With the regular season has complete for every conference around the country, all eyes turn to conference tournaments, where bids can be stolen, and bubble teams can force their way in or out, depending on how they finish.
That holds even for the Texas Longhorns, who are playing in the first round of the SEC Tournament against a familiar foe, the Ole Miss Rebels, whom they have already beaten once this season. This time, though, the Rebels had their number, defeating them 76 – 66 and leaving the Longhorns NCAA Tournament hopes in limbo.
So what was the good, bad, and the ugly of their loss to the Rebels?
The Good – Free Throws Were Great
Texas Longhorns guard Jordan Pope (0) reacts to a three point basket during the second half against the Oklahoma Sooners at Moody Center. | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images
Despite the Longhorns struggling to find their rhythm on offense – a rare occurrence for this Sean Miller-led team – the one thing they were primarily able to do was knock down their free throws to keep themselves in the contest against the Rebels.
As a team, they knocked 21 of 25 attempts, finishing with 84 percent, despite averaging 74.9 percent. Dailyn Swain led the team, knocking down 13 of his 14 attempts, while Camden Heide was a perfect three for three on the game, taking advantage of the easy points when they were offered to them.
The Bad – Ole Miss Three-Point Shooting
Mississippi Rebels head coach Chris Beard reacts during the first half against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
Despite the Rebels defeating the Longhorns and the surprising offensive struggles, it was the Rebels who found themselves struggling behind the three-point line in the contest. While shooting 46.9 percent from the field, they would make only 1 of 10 three-pointers, for 10 percent accuracy.
They only made three pointers came with 2:09 left in the first half, and would go 0-5 in the second half from beyond the arc, but would still do enough to win and advance in the conference tournament.
The Ugly – Longhorns Team Effort
Texas Longhorns forward Dailyn Swain (3) dribbles against Georgia Bulldogs guard Blue Cain (0) at Stegeman Coliseum. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
It has been well established how great the offense is for the Longhorns, especially with Swain, who finished with 22 points in the contest. Jordan Pope and Matas Vokietaitis were the only other players on the team to reach double-digit points, finishing with 16 and 10, respectively. As a trio, they accounted for 72 percent of their points in the loss.
Tramon Mark finished with eight points, while only three other players scored, each contributing five points or less. In a night when the offense struggled to play its best, contributions as a cohesive unit were completely off.