Experience and depth a strength of Texas' entering the postseason
When the NCAA Tournament begins on Thursday for No. 2 seed Texas, seven members of the Longhorns’ nine-man rotation will be making a return to March Madness.
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Timmy Allen, Dylan Disu, Marcus Carr, Christian Bishop, and Brock Cunningham all were on last year’s Longhorn team that won its first-round game over Virginia Tech before bowing out to Purdue.
Tyrese Hunter and Sir’Jabari Rice carry NCAA Tournament experience from prior stops at Iowa State and New Mexico State, respectively. The only two contributors who don’t have a minute of postseason play to their names are Arterio Morris and Dillon Mitchell.
That level of experience was key in helping Texas finish second in the Big 12, carry a top-10 AP poll ranking throughout the year, and win three games in Kansas City, Mo. to take home the program’s second ever Big 12 Tournament title. It will continue to be key as Texas eyes an opening round matchup with Colgate on Thursday at 6:25 p.m. CDT ahead of what the Longhorns hope is a deep run.
“There’s no substitute for experience,” Texas interim head coach Rodney Terry said on Sunday. “The majority of our guys have had the chance to play in the NCAA Tournament. They understand what type of urgency you have to play with this time of year. They’ll help the young guys with that as well.”
Those players who have the tournament experience? They’re the ones carrying the weight on a game-by-game basis for the Longhorns.
Carr, Hunter, Allen, and Rice all average over 25 minutes per game, with Carr’s 33.6 mpg the highest on the team and only figure above 30. Hunter averages 29.5 minutes, Allen (who missed the Big 12 Tournament due to a lower leg injury) plays 28 minutes a game on average, and sixth-man Rice sees 25.2 minutes.
All four of those players average over 10 points per game, with Carr averaging a team-high 15.9 per contest.
Disu, Cunningham, and Bishop all see just under 20 minutes per game. Mitchell, who has started every game this season, averages 18.2 minutes. Morris averages 12.1 minutes.
The Longhorns not only have experience, but those numbers show they are deep as well. Every member of the rotation has recorded at least a handful of double-digit scoring efforts throughout the year and has taken advantage of opportunities to step up when needed by the team.
“This time of year, having that kind of depth is really important,” Terry said. “You saw that in the conference tournament when we were without Timmy Allen. We gave other guys opportunities. Arterio Morris played really well for us. Brock and those guys have done what they’ve done all year long. (Bishop) got a chance to come in and play real well for us as well.”
All of those moments have been building up for Texas’ attempt to make a deep run under the brightest lights in the NCAA Tournament. Those accumulated experiences for the Longhorns has Terry confident heading into the most important time of the year for the sport.
“I think they’ll understand what it takes this time of year to compete at a very high level,” Terry said.
On Sunday, Terry complimented his team for being able to find multiple ways to score, especially without a starter in Allen, during the Big 12 Tournament. He also offered praise for the Longhorns’ defense away from Austin, which had been one of a small number of weak points in Texas’ overall profile.
He also was pleased with how his team had stayed committed to their processes even during a season that had its share of off-court turmoil. That has continued into the postseason.
“I think this time of year, you want to be in a great routine and have the same kind of mindset you’ve had over the last month in terms of how you go about the process,” Terry said.
Texas hopes their routines include preparation for two games in three days this upcoming weekend, the weekend following, and one final weekend as March turns to April. To make that experience happen, the Longhorns will try to make to make the most of their depth and experience.
