First-round matchups between low and high seeds are not supposed to be fair or close. And most times, they’re not, as seen in the matchup between No. 1-seeded Texas and No. 16-seeded Missouri State on Friday afternoon.
From the tip, there was a clear disparity between the Longhorns and the Bears. Texas used its size advantage and defensive prowess to overpower Missouri State, gathering a 10-0 lead less than three minutes in and forcing an early timeout.
The Bears ultimately scored just 12 points in the first half, giving the Longhorns a 32-point lead going into the second. As a result, coming out of the break, the game’s outcome had all but wrapped up, and Texas went on to defeat Missouri State 87-45.
No win in March is guaranteed, which many teams have learned the hard way, and head coach Vic Schaefer said Thursday that Missouri State had his team’s “full attention.”
But with realistic national championship aspirations, meaning winning six straight single-elimination games, this first-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament could also be approached as an opportunity to knock off rust. After winning the Southeastern Conference Championship on March 8, Texas had almost a two-week layoff before its Round of 64 contest.
Little rust could be spotted over the opening 20 minutes. Texas got four or more points from seven different players in that span, dominating the paint with physicality and second-chance opportunities. The Longhorns held Missouri State to 13.8% shooting and forced 11 turnovers, getting to the free-throw line 16 times.
The second half, however, was not the same story. In the third quarter, the Longhorns gave up 22 points to the Bears, with Missouri State shooting 69.2% from the field. Schaefer said he was concerned those figures, voicing needed improvement in effort across both halves.
“I just didn’t think we were locked in,” Schaefer said postgame about the third quarter. “I didn’t think we played very hard. We let them catch whatever they wanted to. We didn’t do a good job denying. We didn’t have great ball pressure. We had a lot of issues, really, to be honest with you.”
The burnt orange faithful dominated the almost-8,000-person crowd within Moody Center, as expected. But Missouri State was well-represented on Friday, and its fans in the building had plenty to cheer for in that third period.
“We’re just knocking off some rust,” graduate point guard Rori Harmon said. “I’m sure we’ll regroup and come back. It starts in practice tomorrow, but I do expect us to play a lot better.”
A 42-point is no scoreline to be frustrated about. Yet, with the standards and expectations entering this postseason period, the task to continue cleaning up various facets of their game — such as turnovers, fouling and two-way consistency — persists for the Longhorns.
“When we last took the floor (on March 8), we had amazing momentum, and so we’re really focused on doing the things we can to keep that forward for these last five (games),” said sophomore guard Jordan Lee, who had a game-high 19 points.
Texas will return to the floor against No. 8-seeded Oregon on Sunday. The Ducks defeated No. 9-seeded Virginia Tech 70-60 on Friday, led by 22 points from sophomore guard Katie Fiso.
The further the Longhorns go in the tournament, the smaller the margin for error gets — they know that.
