The #6 Longhorns (16-2, 4-0) ran away from Baylor (0-4, 0-4) 66-47 in the second half mainly due to the red hot shooting of streaky Daniel Gibson. The Horns have won eight games in a row and remain the only team undefeated in conference play. Coach Rick Barnes now boasts a 16-0 record over Baylor. Those who doubted the Horns after back to back December losses, better take a second look.
For forty minutes in Waco, it was the Daniel Gibson show. Gibson finished with a career high 37 points (13/16 from the floor and 9/12 from three). He also had five rebounds, three assists, three steals, and only one turnover. The most impressive part of Gibson' performance was his shot selection. All his shots came within the offense. Gibson's hot shooting is a welcome sign for Horns' fans who have long awaited it this season.
The only other Horn in double figures was Brad Buckman with 10 points and four rebounds. Lamarcus Aldridge and PJ Tucker both had quiet games. Aldridge had just two points and seven rebounds. Tucker didn't score until slamming home Texas' final two with just seconds to play. PJ did have seven rebounds, three assists and one blocked shot. Do not worry about Aldridge or Tucker. It was much more Gibson getting hot than either of them playing poorly. When a guard is hitting 75% from behind the arc, you screen for him and make sure he gets good looks. Both players did just that and Texas rolled again.
For the eighth straight game, the Horns turned in a stellar defensive performance. Baylor was held under 50 points, shot just 36% from the floor, and committed a dozen turnovers. Coming into this game, Texas led the nation in field goal percentage defense. After this game, they will likely remain first heading into next week. Texas simply has not been the same team since the home loss to Tennessee. We look more like a team with each game. Our defense, especially our 2-3 zone, has been outstanding. And we are taking care of the ball much better. For the second straight game, Texas turned the ball over just 10 times.
Coming into the season, we knew we had the frontcourt and we knew Barnes would make this team play defense. The only question was our outside shooting. While still streaky, our guards, (Gibson this game, Kenton Paulino over the last two weeks, and AJ Abrams in spots), have all delivered quality outside shooting. Combined with our frontcourt dominance, Texas is surely the team to beat in the Big 12 and is quickly back into the discussion as a March favorite. The College/Tiger Slam is looking more and more promising.
Next up: Big Monday against an improving Oklahoma State squad. 8 PM CST on ESPN.
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