After being ranked as high as #6 earlier this year, the Longhorns, now unranked at 17-8, begin a pivotal stretch of games that will determine their postseason fate. Over the next 18 days, Texas will play 6 games, included 5 ranked opponents and 5 of the top 6 teams in the Big 12. With their backs against the wall, can Texas overcome their underwhelming season and turn it around in crunch time?
Texas began the year 10-1 with their only blemish a close loss to Kentucky playing without starting point guard Isaiah Taylor. It was at this point that Texas seemed poised to finish the year as a top ranked team and be a favorite heading into March Madness. However, everything changed soon there after. While playing without Taylor, the team's offense seemed stagnant. At times it was almost painful to watch the Longhorns try and score in the half-court. Isaiah Taylor is the catalyst that makes this offense click, and without him the team began to lose confidence and games. While Texas eventually got Taylor back in January, he was not playing at full strength and the losses continued to pile up. Following their 10-1 start, the Longhorns then dropped 7 of their next 11 games, falling to a 15-8 record.
It is now February 17th and the Longhorns are riding a 3 game win streak. There are 18 days left in the regular season, and many pundits are projecting that Texas needs to win 3 of its next 6 games to be selected for postseason play. With their upcoming games including Oklahoma, Iowa State, West Virginia, Kansas,and Baylor, this will be no easy task. But, this is still the same team that was ranked in the preseason Top-10 and climbed to #6 way back when. They are one of the most talented teams in the country and have the potential to make a late season run. With future NBA talents like Isaiah Taylor and Myles Turner, it is not talent that this team lacks. If they can start playing with confidence and effort, this could be a scary team. While Texas seems to be fighting an uphill battle late in the year, don't count out Rick Barnes and the Horns. The season is just starting to heat up, and the next 18 days will tell us everything we know about this Texas team.
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