Augustin Leads #14 Horns over #24 St. Mary's
by awiggo on Jan 5, 2008 10:50 PM CST
in Texas Longhorns Basketball
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PrintGame Recap: The #14 Texas Longhorns rebounded from a sluggish game against TCU to produce one of their finest wins of the season, 81-62, over #24 St. Mary’s. The Horns have completed a daunting non-conference schedule with a 13-2 record and enter Big XII play with renewed confidence and their top six players all healthy and cleared to play.
The Horns were bruised early in this one by eight first half three-pointers by the Gaels and countless offensive rebounds. Texas led just 42-36 at the break despite holding St. Mary’s to just 33% shooting from the floor. The Horns picked up their game on both ends of the floor in the final twenty minutes. Texas controlled the glass much better, defended the three-pointer effectively, and continued to shoot the ball well from inside the three-point arc.
The outcome was: Impressive. St. Mary’s is a very good basketball team, probably an NCAA tourney team, that has balanced scoring, depth, and a solid defense. To win going away by 19 points and to hold the Gaels to just 62 points and 35% shooting is very impressive. Given the circumstances that Texas had lost two of their last three games, I would rank this win as the second most impressive of the season, below only the win at #1 UCLA.
After St. Mary’s started the game by hitting just about every three-pointer they took, Texas stepped up their defense. The Gaels made just 1-of-11 three pointers in the second half and scored just 26 points. Both starting St. Mary’s big men scored in double figures but neither dominated the game like they could have. Connor Atchley, Gary Johnson, Ian Mooney, and Alexis Wangmene did more than an acceptable job on post defense this afternoon. For the first time all season, Texas faced a formidable front line and actually played solid defense. The presence of Johnson is already paying dividends.
The Horns were just as impressive on offense. For the first time in eight games, they shot over 50% from the floor, 52.5%, despite making just 4-of-16 from three. With the long jumpers not falling, DJ Augustin, AJ Abrams, and Damion James attacked the basket from the perimeter and Gary Johnson provided the inside scoring punch the Horns have been searching for all season long.
The Texas team that played against TCU would be one and done in the NCAA tournament. The Texas team that showed up today against St. Mary’s could reach the Final Four.
The Offensive MVP was: DJ Augustin DJ was exceptional all game long. Augustin scored 30 points on 11-of-22 shooting, made 7-of-7 from the line, dished out four assists, and committed just a single turnover in 30 minutes of action. This was the DJ from the first part of the season. This was the DJ that should earn First Team All American honors. And this is the type of point guard play that becomes invaluable in March.
Augustin played as in control as I’ve seen him all season long. He never over-penetrated and preferred to finish with soft fade-aways over the outstretched hands of Gael big men. He was simply unstoppable off the dribble. When he wasn’t finishing the drives himself, he made some nice passes to Johnson for easy finishes near the rim. After a couple of off games, the real DJ is back.
The Defensive MVP was: The Whole Team. Really everyone contributed in this one. After an opening onslaught of threes, DJ, AJ, Mason, and James all did a good job of contesting shots on the perimeter. St. Mary’s started about 5 or 6 of 8 from three, but finished the game just 9-of-29 for 31%. The interior defense was also solid. Connor and Damion each blocked four shots and Wingman and Sexy Dex swatted one each as well. The Horns could have done a better job on the defensive glass but with so many long-range misses, I’ll give them a slight pass. Texas did a much better job on the defensive glass in the second half.
The Freshman Evaluation tonight was: Acceptable. Wingman played 11 minutes, scoring four points and grabbing four boards. He was beaten a couple of times in the low post but played hard and physical. Rick allowed him to play through his mistakes and Alexis responded. You could almost see his confidence growing during the game. This was exactly the type of performance that will become even more critical in conference play. Clint Chapman did not play.
Three Things: (1) Gary Johnson is going to be very good. And consequently, this team, with Gary, has the potential to be elite. It was truly amazing to see the Texas guards actually looking to the post in the half-court. Gary completed a couple of nice low post moves, and even more impressively, he showed an ability to score off offensive rebounds. Five of his six rebounds came on the offensive end. Johnson scored 15 points in just 26 minutes of action. His total would have been even higher if he could have done better than 1-of-5 from the free throw line. That must improve but his energy, his rebounding, and his post defense should make Horns’ hoops fans very excited.
(2) AJ at the point came up HUGE . With 15:42 left in the game, Texas was up just 50-47 as Augustin headed to the bench for a rest. Over the next three minutes, Texas went on a 12-4 run as AJ scored 8 points and got the assist on another bucket by James. In previous games, the Texas offense completely stalled with Augustin needed a breather or got into foul trouble. That was not the case tonight. Abrams handled his brief duties at point guard in style. With his three-pointer not falling, he instead attacked the basket off the dribble and scored back to back layups. He also made two mid-range jumpers off the dribble. AJ didn’t have any of these moves during his first two seasons in Austin. He is far from just the catch-and-shoot shooter that he was two years ago.
(3) Its time to spend more time on Free Throws. For the fourth straight game, Texas underperformed at the free throw line. As a team, Texas shot 15-of-28 (53.6%). That is horrible. The two worst performers were Johnson, 1-of-5, and James, 1-of-8. Both of these players will continue to get opportunities at the line as they attack the basket or get fouled on offensive rebounds. It goes without saying that Texas will not be win close games by shooting near 50% from the FT line.
In my biased opinion, the new look Texas Longhorns, with Gary Johnson in the starting lineup, have the potential to challenge Kansas for the conference title. Sure, Texas will need to continue to improve on defense and at the free throw line and still doesn’t have tremendous depth, but they already have an elite offense, the best point guard in the country, and get the Jayhawks at home on February 11th. Can’t wait.
NEXT GAME: Road vs. Missouri – Saturday 1/12 12:45 p.m.
--AW--
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Mason stepping up on the offensive end?
We need him to gain some confidence on offense, and get over his slump. He scored zero points today, and we all know he can score from the Tennessee game and freshman year (game winner against Arkansas, great 3 point shooting, etc). We know he can shoot as well. His confidence the first half of last year was great, we saw him nail a 3 in an OSU defender's eye without hesitating. This year, he seems scared to shoot. At some point this season, a good defense will force the ball out of DJ's hands and he will need to put the ball in the hole.
Mason is one of those players that can become invisible in an offense, we need to utilize him if we're going to be a final four team.
Mason played 16 minutes tonight
and shot the ball once. He played 4 more minutes than Mooney. There is not a lot of effort right now on getting shots for Mason. You figure if the starting guards play big minutes (36 minutes each)in a 19 point blowout non conference win, they are going to play big minutes during conference games and in March.
I think you are correct that all of the non brain dead teams will try to get the ball out of Augustin's hands as soon as possible and will attempt to deny him the ball after that.
Confidence
I doubt Mason's problems stem from lack of confidence, though that is probably a side effect. The simple fact is that he is not hitting his outside shot. Last year, he scored near the basket, but remember that then our inside game was Durant (a shooter) and James (a small forward). The vacuum in the middle provided opportunities for Mason's garbage baskets. And as his role as defensive specialist has solidified, he has lost the opportunities for fast break baskets.
Let's face it. He was a key piece last year because of the pieces around him. This year he is not such a good fit.
Preseason Recap, Upcoming Conference Schedule
An Exciting preseason is over.
At the beginning of the season I saw five games (Tennessee, UCLA, Michigan St, Wisconsin, St Mary's) I was concerned about, and figured a very good Texas team would come out of those 3-2, a great Texas team would come out 4-1 or 5-0, and a young better than average team would come out 2-3.
The likely wins I saw: Wisconsin & St Mary's (home)
The likely losses I saw: UCLA, Michigan St (away)
The tossup I saw: Tennessee (neutral)
With the early season success against Tennessee and UCLA I hoped a great Texas team was coming out, a #1 seed and likely Final Four appearance. The Michigan St loss was disappointing, but going undefeated in those five games was never realistic and acceptable. But the Wisconsin loss was an unforgivable sin for a great team, though it happens to very good teams.
So, figuring that we had a very good team from the start and that we'd probably go 3-2 in those five games we end the preseason with the same record I'd have predicted at the start of the season for a very good Texas team. We just got there in an odd way, beating UCLA on the road and losing to Wisconsin at home.
The good thing is that the UT Strength of Schedule is only going to look better as the season goes on. The teams we played will all continue to stay highly rated, but the pretender teams ahead of UT in SoS with inflated records from playing weak preseason opponents will decline in SoS over the next few months. By the end of February our SoS will probably be in the top 10.
Conference play should be exciting.
KU and A&M are for real, both legitimate Final Four contenders. I'm glad there's only one road game against those two.
Nebraska and OU are very good solid programs, with some impressive wins (and odd losses). Again, I'm glad there's only one road game against those two.
Baylor and K State are very good up and coming programs, capable of beating very good teams on any given day, particularly at home. UT sees them with 2 out of the 3 games on the road.
Mizzou, Tech and Okie St are all capable of pulling off the win against any opponent who takes them lightly, but they've played too inconsistently this season to be considered very good. They're good enough to beat UT if we take a night off, and with three of the five games on the road these are the trap game opponents.
CU and Iowa St are just not very good. UT will win both these games easily.
As the Big XII Conference play begins UT finds itself right where many of us expected to see them at the start of the season: a legitimate Sweet Sixteen team, #3 seed. The early season success against UCLA gave us hope that they could have grown up into a Final Four, #1 seed more quickly than we would have a right to expect. The home loss to Wisconsin brought it all back down to earth. This is a young team, capable of extraordinary things, but still missing that special something that KU, Memphis, Duke and NC have.
I believe that 1 or 2 losses in the Big XII will win the conference. I don't think 13-3 comes in first. That means UT MUST beat KU at home, since they probably will lose at A&M and OU. Then again, maybe they sweep KU, A&M and OU, but lose games to K State and Mizzou. But, if they're after a #1 or #2 seed UT cannot go worse than 14-2 in conference.
Nice analysis
I don't really know what to expect. The Mizzou game should be interesting because they press a lot and the horns had a lot of trouble the last time they faced a press. I think the horns should improve quite a bit as they figure out how to most efficiently use their assets.
Big XII
Good post. I'm starting to get really pumped for conference play. I'm not as sold on OU though. They do have some good wins lately, but I'd like to think we can handle a team that lost to SFA at home.
I watched KU play BC yesterday morning and was VERY impressed. KU's guards play great D, and they are big (except for Collins).
I'm worried that our smaller perimeter players will have a tough time against them. Two of their guards are averaging over four steals a game! At this point in the season, they are deeper, bigger, and play better D than we do, so I'm not counting on a win.
Luckily KU has to play at OSU, a&m, and in Austin, so I think we, as well as the aggies, have a legit shot to win the conference.
Who's the South's Weak Sister?
Texas
A&M
OU
Baylor?
Tech?
Okie St?
The preseason has shown that any of the teams in the South can bring it.
It's easier to see the weak teams in the North:
KU
Nebraska
K State?
Mizzou?
CU
Iowa St
UT, A&M and OU all have to play each other twice apiece, and have to survive six trap games against Baylor, Tech and Okie St.
KU gets CU and Iowa St four games, have four trap games facing K State and Mizzou, and the two games against Nebraska are nowhere near as menacing as their three against UT, A&M and OU or the four games each of the South's top teams play against each other.
Based on the SoS KU is facing they have the inside track in the Big XII; they simply don't play the better programs as many games as any of the South teams.
That's why UT MUST take care of business against KU in Austin. They can't count on other very good teams doing their dirty work enough times because their aren't enough opportunities out there.
Reply
Augustin was brilliant scoring tonight.
It would have been nice to work on an offense that will work against a team that has athletes superior to what St. mary's put on the floor. Would it hurt to involve the rest of the guys on the team in the offense first (some inside out, for example) before Augustin personally attacks the basket?
Will tonight's offense work against KU (i.e. is Augustin gonna score 30 against KU)? Maybe but I doubt it. the horns guards actually rarely passed the ball into the post tonight. This would have been an excellent game to work on offensive sets (i.e. because it was a blowout victory and the last game before conference play starts) that involve everybody in the offense. As it was, Augustin and Abrams took 37 of the 59 shot attempts by the horns.
Connor got 0 shots from the field. Half of Gary's shots were from offensive rebounds (i.e. he got 5 shots from passes). He hit 7 of 10 shots. Damion got 9 shots (he hit 6).
The horns had a total of 8 assists for the game, Augustin had 4 assists in 36 minutes (with the ball almost always in his hands on offense).
I don't think DJ was gone in the last few games before tonight, he just ran into some excellent defenders (i.e. the kind of athletes that St. Mary's does not have but who do exist on some teams in the Big 12).
The 3's continue to fall for Damion (he hit both that he attempted). I got the impression that you were saying none of the horns could hit their 3's consistently (that was only true for Augustin and Abrams).
While Abrams was clutch when Augustin went out of the game, he shot 6 for 15 for the game.
Dexter looked good in his 3 minutes. He looks more fit and is able to jump several times in a row. He also got 2 rebounds. It would have been great to give him some more minutes. Wingman impressed tonight and deserves to play more minutes (maybe he could have some of Mooney's minutes).
I suspect that Wingman and Dex
are going to have to earn their minutes. Mooney is a great foil for that.
Rick needs Dexy by the A&M game. The team needs Dexy by the A&M game.
I hope Barnes has a magic cure for the free throw woes by James and Johnson. Can anyone tell if they have technical problems (unbent knees, poor elbow angle, bad release point, strange or no ritual, etc.)?
Agree about DJ and tough defenders.
Freethrows
James appears not to have much arc on his freethrows, and he shoots a 'dead' ball without the spin that helps close shots rattle in. If he would shoot a 1000 practice shots between games, he'd get himself straightened out.
Johnson was shooting too hard, probably because he is keyed up. This is really the start of his season, so he may just need time to get settled.
Thanks, Caradoc.
The real question is whether their FT technique is correctable. James' jump shot technique doesn't to be correlated to his FTs and he seemed to struggle with his release point for a few games
I'm sure Rick will push on this aspect; the Horns are not going to be able to afford leaving points on the floor in key games.
A few replys
I thought the Horns looked to feed to ball to the post (ie Johnson) more tonight than they have all sesaon. I know that is not the highest standard but I believe an increased post presence will occur as the team gels around Gary.
Connor has a slight injury (elbow). That may be one reason why he his offensive production has dropped off some. But the bigger reason is Johnson. Augustin is going to have the ball in his hands on every possession. He can drive for the finish himself, pass to a post player (Johnson) or kick it back outside to AJ for a three or James for a slash to the basket. The opportunity for Connor to shoot 15 times is just not going to be there any longer, as the other four players are more skilled offensively. Barnes wants Connor to play defense, rebound, block shots, and set good screens. I thought it did all of that against St. Mary's.
Damion did hit both his threes. Good point. His increasing accuracy from long range is more evidence that this could be his last season in college.
I think a lot of fans are still holding on to false hope about Dexter this year. In a slow paced game against a team with a big, physical front line, Dex played just three minutes. Barnes went with Wangmene instead. Its don't see that changing this season.
Good info
I did not realize that Connor is hurt. I guess that is why he is wearing the sleeve. when he heals, I hope that the horns still get the ball to him for several shots per game. He had a 6'7" guy guarding him all night and the horns did not exploit the mismatch once. The injury makes it more understandable.
Gary might be better off getting the ball at the high post instead of the low post. that would give him some room to explode by the slower D.
While you are probably right about the relative number of feeds to the post, in absolute terms it is still way too low. I guess the positive way to look at it is that there is progress.
The fatal flaw in relying so much on Augustin is that when he faces a defender who is bigger, faster, and can stay in front of him (and that is going to happen, especially against the best teams), what is the backup plan? If you don't practise a conventional passing offense now, it will not be available when needed.
I understood at the beginning of the season that it takes time to implement a passing offense so it was not crazy that the ball was in Augustin's hands so much. Now the horns have played 15 games and the offense seems pretty much the same even though Damion, Gary, and Connor have demonstrated ability far superior to that anticipated before the season.
If the horns play man to man in the big 12, I am pretty certain that they will attack Augustin to get him tired, get him in foul trouble, and just because it is easier to score on Augustin than Damion or Gary or Connor. The horns need to be able to compete when Augustin is hurt, in foul trouble, or having a bad day for whatever reason. That means they have to have a passing offense game ready and tested.
Wingman is definitely the 1st big man sub off the bench and rightfully so. He will have trouble guarding a big center though because he is not that tall.
I hold out hope that Pittman will contribute this year, especially if his conditioning keeps improving like it have over the past two weeks. When the horns play somebody with a big center, Pittman could provide a boost. Pittman had a couple of rebounds and a block in his three minutes so he did pretty well last night. If he gets in shape, he will be a big asset (no pun intended).
AW is right about Pittman.
I'm sorry, and I've said this before, but Dex is simply deficient in practically every necessary physical attribute and basketball skill. If all that merits minutes is a rare dunk or the ability to "jump" twice without collapsing, fine; but he looks abused in everything going on.
Damion is coming on great.
Brutal
Yes, AW is probably right, yet I still retain hope that Pittman is going to contribute this year. I think Barnes has not given up hope, either, because he is still playing Pittman some (even though it was only 3 minutes). In that 3 minutes he got 2 rebounds and blocked a shot (not bad for three minutes). Pittman has truly great hands and a soft touch. The key thing is that his conditioning has improved noticeably in recent weeks. I still think there is a chance that he gets in shape this season.
The front line is very encouraging as a whole. Damion is really turning into a star. Gary improved a huge amount from his first game to the second game. He will probably improve more. He is super quick off his feet. My understanding is that he has a good jump shot si it might be a good idea for him to play high post rather than low post. Connor has been playing great D and shooting well this year. I think Wingman is playing better and might improve a buch as the season progresses. The horns have a good front line that is getting better fast.
Some good points
If you look at the numbers James and Johnson should be taking the shots. At 66% and 70% why is Abrams so important at 40% shooting. Why didn't anyone get the ball to Atchley? He's shooting over 50%. Over the last 4 or 5 games Abrams is the fourth best shooter on the team, why is he taking 14 shots?
Another thing is why is Abrams taking 3's. Atchley James and Augustin are much more likely to make that shot.
One thing you can say about Mason for whatever reason he has lost his touch at least he has the good sense and the confidence of the others scorers to let them take his shots and not waste possessions. This team has enough firepower on the offense not to be reliant on any one player. It just shows a lack of discipline and and basketball intelligence not to get the ball to those that have the touch if it is just for this one game or a series of games.
As good as DJ is and he is one of the best guards in college ball he still hasn't adjusted to the better play of Atchley, James and now Gary Johnson. These three could be 15-20 points every game( each one can have a good game and score 25-30) and they shoot at a better percentage than the rest of the team. Every time DJ penetrates and the defense moves to close off the path to the basket one of the those guys is left open with a clear path. They need to work on that so much more. Even if James an Atchley can't get a clear path because there is four guys around the hoop, both of them shoot a really high percentage from medium range. With the kind of talent to score DJ needs to shot less and assist more. He should be 8-10 per game. 1 every 9:00 is way low for his skill level.
Percentages are deceiving
AJ and DJ are the best at creating their own shots, which is why they get more shots.
Post player's percentages should be much higher because they shoot a lot of lay ups.
Four Turnovers
That's a stat I'd like to see more of. TO's have not been much of an issue for this team, but four against a solid team like St. Mary's is damn impressive.
Great game just finished in Philly
Anyone else watch Nova hosting Pitt this afternoon? What a finish... I thought Nova was done but they gutted it out and sank two free throws under pressure. They finished their home game the way the Horns SHOULD have finished against Wisconsin. Never gave up.
I didn't even realise that Nova was ranked again this season. Shame we can't lock up a multi-year home and away with them, really enjoyed watching our games with them the past two years - though last year was one of Durant's only poor performances coming right after the triple-OT loss in Stillwater.
Good Game, sorry to miss seeing it in person
It was great to see the Horns come back into form a little bit. You can see Gary improving as the game goes along. He is going to be a beast. I can't imagine the potential this team may have. Just considering what we have already done and seeing who we can be with the G-unit on the floor, I am looking forward to a great conference. We could go 15-1.
Get Mooney off the floor! Maybe Barnes is making a point, but I don't get it. St.Mary's looked to post up on Mooney time and again. And he is short and balding and not a scoring threat at all. Sorry Ian, but there are other players on the bench who need to experience. Wingman, Chap, Dex, Mason...Balbay.
Speaking of Wingman, he had some nice minutes tonight. He showed a turnaround jumper that I haven't seen before and his FT stroke is beautiful, rest of the team take notes please.
We played a good team. Got outrebounded (gave up 19 OR), shot 25% from 3pt. land, and missed 13 FTs and still won convincingly. If we put together a complete game we can beat anyone in the country. Now let's do that about 25 times in a row.
Kafka et al., don't you want to mention how Mason should have played more minutes and should have started? I didn't think so.
AJ at the point was great and his defense was fair. Granted those were some of the only shots he made (when he was PG), but we really need that from him when DJ is sitting. His ball handling is improving. There is a time to play Mason, and I think more than 16 minutes is warranted, but AJ is the clear starter and more valuable guard in my opinion.
I don't mind AJ shooting that much. He has the ability to be lights out from 3, and hopefully he is just saving that for conference.
Hook 'em! Bring on the Jays and Agros
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