Texas rallied late in Kansas city to beat a solid, senior filled Iowa squad, 69-58. And Andy Katz still loves us. The Horns did not play their best again on Tuesday night. But just like the semifinal game against West Virginia, this Texas team found a way to win.
The Horns started slowly scoring only 24 points in the first half and went into halftime down seven. We trailed by as many as nine points with just over 12 minutes left in the game. Then, our frontcourt took over. Tournament MVP Lamarcus Aldridge extended his season long double-double streak to four games with 18 points and 10 rebounds including a monster fast break slam on a feed from Kenton Paulino (5 assists). Senior bruiser Brad Buckman also came up huge late in the game with two three point shots and a three point put back after a missed AJ Abrams three. Buckman had 14 points and five boards to join Aldridge on the All-tournament team.
Daniel Gibson improved from last game, which I know isn't saying much. He had 16 points and only three turnovers. Feel free to disagree, but I am still love Gibson. He shoots the ball well from the outside, can drive and dish at will, and plays solid defense. Gibson is learning how to play with dominating low block players. Don't forget that last year, he was the team. Aldridge and PJ Tucker were out. Barnes said the coaches put more on Gibson than they had on any other freshman last season including TJ Ford. Gibson responded last year earning Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors. BON readers can shake their heads, but Gibson is the best point guard in the country right now and will be awesome by season's end.
Hopefully, this is the first of many trophies this season. The Texas schedule lightens for two weeks with Louisiana-Monroe, UT-Pan Am, UT-Arlingon, and Rice before a December 10th meeting in New Jersey with #1 Duke.
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