SETTING THE TONE
Shane Southwell was put into a difficult position on Tuesday night when he filled in for Bruce Weber as the Kansas State head coach. But he took it in stride and approached it like a great opportunity.
The emphasis from him was to avoid the slow starts and to come out fired up and ready to play.
Southwell and assistant Jermaine Henderson set the tone in the locker room by allowing their players to blast music they like, as the coaches joined in the pre-game party. They jumped around, sang songs and allowed that energy to carry through warmups and into the game.
As a result, they played with more passion from the jump and everyone did their job in the first half, for the most part.
However, the lack of depth caught up to the Wildcats in the second half and Texas took control. The energy and focus never wavered throughout the contest, but they missed shots in the final frame that were a clear sign of tired legs.
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MIXING UP THE DEFENSIVE LOOKS
The defensive game plan from K-State was to confuse the Longhorns by mixing it up on that end of the floor with both zone and man. Southwell felt that they did their job and forced an already slower Texas offense to be even more stagnant.
The zone also allowed the Wildcats to stay fresher longer by not having to run all over the court chasing their assignment on defense. It certainly helped short-handed Kansas State scrape their way out of the first half with the lead.
MISSED SHOTS AND REBOUNDS IN SECOND HALF
K-State missed all nine attempts from beyond the arc in the second half. The tired legs had a lot to do with that, as shots they made in the first half weren’t falling in the second frame.
Texas’ defense also stiffened, especially near the rim after giving up plenty of open driving lanes in the first half. The Longhorns played more physical in the second half and even sent Kansas State to the line quite a bit and forced tough, contested layups.
Ultimately, missing every deep was the difference.
After being even on rebounds in the first half, Texas dominated the glass in the second half to the tune of 23-11. The Longhorns have aggressive and athletic rebounders, especially Timmy Allen, who finished with 14.
Missing Kaosi Ezeagu and Davion Bradford made it harder on the boards for the Wildcats. Those two are their biggest and most physical guys in the frontcourt on the roster. Ismael Massoud wasn’t able to pick up their slack and failed to corral a single rebound in 35 minutes.
NO MORAL VICTORIES
Southwell was adamant that there’s no way to rely on moral victories in the game of basketball. With that being said, he didn’t deny that they played with great effort against a quality opponent despite being dealt with some adversity.
“We’re going to stay connected,” Southwell said. “We got a strong team that has good morale right now in our locker room.”
