Horns continue to exhibit resilience
LAWRENCE, Kan. — About five minutes after No. 10 Texas rallied from a 14-point deficit to beat No. 7 Kansas State 69-66 on Saturday night, interim Longhorns coach Rodney Terry settled into his seat at the interview dais and searched for the right words to capture the moment.
“Man, well, what a game. I’d like to give … man,” Terry trailed off, shaking his head and sounding like he’d just been put through an emotional wringer.
With a deep breath, Terry gathered himself. He went on to praise UT’s resilience, the way it battled tooth and nail, the way it didn’t let a sloppy first half bleed into the second, the way it parried the Wildcats’ attacks while playing in front of a rancorous sold-out Bramlage Coliseum crowd.
“You know what? This is one of the best wins I’ve been a part of,” said the 54year-old Terry, a former Rick Barnes acolyte who got his start as an assistant at alma mater St. Edward’s in 1990. “I’ve been coaching for 30-plus years, and this was just a great win tonight.”
The remarkable thing about Terry’s statement is you could apply it to at least two other heartthumping wins Texas pulled off over the past month, both coming after Terry was elevated to replace former coach Chris Beard on Dec. 12.
Texas overcame an 18point deficit to beat No. 17 TCU by four on Jan. 11. Three days later, it dug out of a 12-point hole to beat Texas Tech by two.
The Longhorns (19-4, 8-2 Big 12) know they can’t keep doing this. Falling behind by double digits, then staging furious comebacks isn’t the way to reach the Final Four, which has been this group’s aim since it came together last summer.
But these comebacks, all following the midseason loss of their head coach, have revealed so much about the Longhorns, who sit atop the Big 12 with a one-game lead over No. 13 Iowa State (16-6, 7-3) and another enormous game looming against No. 8 Kansas (18-5, 6-4) on Monday night.
The Longhorns’ collective pulse never seems to accelerate in the crucible of crunch time. And it’s not just leading scorer Marcus Carr or sixth man extraordinaire Sir’Jabari Rice or ever-steady forward Timmy Allen shouldering the entire load.
Backup big Christian Bishop’s second-half flourish against Kansas State was supplemented by stingy team-wide defense, timely offense from sophomore guard Tyrese Hunter, and a heady two-way performance from freshman forward Dillon Mitchell. Texas needed every one of Bishop’s 14 points, six rebounds and two blocks during the game’s final 14 minutes just as much as it needed Rice’s gutsy freethrow shooting and Hunter’s pesky defense on livewire Wildcats point guard Markquis Nowell.
When asked why this team has been able to pull itself back from the brink so often, Hunter made it sound so simple.
“Because we trust each other,” Hunter said Saturday.
“And I feel like that trust comes from the confidence we all have in each other and that the coaches have in each other. We’ve got a lot of guys playing different roles. Anybody can score. Anybody can play defense on anybody. That’s our mindset every day: We come in and trust each other.”
Monday’s trip to Allen Fieldhouse will be another test of Texas’ bonds.
Kansas has lost four of its last six games, including Saturday’s 68-53 setback to Iowa State. But Terry and the Longhorns are sage enough to know the Jayhawks never stay down for long, especially when feeding off the energy flowing out from the Phog’s stands.
This is still a team coached by Naismith Hall of Fame inductee Bill Self, powered by forward Jalen Wilson (21.5 points, 8.6 rebounds per game) and piloted by point guard Dejuan Harris Jr. (6.2 assists per game). The Longhorns, just 1-9 in its last 10 games on Kansas’ court, have vowed to treat this pivotal matchup with due respect.
And while it’s easy to talk that talk, Terry has seen this team put those words into action all season long.
“In life, you earn respect through your actions,” Terry said Sunday. “No one’s gonna give you anything in life. You have to earn everything you get. And this is a really good player-driven team because of the chemistry we have on this team.
“Sometimes coaches can anoint leaders or try to force chemistry. We haven’t had to do that with this group. They’ve developed their own leaders. Guys are gonna follow guys who do what they’re supposed to do on and off the court.”
And if Texas stays connected amid all the hostility directed its way Monday, it will have a real shot to complete a Sunflower State sweep and keep a firm grasp on first place in the Big 12.