Texas gave Rodney Terry what he called one of the best wins he’s enjoyed in 27 years of college coaching Saturday.
Now all the Longhorns have to do is duplicate that same effort a little more than 48 hours later at one of the most intimidating home courts in college basketball. That’s all.
Then again, No. 10 Texas (19-4, 8-2 Big 12) has been all about the challenges this season. Attempting a road trip sweep of the Sunflower State is no different than anything else the Longhorns have faced. Texas gets No. 8 Kansas (18-5, 6-4) on Monday at Allen Fieldhouse after a 69-66 win at No. 7 Kansas State.
“I’ve been in this league 13 years and never really had a chance when we played on a Saturday then a Big Monday on the road,” Terry said after the win at K-State’s Octagon of Doom. “We aren’t complaining about it. We’re gonna get a chance to have two great opportunities to play against two great teams in great atmospheres, well-coached teams on their home courts.
“We looked at it again as an opportunity for us, 40 minutes by 40 minutes.”
Why not? As intimidating as the Phog can be, Texas showed resiliency Saturday, trailing K-State by 14 late in the first half and then registering its third win when trailing by double figures.
A win at Kansas – the Jayhawks are favored by 4 – would keep Texas in first place in the Big 12 and give the Longhorns a substantial three-game lead on KU with seven regular-season games remaining.
Then again, the defending NCAA champs should be in a nasty mood after having lost four of five conference games, something that last occurred in 1988-89 in the old Big Eight. Redshirt Jalen Wilson is the Big 12′s hottest scorer with 159 points in his last six games.
The Longhorns are off to their best 23-game start overall and in Big 12 play since the 2010-11 team under Rick Barnes, a group that Terry helped recruit as an assistant before taking the head coaching job at Fresno State for the 2011-12 season.
Contributions are coming from throughout the lineup, always a good sign. Christian Bishop had 14 points in the second half against K-State off the bench and sixth man Sir’Jabari Rice is averaging 18.7 ppg while 50% from 3-point range in his last three games.
All this has come despite well-documented early-season turmoil. Former coach Chris Beard, who built this team with Final Four aspirations, was suspended and then fired Jan. 5 after a felony domestic violence arrest.
Terry is now 12-3 as interim coach since replacing Beard, something that has the attention of Kansas coach Bill Self.
“Those kids have rallied around a situation and of course rallied around Coach Terry in a way that you’d expect winners to do,” Self said in his press conference after a 68-53 loss at Iowa State. “That is one thing about teams that are real committed. …
“They’ve done a phenomenal job. You can see their players rally around that situation because they know it’s not easy. A lot of times when it is not easy it kind of brings everybody together more. They certainly rallied around that.”
Self called Texas “super athletic,” especially on the perimeter. While he noted that guard Marcus Carr (16.4 ppg) is having an “All-America type year,” the balance is equally impressive.
It’s not just chemistry and mental toughness, either, Self said.
“First of all, their talent level is definitely top 10 talent without question, maybe top five,” Self said, adding, “It will take a real good effort on our part.”
Twitter: @ChuckCarltonDMN
