Inside Texas Today: McConaughey bids the Erwin Center farewell, Big 12 titles galore
Welcome to Inside Texas Today! Each weekday morning, Inside Texas Today will provide the latest news and notes from around the Forty Acres, including notable events, player honors, and where to watch Longhorn sports that day.
Here’s the Monday, February 28, 2022 edition.
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Minister of Culture marks Erwin Center’s final game
As a head coach, Chris Beard has often reached out to the student body through the use of his “Fireside Chats.” When Beard moved from Lubbock to Austin, that social media feature came with him. He has used them to attempt to build a strong following from those in the student body.
The last Fireside Chat featured Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes upon his return to the Erwin Center. The most recent one released Sunday features Beard having a conversation with Texas-Ex and current Minister of Culture, Matthew McConaughey, on top of the home of the basketball program.
McConaughey and Beard discuss their favorite places in Austin, shouting out local Tex-Mex favorite El Patio. They discuss a variety of topics ahead of the final men’s basketball game in the longtime home of of Texas sports, concerts, and a variety of other events.
The No. 20 Texas Longhorns welcome the No. 10 Baylor Bears in the Erwin Center one more time for a Big Monday matchup. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. on ESPN.
Track, swimming programs take home conference titles
It was a successful weekend for Longhorn athletics. David Pierce’s No. 1 baseball team swept the Alabama Crimson Tide, allowing just one run over the entire weekend. Men’s basketball topped West Virginia in Morgantown, 82-81, while Vic Schaefer’s Lady Longhorns demolished TCU, 77-42.
Though those programs took home wins, they didn’t take home hardware. The men’s and women’s swimming programs each won the Big 12 championship, while the men’s and women’s track and field programs both took home the indoor conference championships.
The women’s track program, ranked No. 1 in the nation, won the conference title for the fifth-straight year. Texas claimed the winners in the 200m, 400m, 600 yard, and 800m.
For the women, Davicia Patterson won the 600 yard with a time of 1:19.41. Brooke Jaworski won in the 800m with a personal-best 2:03.87. The Longhorns swept the 400m with Kennedy Simon winning with a 51.54. Julien Alfred won the 200m in a sweep.
The No. 3 men’s program celebrated Tripp Piperi’s eighth conference shot put title with a 21.4m throw. Jon Maas, Jonathan Jones, Willington Wright, and Brian Herron won the men’s relay with a program record 3:04.19. Jones ran a world-best 1:06.68 in the 600 yard.
Yusuf Bizimana and Crayton Carrozza both broke the four-minute barrier in the mile. Bizimana ran a 3:59.85 while Carrozza finished the race in 3:59.99 for a first and second place result. Carrozza won the 800m with a time of 1:47.22, with Bizimana finishing second.
Here is the full list of conference champions:
Kristine Blazevica – Women’s Pentathlon
Davicia Patterson – Women’s 600y
Kennedy Simon – Women’s 400m
Julien Alfred – Women’s 200m
Brooke Jaworski – Women’s 800m
Yaseen Abdalla – Men’s 5000m
Tripp Piperi – Men’s Shot Put
Jonathan Jones – Men’s 600 yard
Yusuf Bizimana – Men’s Mile
Crayton Carrozza – Men’s 800m
Texas viewing for 2/28
Men’s Golf – Southern Highlands Collegiate – Southern Highlands Golf Club – Las Vegas, Nev.
Women’s Golf – Darius Rucker Intercollegiate – Long Cove Club – Hilton Head, S.C.
Softball – Tulsa – Austin, Texas – McCombs Field – 1:30 p.m.
Softball – Texas State – Austin, Texas – McCombs Field – 4:00 p.m.
Men’s basketball – Baylor – Austin Texas – Frank Erwin Center – 8:00 p.m. – ESPN
