Horns tire of close losses to Big 12 rivals
AUSTIN — Texas guard Jase Febres ambled toward a throng of reporters and video cameras, ready to cut a promo in a T-shirt that read “Ball The Live Long Day” on the front and “#BeatOU” on the back.
“We have this shirt for tomorrow,” the sophomore said Friday. “First 1,500 fans get it. So if you want this shirt, be there before you’re 1,501.”
The stakes are high anytime Texas and Oklahoma get together. But an air of desperation will hang over Saturday’s matchup at the Erwin Center, injecting extra drama and hostility into a rivalry that has produced some recent thrillers.
Texas (10-7, 2-3 Big 12) has tumbled from the top of the Big 12 standings after losing three straight games by a total of 11 points. The 20thranked Sooners (13-4, 2-3) have alternated wins and losses since dropping their conference opener to thenNo. 5 Kansas on Jan. 2.
Texas swept the season series last year largely part to its ability to stymie NCAA scoring leader Trae Young. The future fifth pick in the NBA draft shot just 14-for-43 in the series.
Missing ‘one extra step’
Wednesday’s 13-point home loss to Kansas State aside, OU has not regressed without Young. It ranks ninth nationally in defensive efficiency and boasts a rotation with three senior starters and floor-stretching 6-9 Brady Manek.
“We definitely need it,” Febres said. “It’s a game we have to take by the horns and just be really aggressive. We’ve been playing very well, just missing that one extra step to get the win against these good Big 12 teams.
“Against these teams you can’t be 90 percent, can’t be 95. You have to be pretty close to 100 percent execution-wise and effort-wise.”
The Longhorns were a few percentage points shy of where they needed to be in losses to Oklahoma State (by three points), eighthranked Texas Tech (by six) and seventh-ranked Kansas (by two). They feel good about the effort, sick over the outcome.
No one is hanging their 10-gallon hat on coming close, not when every defeat makes an NCAA Tournament bid more improbable.
“Being close against really good teams, that’s not a consolation,” Texas coach Shaka Smart said. “It does tell you that you’re doing some things well and if you can improve in a few areas you put yourself in position to win.”
Five of the last seven meetings between Texas and Oklahoma have been decided by five or fewer points. Given the Longhorns’ propensity for tight games, Saturday’s contest stands a good chance of featuring another whiteknuckle finish.
If it comes to that, Smart hopes his team has learned its lesson from Monday’s blunder against Kansas.
He said there was no infighting or dissension in the aftermath of a final play that went off the rails when guard Kerwin Roach II deviated from the plan. That miscommunication led to Febres having to hoist a deep, contested 3-pointer with a couple seconds left.
That 80-78 loss at Allen Fieldhouse dropped Texas to 3-6 in contests decided by six points or less.
“Our guys talked about it. They were very communicative with each other about it,” Smart said. “I don’t know if you want to say finger-pointing, but there was some accountability there, which is what you need on any team.
“There is an urgency that that play needs to be done better the next time and our guys feel like they’re on the same page with that. But now it’s about going and doing it in the game.”
Inconsistency prevails
It has been nearly two months since UT toppled then-No. 7 North Carolina in Las Vegas. It has spent that time trying to recapture that magic and bottle it, to little avail.
Vestiges of that team have resurfaced intermittently, but the Longhorns have too often followed dominant stretches with long periods of sluggish and disordered play.
“We knew from the North Carolina game that we could compete with anybody,” Febres said. “But we have little mishaps, we go on little droughts that we can’t go on playing these Big 12 teams. Mid-game droughts without scoring the ball is a big thing that hurts us.”
To wit: Texas went more than 3½ minutes without scoring during a crucial second-half stretch against Kansas. The Jayhawks doubled their lead from four to eight points in that span.
But Febres and forward Dylan Osetkowski exuded a confident edge during Friday’s media session. They said this string of oh-soclose defeats has tightened, not splintered, the team.
This next Red River Rivalry clash will be a test of just that.
“Saturday is just a golden opportunity for us,” Smart said. “We’ve got a good team, nationally ranked, coming into our building. Our guys are highly motivated.”