Since Texas men’s basketball entered Southeastern Conference play, head coach Sean Miller has used multiple analogies to describe his team, with each one being more creative than the last.
Earlier this month, Miller compared his team’s defense against Mississippi State to a kid not listening to instructions about crossing the street. Last Wednesday, after a loss to Kentucky, he said that Texas had a virus — referencing its fouling problem.
After an upset win against No. 21/22 Georgia on Saturday, Miller had another analogy to use — this time about his team improving.
“You look at some of the great Kentucky Derbies, and you’re watching the horses. It’s just all this crazy excitement. If you stop the race halfway through, it’s like a cluttered picture — you have six, seven horses all in a row,” Miller said. “Somebody’s winning, oftentimes not the winner of the race. But you keep moving. You keep running it all the way to the end. Of those five or six horses in that race, one or two or three separate themselves. They just seem to keep getting better and grow and have big moments. And we want to be one of those teams.”
Against the Bulldogs, the Longhorns had shown signs of being that team that could keep improving and separate themselves from the rest of the competitive SEC field.
As soon as Texas took a 51-48 lead with 14 minutes left in the game, graduate guard Tramon Mark would commit a foul eight seconds later. It was the last foul for almost eight minutes, with the next coming from junior forward Dailyn Swain.
By the time Swain committed the second foul in that eight-minute period, the Longhorns had increased their lead to 75-56, allowing Georgia to only score eight points and build a 19-point advantage.
Compared to the Kentucky game, Texas was able to maintain control of the game as it attempted to make a comeback by not fouling as much, not giving Georgia free points. By the end of the night, the Longhorns committed five fewer fouls than they had against Kentucky.
“I thought there were times today that our defense reflected what it can look like when we don’t foul,” Miller said. “Fouling is a big deal around here. We can be a much better team if we foul less.”
While Miller was vocal about the Kentucky Derby analogy, Swain also referenced his head coach’s words.
“Maybe you won’t start off in front, and all the horses are together … but if you just keep going and keep running as fast as you can, you can end up winning the race,” Swain said. “As long as you keep going, you can’t let a fast start or a slow start affect you.”
Swain was a key factor in the offense that found success and put 87 points on the Bulldogs. The Xavier transfer started SEC play hot with 34 points against Mississippi State, but regressed to 13.5 points per game in the four games that followed.
However, in the last two games, Swain dropped 29 on the Wildcats and 26 on the Bulldogs. He has shown improvement from range, shooting 40% from beyond the arc in the last two games, compared to his 23.1% in the opening five conference games.
Texas will aim to keep up with the conference pack and even their record as it takes a trip to face Auburn away on Wednesday, with tip-off set for 6 p.m..
