Sean Miller and the Texas Longhorns men’s basketball team dropped the first Lone Star Showdown meeting of the season against their bitter rivals, the Texas A&M Aggies, in a 74-70 loss at home.
Despite a stat box that supports the Longhorns and momentum on their side after the big win against the top-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores, they still lost their third game of conference play this season and move to 11-7 on the year.
As Miller and the team continue searching for answers to find their footing on the season, he acknowledged the mentality issue plaguing the team, noting that while the skill and conditioning may be there, the mental toughness required for the conference might not be there yet.
When Your Heart Rate is Gone, Can You Still Play Hard?
Jan 17, 2026; Austin, Texas, USA; The Texas Longhorns react as they are down 4 points against Texas A&M Aggies with seconds left on the clock in a timeout during the second half at Moody Center. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images
The Longhorns’ basketball season has been less than ideal this season, and now, for the first time since 2002, the Longhorns lost at home to the Aggies. That loss comes despite their performance the week prior, with two top-15 wins that looked like the beginning of the turnaround this season for Miller and his team.
Despite a relatively clean game with eight turnovers, the Longhorns still lost. Miller, in his first year as the head coach for the Longhorns, attributed the issues to a lack of mental fortitude on the team, something he has been keenly aware of this season.
“I can make the argument that we have a couple of guys that really wear down easier than I would like them to wear down,” Miller said in his post-game press conference. “You know, basketball is a sport of great conditioning. I have no doubt we’re in condition. But there’s a mental part of it, being able to fight through those periods of time when you’re really up against it, when your heart rate is gone. Can you still play hard?”
Perhaps one of the most bewildering things this season for the Longhorns is the team needing to find that extra gear, that level of play, despite being one of the oldest teams in the country that has done this countless times.
“There is a lot of times this season that has you know, that’s what’s done us in,” Miller continued about his team’s mental toughness. “Look, in tonight’s game. there was a lot of good plays for us, there was a lot of hard plays that were made.”
With their only conference wins of the season coming against top-15 teams, yet also having two unranked losses, this team has shown the capabilities to hang with any team in the conference skill-wise. As it sits now, the Longhorns have no more ranked teams on the schedule, so that a turnaround could be in order, but it starts with the mentality first.
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