Texas men’s basketball head coach Sean Miller’s arms were crossed, looking vehemently at the product that faced him on the court as graduate guard Tramon Mark drove up to the rim.
The quick-reacting Tennessee Volunteer defense swiftly met the veteran Mark, double-teaming and smothering him to force yet another turnover on the Longhorns.
That’s when the Gatorade towel went flying toward the bright orange baseline, in pure unadulterated frustration.
It was just another snapshot of how the season is going for the Texas men’s basketball program.
Even though he wasn’t showing it, the all-time winningest head coach in Texas program history and current Tennessee head coach, Rick Barnes, was probably grinning on the inside. His Volunteers cruised to an easy 85-71 victory over Texas Tuesday night at Thompson–Boling Arena at Food City Center in Knoxville.
Texas, a team struggling on the defensive side of the court, continued to experience the same woes that have plagued them all season. In particular, the Longhorns could not manage to find an answer for the Volunteers’ shifty point guard, senior Ja’Kobi Gillespie.
Just like the Mississippi State backcourt last game, Gillespie was able to brutalize a Texas defense that is still in search of its defensive identity in January. The dynamic guard had himself a night, putting up a career high 34 points.
Gillespie thrived against the Longhorns, with Texas not being able to defend the guard around the perimeter or in the paint. He showed off his ability by hitting back-to-back three-pointers to cap off his impressive first half.
Matched up with Longhorn junior forward Camden Heide, Gillespie brushed off his defender, turning away from pressure and hitting a fade-away jumper for his second-to-last basket of the night.
Even his defensive ability was on full display. Gillespie, who looked more like a cornerback at Neyland, was able to steal away a deep inbound pass from Texas freshman forward Declan Duru Jr. to roll down the court for an easy layup.
While the Volunteers’ potent scorer was able to get comfortable, the Longhorns did not manage to find the same success. Tennessee was able to shut down junior forward Dailyn Swain, who came off his career-high last game with 34 points, limiting him to just five points tonight and forcing seven turnovers.
Usually, Texas sophomore center Matas Vokietaitis is there to pick up the offensive slack, but the Lithuanian big man quickly found himself in foul trouble early, committing three in the first. He was practically benched in the second half after picking up his fourth foul.
Vokietaitis was not the only Longhorn committing fouls — in all, Texas sent the Volunteers to the line 21 times, which they promptly hit 21-29. The Longhorns were also sloppy with the basketball, racking up 16 turnovers, which Tennessee generated into 27 points.
The road only gets tougher from here for Miller’s group. The Longhorns are set to play two top-15 level teams in No. 13 Alabama and No. 11 Vanderbilt the next two games.
Texas will face the Crimson Tide at the Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT.
