Three Takeaways from Texas Basketball's second win of the season, taking down Fairleigh Dickinson 93-58

Texas basketball took its second win of the season tonight against an FDU team that ranks in the bottom 15 in the nation in KenPom ratings.

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The Longhorns were expected to win big, and they did with a 93-58 final score. Tramon Mark led the team with 20 points, and the Longhorns were dominant around the paint.

It was a solid game for the Longhorns, with a few key things to take away for Texas head coach Sean Miller.

1. A clear top four continues to emerge

The Longhorns once again saw the majority of their scoring come from the same four players who had played at the highest level in the previous two contests: Dailyn Swain, Jordan Pope, Matas Vokietaitis, and Mark.

Mark exploded as a scorer in this game, his second straight strong effort since a two-point performance in the loss to Duke to open the year. He scored 20 points on extremely efficient 9/13 shooting and seemed like Texas’ best player at attacking a spot and scoring with a jumper.

Vokietaitis had his third straight game in double digits, this time scoring 19 on a perfect 8/8 from the field.

Swain and Pope scored 11 each, joining Vokietaitis as the only Longhorns to score in double digits in all three games.

This quartet has the ability to score in different parts of the court and in many different ways. Vokietaitis was dominant in the paint. He should be against these teams, but he looks better than any center on the Texas team in 2024.

Pope and Mark continue to handle the ball well, and Swain is a terrific slasher who attacks the rim violently. That group as closers in SEC play will be great.

2. Shooting continues to be a problem

Texas shot an okay 53% from the floor in this game, but that can’t overshadow a 26% three-point shooting percentage and an abysmal 56% from the charity stripe.

Texas fans knew entering the season that shooting could be a problem, but it is apparent that this will be an issue for the team throughout the year.

They haven’t shot over 80% at the line in any of their games, and two of the three came with a sub-30% clip from the three-point line.

Mark and Pope went a combined 4/14, and Cam Heide took just one shot but made it. Simeon Wilcher was 1/4, and Swain and Chendall Weaver barely shot the ball.

Texas needs more from role players like Heide and Wilcher on catch-and-shoot plays, while also having players like Pope and Mark hit more of their jumpers off the dribble.

3. Intensity through the end

Texas played a full 40 minutes of basketball despite leading by 30 in the final eight minutes of the game. Even then, Miller pushed his team to finish hard — and the players did just that.

It wasn’t even just the walk-on final sub-ins looking for some playing time in a blowout. Players like Vokietaitis and Weaver were playing hard until the very end. It was a surprisingly physical game from start to finish, and Miller’s team was hustling throughout.

Texas bullied FDU. That’s what you expect, but they didn’t play this physically superior last year against their weaker out-of-conference opponents. The Horns scored 50 points in the paint, and Lassina Traore dominated the rebounding department.

It was almost better that Texas didn’t dominate the turnover department. It was actually dead even, and Texas only had five blocks.

Despite this, Texas had 22 fast-break points to FDU’s three and attempted 21 more free throws than the Knights. They need to convert them, but this play style has the ability to translate in SEC play.

It was a strong win — one that wasn’t predicated on a bad team making stupid mistakes. The Longhorns played a clean ball game and were clearly superior physically, but also played strong defense, hustled well, and got the ball into smart positions.

Texas hosts Kansas City next on Saturday at noon on the SEC Network.