Tuesday Morning Shootaround: Texas Locks Up A Bid

Texas 73, Baylor 57: The Texas Longhorns all but sealed up a trip to the dance by beating Baylor in Austin on Monday night. The 'Horns jumped out to a 22-12 lead as Justin Mason scored 10 of his 14 points. The difference in this game was Dexter Pittman. Baylor just had no one on the interior that could handle his strength. He finished with 16 points on 7-8 shooting in just 23 minutes, 7 boards (4 offensive), and one beautiful assist to a cutting Dogus Balbay. AJ Abrams also added 14 for Texas, while Damion James went for 9 points and 11 boards.

Dexter Pittman was too big for Baylor last night.
(photo credit: Harry Cabluck/AP)

I can't decide what I think of this Texas team. They aren't playing the same defense they were early in the year, which is not a good thing because they aren't a great team offensively. But I love their versatility, especially along the front line. They have the ability to go big (Pittman at center, James at the three), small (James and Gary Johnson up front with three guards), or long and athletic (Connor Atchley, James, and Gary Johnson up front).

The biggest issue right now is the back court. They don't really have a playmaker. It could be Balbay, but he is such a bad shooter teams can sink their PG below the foul line to guard him. Justin Mason did a decent job at the point early in the season, but he is at his best when he is a glue guy - slashing to the basket, crashing the offensive glass, defending, hustle plays. Abrams can play a little point, but he is so much better running off of screens and being a catch-and-shoot guy. Thus, they end up in a position where they need all three of these guards on the floor, but they are at their best when they only play two guards and let Damion James play the three.

Along those same lines, they don't really have anyone that can create their own shot. The last two year's, the offense has basically been "give it to Kevin" or "give it to DJ" and clear out. So now, after playing in that offense for two years, Texas has a bunch of guys that don't know how to score on this level.

Baylor is right up there with Georgetown, Notre Dame, and Gonzaga as the most disappointing teams in the country. I really thought this team had what it took to make a run at the Big XII title, but here we are in March and they are 5-10 in the league and 17-12 overall.

Villanova 77, Notre Dame 60: The Wildcats stayed alive in their quest for a top four seed in the Big East tournament as they used a 28-8 second half run to bury the Fighting Irish. The Irish had just opened up a 43-39 lead, the largest of the game for either team, when Scottie Reynolds knocked down back-to-back three's and Dante Cunningham scored the next eight Wildcats points. Three minutes later, Scottie Reynolds hit his fourth three of the second half to make it 61-50, and Dwayne Anderson capped the run with a big dunk off of a Corey Stokes offensive rebound.

The Wildcats, coming off of one of their ugliest performances of the season (20 turnovers), turned the ball over just five times and held Notre Dame to 34% shooting in the second half.

Reynolds played just about the best basketball I have seen him play in his career. He finished with 23 points on 6-7 shooting from three to go along with five assists and four boards, but it was more than that. He ran the 'Nova team. He controlled the game in the second half. As a freshman, Reynolds was a scorer that just happened to bring the ball up court. Now, he is a point guard that just so happens to be able to score 25 on a given night.

Scottie Reynolds finished with 23 points.
(photo credit: Joe Raymond/AP)

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: this Villanova team is going to be dangerous in the tournament. Reynolds and Corey Fisher form a dangerous and explosive back court. Corey Stokes is as good of a shooter as there is in the Big East. Dante Cunningham has turned into one of the best post players in the conference, especially since he is deadly out to about 18 feet. But what I really like about this team are the three swing men - Dwayne Anderson, Shane Clark, and Reggie Redding. All big enough to guard in the post but athletic enough to defend on the perimeter; they go hard to the offensive glass; they can score in the paint but can also knock down a three; but most importantly they can play within a game plan. What I mean is that if Jay Wright wants them to go play defense and go to the glass, they will. But if Wright thinks that one has a mismatch, each of them is capable of getting 20 on a given night.

Davidson 90, Elon 78: Steph had 26 and 5 dimes.