texas is going to hit its ceiling this year. Most of the threes I saw them take were reasonable, they just didn’t hit.

Gerald Liddell

Liddell is worthy of his starting spot, but tonight was rough. He got beat on PnR, he wasn’t putting up a convincing shot fake from three that would draw the defense to him, and he had three rebounds in 28 minutes. Hopefully he regroups tomorrow.

Free Throws/Fouls

I expected some disparity due to playing styles, but good lord. 28 free throws to 10 is pretty severe.

Dan Dakich

This is the first game I’ve watched (nearly) live and it’s terrible. Not only do I not know the score in advance, but I have to hear Dakich say things like ‘water finds its level’ several times throughout the broadcast as if he just discovered the Random Confucious-ish Saying A Day app on his Blackberry. Maybe he’s in a Facebook group where they trade pablum aphorisms inbetween MAGA posts and Minions memes; it wouldn’t surprise me to find out Bob Knight is texting him these phrases from the 7th hole at Sawgrass. The only saving grace of rewatching the second half was being able to mute the TV and not hear him talk about a referee’s grandchild again. Congratulations to that guy for his kid fucking BTW, I’m sure he’s happy to be reminded that his kid is laying pipe and/or getting their pipe laid on national TV. A winning formula all-around, thanks for paying Dakich six-figures to do this.

Texas is no longer in possession of the nation’s longest winning streak. It happened a game earlier than I anticipated but at least they avoid seeing Duke in NYC, or as I call it HELL ON EARTH. They get to play California at a time that’s generally reserved for Kirk Bohls’ dinner, 4 PM ET on let’s say ESPN2.

BWG’s writing tunes provided by Random Movement.