KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Hug them, hug them, make them your own, after 25 years of frustration in the Big 12 tournament, Texas, is something close to a sweet dog.
The Longhorns coach fought COVID-19 and was on the hot seat as recently as February. Their leading scorer overcame leukemia. One training session was hosted in the midst of the pandemic with only two players. Who cares if Texas only had to play two games to win the Big 12 tournament for the first time in its quarter-century? A win is a win in a post-season that still plays a bit of high thread, by playing a COVID-19 laundry without getting wet.
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No comments on the right for the Texas athletes with the best of everything in the richest athletics division of the country. Not this time. They scored this 91-86 victory over Oklahoma State to grab the conference’s automatic bid and respect from those accustomed to their underachievement.
Sure, the Horns got the kind of rest no one wants. Due to Kansas’ COVID-19 editions, they advanced to the championship game on Saturday. Then the Horns released one of their best offensive performances in good years.
Senior Matt Coleman II (30 points) and Jericho Sims (21 points) each reached their career highs. This is important for a veteran team going to the NCAA Tournament. They played together in Texas for eight years.
In a sport where it seems little like it is permanent, these Horns are experienced. This means something for a program that has rarely lived up to its promise in the recent past.
“I was just crying. “It was tears of joy,” Coleman said. “I said, ‘Coach, that’s what we’re been saying since day one. It took four years to make it happen, to take a step in the right direction. You did it, you built a culture here. proud to be a part of it. You have built a culture here. ‘
“The feeling of his love, man, is deeper than the game of basketball.”
On February 6, the Horns lost in Oklahoma State, their fourth defeat in five games. Once again, the walls were closing. Smart has never achieved the promise he brought from the VCU six years ago, after leading the Rams to the Final Four in 2011. It was also the last time the Horns were in the Big 12 tournament championship game.
But Smart – and the horns – did something special this week in this muted conference tournament. There was no fan festival that usually closes Grand Boulevard outside the nearby Power & Light District. The ability to normally use T-Mobile Center is limited to 20% for obvious reasons. Even during the championship game, the Cowboys seemed to have more fans.
It all came together after that extra day of rest. The 6 foot 10 Sims could not be stopped around the basket. The Horns had at least half a dozen dunks, because that was not only the intensity of Oklahoma State, but also the fast transition. Along with his 21 points, Sims finished with 14 rebounds, one less than his career high.
“It’s finally coming together,” said Sims, who came from Minneapolis to Texas, a prospect just outside the top 50. “Everything clicks.”
Coleman was the leading player of the tournament, beating Texas Tech for the first time with a few free throws with 1.8 seconds left. He’s another senior who bought Smart four years ago. Coleman was a top-30 prospect whose first highlight was 25 as a first-year student.
“At the end of the day, he had to decide between us and Duke,” Smart said. ‘If you come from high school and you want a program like this and a coach like that [wants you], it takes a special kind of guy to say, ‘No, I want to do something else.’ ”
Loyalty goes both ways.
‘People shit on [Shaka]”Coleman said.” He takes in the heat for the bad years Texas had. I want it for him because he’s been through a lot. ‘
Andrew Jones’ story is well known. On Jan. 9, the red-shirt junior beat the game against West Virginia for three years until the day Smart told the team that the guard had been diagnosed with leukemia. Jones did not have one of his best games on Saturday (1 for 8, 13 points), but he fits the label affixed to these Horns.
“The state of Oklahoma has played so well, a lot of people have said we’re the underdog,” Smart said.
They were. They had to be. Smart revealed on February 1 that he had ‘significant’ COVID-19 symptoms. The Horns had their own problems with the virus. The day before, he had presented his first practice in 19 days with all 11 scholarship players. Shortly before he was diagnosed, Smart offered a practice with only two players.
“Personally just trying to focus on the people around me, instead of the circumstances,” Smart said. “I knew our guys, our staff and my family needed a certain energy and a certain atmosphere and spirit from me.”
Think Texas greats like Kevin Durant and TJ Ford have never won a conference tournament. Third-seeded Texas (19-7) led the first team of the state of texas to win the Big 12 tournament. It also became the first team of the old Big Eight not to win it.
The state of Oklahoma (20-8) played the third consecutive day after playing six top-10 teams in the previous 19 days. to be three straight top-10 teams. After halftime, the Cowboys cut it to 52-50 after two. But in a game called extraordinarily close, Texas at one point made 15 straight free throws for 36 for the game.
“I can not imagine another team in the country having a tighter piece than we have had over the past three weeks,” Cowboys coach Mike Boynton said. “I’m excited to see what we can do if we get some rest.”
Texas had more than enough rest. Who knows what would have happened if the Horns had had to play the Jayhawks in the semis? When they took nothing away from the Horns, they struck a blow Friday that the state of Oklahoma could not.
Smart took the opportunity and asked for an exercise that would look like a game. The energy transferred to Saturday.
Now the question becomes how far the Horns or any team from the Big 12 can progress in the Big Dance. Seven teams from the conference are likely to pick up Indy. The champion of the regular season, Baylor, suffered his second loss by the Cowboys on Friday in what is still one of the biggest upsets of the season. Bob Huggins and his mountaineers will rise up in your business. Oklahoma beat several top ten teams. Texas Tech lost the last national championship game played in 2019.
But Texas has the most momentum and along with the best, brave story.
“I do not know about underdogs,” said Texas forward Brock Cunningham. “I just know we are confident in our ability.”
For those of you who forgot the ultimate underdog story, Smart’s VCU finished fourth in the Colonial Athletic Conference in 2011, lost in the championship game and then went through the First Four to secure five wins in a row to advance to the Final Four.
Before Smart started working in Texas, Smart VCU led to five consecutive NCAA tournaments. This season is his third Big Dance in five seasons. (Texas won the NIT in 2019. The NCAA Tournament was canceled in 2020.)
It’s probably an image of underachievement at a school with the best of everything. But going through the Big 12 will test any program. There was a hint that this Texas team was special on January 2 when the Horns won at Allen Fieldhouse 84-59. It was the worst home loss in Bill Self’s career in Kansas and tied the worst loss for the Jayhawks at Allen.
“Someone asked me, ‘What are you telling them? [who criticized you]”Smart said.” One of the most impressive men I meant was Augie Garrido. ‘
Texas’ legendary baseball coach passed away in 2018.
“He once said in a similar situation, ‘This is a gift for them,’ ‘Smart said. It’s how I feel. It’s a gift for everyone. ‘
Now the underHorns, er, underdogs are looking forward to a march until March.