With 2:50 remaining on the clock, senior guard Jordan Pope had a game-defining turnover in the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
Texas men’s basketball was coming off a 6-0 scoring run, closing a nine-point gap to within three against Ole Miss. At the time of the turnover, it was 66-63 in favor of the Rebels.
The turnover led to a layup that started Ole Miss’ 10-3 scoring run to end the game, 76-66, sending Texas home in the first round of the SEC Tournament.
The late turnovers should not have come as a surprise — the Longhorns had more turnovers than assists. Texas had 13 turnovers compared to its 12 assists.
“If you look at the game, 13 turnovers by us, three by them,” head coach Sean Miller said. “It’s a difference of 10 turnovers, and so many times off of turnovers, they get 13 points. We had zero ability to take care of the ball against their defense.”
On the night, offensively, Texas did not look up to the challenge. They did not score for the first five minutes of the game and shot 35% from both the field and three-point range. Coming into the game, the Longhorns were ranked ninth by KenPom in offensive efficiency.
“Throughout our season … we’ve had those stretches where we’ve struggled defensively, but we more than make up for it, because we score, and during those stretches, it doesn’t bury us as much as it buried us tonight,” Miller said. “Tonight, we struggled to score, having those 13 turnovers. Probably our worst performance. I think if you look (at) points per game, it might be our overall worst performance of the season when you consider offensive efficiency.”
The Longhorns on defense were just as woeful as their ability to score, an issue that has plagued the team since the start of the season.
Texas allowed 50 points in the paint, only scoring 18 themselves, and Ole Miss senior forward Malik Dia scored 23 points on an efficient 50% from the field. The Longhorns never led the game either and were always playing on the back foot, with the largest lead of the game belonging to Ole Miss’ 13 point lead at the 8:44 mark.
“Our defense was not good, but it’s been masked so many times throughout this season because of our offense,” Miller said. “Tonight, we weren’t able to score. We didn’t execute. And that’s a credit to Ole Miss.”
The loss now leaves the Longhorns at 18–14 on the season with their 9–9 regular season conference record. According to ESPN’s Neil Paine, who updated his bubble watch shortly after the game ended and still listed them as a team that has “work to do,” meaning that their chances are “closest to a coin flip.”
“They are also only borderline top 50 in the national résumé rankings, 11th best in what might be a 10-bid SEC, and their consensus at-large forecast dropped to a meager 20% after their latest defeat,” Paine wrote.
Texas will learn its March Madness fate on Sunday at 5 p.m. when the NCAA hosts its annual selection show to determine the 68 teams that will participate in the national tournament.
