It’s time to anoint a new No. 1.
Kansas was the consensus choice heading into the year and for
good reason. The Jayhawks returned everyone from a Sweet 16 team
and added one of the top recruiting classes in the nation.
But Bill Self’s team has done virtually nothing to
warrant maintaining the top ranking — and it’s not as
if it's coming off winning the national title a year ago.
Sure, the Jayhawks pulled away from Cal with an 84-69 win
Tuesday night in Lawrence, but let’s face it — even
with the addition of Theo Robertson, the Bears are just a fringe
NCAA tournament team.
Texas, meanwhile, entered its recent two-game, four-day
stretch as much of a mystery as any elite team, but after a fairly
dominating performance against North Carolina in Dallas and then
running away from Michigan State in the final few minutes Tuesday
night, the Longhorns have earned the top billing.
They have knocked off a couple of legitimate Top 10 teams.
``I don’t think Texas has ever been number one,”
Longhorns senior Damion James said after the 79-68 victory over the
Spartans. ``It sounds good to me.”
Texas has been numero uno plenty on the gridiron, but Rick
Barnes — who has led the Longhorns to 11 consecutive NCAA
tournament appearances — has never held down the No. 1 spot.
``It doesn’t really matter where we are in the
rankings,” Texas freshman Avery Bradley said.
``I’d rather be there at the end of the year,”
Barnes said.
That’s possible as well.
Tom Izzo & Co. ended up losing by 11 points — the
closest anyone has played the Longhorns through the first 11 games
of the season.
Dexter Pittman was as huge as his 6-foot-10, 290-pound frame
in the win over the Tar Heels on Saturday, but he was a non-factor
against Michigan State because of foul trouble.
He had four points and a single rebound in 12 minutes.
But that didn’t matter because of the Longhorns'
unmatched depth.
James had another dominating offensive performance with 23
points and 13 rebounds and freshman Jordan Hamilton, who was
abysmal against UNC, rebounded with 14 points.
But it isn’t what Barnes’ team does on the
offensive end of the floor that sets it apart.
Texas has no peer defensively — especially on the
perimeter.
Poor Kalin Lucas — who is one of the premier point
guards in the nation. He couldn’t find any daylight while
being swarmed by Bradley, Dogus Balbay and Justin Mason.
He was 3-of-11 for 11 points, had just two assists and a
half-dozen turnovers.
``Balbay is as good of an on-ball defender as there is in the
country,” Izzo said.
``They just keep coming at you,” Lucas said. ``And they
have so much depth.”
Imagine if starting guard Varez Ward, who is right there with
those three guys on the defensive end, didn’t suffer a
season-ending injury earlier this month.
North Carolina floor leader Larry Drew was playing fairly
well until he had to go up against the Longhorns' perimeter trio.
He was brutal, finishing with four points, four assists and
five turnovers.
When other teams are wearing down, the Longhorns are still
fresh. Barnes plays a dozen guys.
He has guards, bigs and wings.
``We can play any way we want,” Barnes said.
Just look at the numbers. Michigan State was 1-of-8 from
beyond the arc in the second half and shot just 38 percent from the
field after the break.
The Longhorns' numbers improved as the game went on, shooting
59 percent from the field in the second half.
Texas improved to 11-0 with the win. Kansas did the same with
its victory against Cal. The two teams meet just once this year
— Feb. 8 in Austin.
``Kansas is a great team,” James said.
Just not number one.
