IT Week in Review: Moody Center has been nothing short of a success, notes on Dylan Disu, defensive tackle

On3 imageby:Joe Cook02/26/23

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The Inside Texas Week in Review looks at how successful the Longhorn basketball programs — both men’s and women’s — have been in the new Moody Center. Plus, notes on Dylan Disu’s recent performance at Baylor and musing on defensive tackle in 2023.

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The Moody Center has been nothing short of a success

During the final season at the Frank Erwin Center, the Longhorn men’s and women’s basketball programs enjoyed successful home campaigns. Chris Beard’s program was 15-3 while Vic Schaefer’s women’s team was 12-3 in the regular season. Thanks to their strong Year 2 under Schaefer, the Longhorns hosted an NCAA tournament subregional going 2-0 on their way to an eventual Elite Eight appearance.

Good teams fill up arenas, and filled arenas help good teams. Texas had the good teams last year, but neither the men’s nor the women’s team often played in front of a filled-to-the-brim Erwin Center.

Texas once again had good teams in both programs this past season, and those teams helped create significant homecourt advantages. In the men’s program’s case, it did lead to filled up arenas.

The women’s program averages 5,545 per contest, while the men have seen just under 11,000 at each game and no contest with fewer than 10,000 as the listed attendance.

The men’s program is 15-1 at the Mood this year, with the sole loss the result of an uninspiring defensive versus K-State that they Horns avenged in Manhattan, Kan. Texas women’s basketball is 14-1 this year at the new arena with their only loss coming to South Florida, a team that has been in and out of the top 25.

“Moody Center has become one of the best places to play in college basketball,” Brock Cunningham said after the win over Oklahoma

No disagreement here.

The Erwin Center will always hold a special place in the hearts of Longhorn fans and Austinites, but there is no reason to rank it ahead of the Moody Center when ranking basketball venues.

“We had a terrific crowd again,” acting head coach Rodney Terry said after the win over Oklahoma. “The Corral has done an excellent job all year bringing energy to the building.”

Terry is reaping benefits of a process spearheaded at its onset by minister of culture Matthew McConaughey, former UT president Greg Fenves, current UT athletic director Chris Del Conte, and the Moody Foundation. The basketball environment needed an upgrade, and the vision from that group has made that upgrade a reality (even if it was the result of the addition of the Dell Medical School).

The Moody Center has more opportunities this week to prove it deserves a place among the best in the sport. The Texas women host Baylor on Monday with a “10k for 10k” promotion, where Schaefer will pledge a significant donation to the Neighborhood Longhorns Program if 10,000 fans fill up the Moody Center for Texas’ senior night. The Horns can also continue their trek toward a regular season conference title, considering their current first-place status.

On Saturday, the Longhorn men host their own senior day when Kansas comes to town. Depending on the results of the week — Texas plays at TCU on Wednesday while Kansas hosts Texas Tech on Tuesday — the Big 12 title could be on the line. At a minimum, if Texas wins its next two games, it will have won a share of its first regular season title since 2008.

No matter what happens between now and Saturday, the Moody Center has been a tremendous success and has been a key part of putting both teams in position for great postseason runs. The play on the court and the environment created off it cannot be disputed.

The venue will have two more regular season opportunities (and maybe postseason chances for the women) to showcase its elevated status to national audiences.

Disu leads but where did everyone else go?

Dylan Disu just played his best game as a Longhorn, but much of it was for naught in Texas’ 82-71 loss to Baylor on Saturday.

Disu scored 24 points versus the Bears to lead all scorers, with 14 in the first half and 10 in the second half. Unfortunately, Disu fouled out and was unable to see his performance to the end.

He was 10-of-15 from the field, showing off an improved touch on any shot inside the line. He was also 3-of-4 from three, a business decision made by the Baylor defense in exchange for better chances versus Texas’ scoring trio of Timmy Allen, Marcus Carr, and Jabari Rice.

Disu’s game in the first half kept Texas in reach of the Bears, though that reach seemed fleeting after the Longhorns suffered an eight-minute scoreless streak as part of Baylor’s scorching offensive show. The Bears were behind 18-4 at the under-12 and lost leading scorer Keyonte George to a rolled ankle in the first half.

That may have been beneficial to Scott Drew’s team. For the game, BU shot 50 percent from the field, 47 percent from three, and 76 percent at the line thanks to improved offensive flow that moved away from isolation ball. The defense likely picked up in George’s absence, too.

While Allen, Carr, Rice, and Tyrese Hunter all ended up in double-figures, their contributions all showed up too late for it to be any assistance to Disu.

Disu’s 24 points may not be repeatable, but what worked definitely will be. Disu hitting open threes will open up things for other players, whether driving lanes or shots. Baylor took the risk on Saturday of picking their poison, and their selection was Disu. As a result, the other scorers were not as strong in their performances as they usually are.

To see the senior from Pflugerville play at his current level must be a near-revelation for Terry. Texas hasn’t gotten a ton of offense from its platoon of big men this year, and even choose not to play either Disu or Christian Bishop at certain points.

If Disu can become a player who Terry is unable to take off the floor, it’ll help the Longhorns in several aspects. That player is who was in Waco on Saturday.

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Spring football position to watch

Spring football practice begins in just over one week for Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns. The program is entering a pivotal year following an 8-5 campaign.

The 2023 season will be Texas’ last in the Big 12, a final opportunity to win a fourth conference championship before it departs to the SEC along with Oklahoma.

There are some questions on offense, but one position worthy of intense focus on defense is defensive tackle.

Texas had two starters at tackle last year in Moro Ojomo and Keondre Coburn. Both earned second-team All-Big 12 honors and are headed to the NFL Combine as a result. They were backed up by T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy, plus Alfred Collins and Vernon Broughton.

Though Texas had “starters,” Sweat and Murphy saw a significant number of snaps. Their ability to provide starter-quality play allowed for Ojomo and Coburn to be at their best late in the game. Coburn’s strip-sack at Kansas State may not happen without that rotation.

Whether that’s feasible or not this season remains to be seen. That said, the spring will be the first chance for Texas coaches to see if that group above, or even younger players like Aaron Bryant and Sydir Mitchell, can step in and be regular rotation members for the Longhorn D-line.

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