UT know it’s better to deliver than receive ‘knockout punch’
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Before departing for the Big 12 men’s basketball tournament, Texas called upon football coach Steve Sarkisian for a motivational pep talk.
Sarkisian, who led the Longhorns to the Big 12 football title and the College Football Playoff, preached perseverance, growth throughout the season and preparation.
“Every battle is won before it is fought,” Sarkisian said.
The seventh-seeded Longhorns will look to continue their late-season surge against No. 10 seed Kansas State in Wednesday’s second round of the Big 12 tournament at TMobile Center.
Not even a loss to the Wildcats is expected to have much of an impact for the Longhorns, who are a No. 8 or No. 9 seed in most NCAA Tournament projections.
“The thing (Sark) tried to echo is you don’t want to have any regrets, saying that I could have done this or that better and your preparation has to be on point and playing for one another,” UT coach Rodney Terry said on a video-conference call with reporters.
UT (20-11) won three of its final four games to end the regular season, including a 94-80 win over Oklahoma on Saturday. It’s one of the best stretches of the season for the up-and-down Longhorns, who beat ranked teams Baylor and Oklahoma in back-to-back games in late January and followed with losses in five of the next eight games before the hot finish.
Now it’s lose-and-gohome the rest of the way,
first in the Big 12 tournament and then next week’s start of the 68team NCAA Tournament.
“This time of year, you’ve gotta go for the knockout punch,” Terry said. “(Sark) had a great illustration of what that looks like for our guys. Can you knock someone out with an open hand? Can you knock someone out with a fist? That’s what you are trying to do in postseason play. You’re trying to knock someone out, and for us that’s for 40 minutes.”
Terry said the Longhorns are “just now evolving” into the team he expected at the start of the season. A big reason why has been the play of Dylan Disu, a 6-foot-9 forward who was voted the Big 12’s most improved player and first-team selection. Disu was bothered by a slight knee sprain late in the season but finished with 16 points and six rebounds against Oklahoma. Guard Max Abmas,
UT’s leading scorer at 16.8 points a game, was named to the Big 12’s second team. Tyrese Hunter, a 6foot guard, is also heating up after a career-high 30 points against the Sooners.
While the Longhorns do not appear in jeopardy of falling below the 8/9 seed lines, even with an early exit this week, there is a case that a run could move them up. A win over Kansas State would setup a likely showdown with No. 2 Iowa State in the quarterfinals. No. 3 seed Baylor would possibly await in the semifinals.
Even the slightest jump from a No. 8-9 seed would allow the Longhorns to avoid a second-round matchup with a regional top seed.
Meanwhile, Kansas State (18-13) has new life after beating Iowa State to end the regular season. The Wildcats own three wins over top-10 teams this season but likely need to win the Big 12 tournament for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. In the only meeting between the teams, UT beat Kansas State 62-56 on Feb. 19 in Austin.
“Winning for some teams really might propel you, but for other teams sometimes it causes them to relax,” Kansas State coach Jerome Tang told reporters in Manhattan, Kan. “These guys, they operate way better when their backs are against the wall, so I want them to feel that wall. I want them to feel the wall there on their back, that it’s on the line. Because that’s when they bring their best.”
Terry said the Longhorns will take one step at a time.
“All you have right is 40 minutes in front of you,” Terry said. “That’s all that’s given to you right now.”