KANSAS CITY – Although fans of rival fan bases may laugh at the thought, the life of a Texas supporter is a lot more torture than it seems.
sure, the long horns has one of the richest sports departments in the country, perhaps the best talent pool to tap into from sports, and a glittering array of facilities in the state capital that always seems to be there. some interesting forms of entertainment nearby.
The people in the burnt oranges aren’t afraid to call themselves the best, as former athletic director DeLoss Dodds once lovingly noted to reporters, because the school just couldn’t keep up with the Joneses in college athletics. study – they are them.
However, for all the advantages UT has been given, the poor performance of such lofty expectations that has self-appointed is also a frequent part of the 40 Acres story – especially in two subjects. The most popular sports on campus are football and men’s basketball. Time and time again, all the signs that point the way to success are just there to make the heartache eventually happen again for one reason or another.
It might even leave some fans pondering if the show weren’t cursed at least a little, especially this season. When things like the injured starting quarterback on the verge of beating a No. 1 ranked opponent at home happen — or a promising basketball campaign looks to be derailed after a violent incident. family unexpectedly led to their head coach being fired — perhaps it wasn’t necessary. It took a long time to find a few pieces of literature supporting such a theory.
In the final minutes of Friday night, however, there were some hints that any bad luck around Texas was in fact misplaced at this point. Oops, given events elsewhere around the country this month, it might even be more accurate to say that luck is even on the Longhorns’ side right now.
“You learn that anything can happen in March,” said caretaker coach Rodney Terry, who replaced Chris Beard after eight games and hasn’t looked back since. lead the team within 40 minutes of a team’s first appearance in the Finals. in its home state since 2010. “That’s why it’s crazy.”
Really crazy.
It was crazy that supporters shouted Terry’s name as he walked off the field at the T-Mobile Center, raising their hands to celebrate no less than the conquest hero he has become – after some considered him more than a placeholder when he first presented the show in January.
It’s crazy that Texas is in the first Elite Eight since 2008, all thanks to the beginning to the end 83-71 destruction belong to Xavier into the Midwest region semi-finals despite missing the starter Dylan Disu for most of the night after he took a career outing to even take them into the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament just days before.
Crazy that copper started forward Timmy AllenA two-week absence from the same building for the magical Big 12 Tournament helped the team’s No. 2 seed get into the table, being able to open the scoring and score from the midfield logo seconds before the bell. half-time whistle to set the tone for how things will play out.
“I think you learn during the NCAA Tournament, you have to play the game for 40 minutes. We’re a pretty emotional team. A lot of times we feed our emotions by playing hard.” Terry added. “I have an older team that really understands how to play with poise, play with emotion, but also try to finish the game. In the NCAA Tournament, you have to play from start to finish.”
The fact that the Longhorns did so without Disu’s service made it all the more impressive to watch the others step up. The senior soon won a rebound but ended up playing for less than two minutes before being pulled out and back on the touchline in a walking shoe. School officials attributed the injury to a bruise from the match with Penn State last week where he seemed fit enough to finish with a career-high 28 and break by Kevin Durant program record for most goals in an NCAA Tournament game.
“Lucky for us, we’re one of the teams that really come together. We worked a lot during the season to get to know each other and spend time together. But that doesn’t guarantee that you’ll ever get to know each other. liked everyone on the team,” Disu said afterwards, noting that it was difficult for him to run due to injury. “That’s all I can say. Everyone here wants the best for the team and for each other. So when you have people like that, it’s hard not to get close.”
“Others have a chance to step up and take a chance,” added Terry. “I thought (Christian Bishop) stepped up and gave us incredible minutes to get the better part of the game. i thought Brock [Cunningham] came and gave us great minutes. i thought Dillon Mitchell did our part on what we needed to do. This is a very resilient team throughout the year. We have been at this location before. When you played in that Big 12 tournament, you were challenged to battle. It’s not something you really don’t have to deal with all year long – trouble, an injured guy. You just keep playing and keep working for 40 minutes.”
Bishop scored 18 points and nine rebounds from the bench after just 24 minutes of play, a fruitful match on a night in which nearly all of the Longhorns scored and the team dominated by the close. like two against one before the Musketeers.
Allen finished with 11 points, tire hunter perfected from outside the arc to help score the top 19 for his teammates, and Marcus Carr chipped in with 18 more people.
It was all part of a dominant effort from the start for the Horns, who never went behind and spent just 16 seconds all night without a lead.
Dejected Xavier coach Sean Miller said: “We had a lot of trouble executing our attacking behavior, which was a real testament to their defence because we were able to score goals. almost every game we’ve played this year, maybe not just once.” . “Their pressure is something you can’t really simulate until you’re up against them. Their toughness, their experience. And up front, they have great defensive play, and so do you. feel it. There were times when we started scoring, and then we had an equally difficult time defending them.”
Despite the disappointing end result on the field at the end of Miller’s first season back to the program he first founded as head coach, making it to the Round of 16 Sweet still is a quality result when you look back at a team that a year ago did a run in NIT.
“I told them after the game, out of the many teams I’ve had, I don’t know if I’ve ever been more proud of a team or a coaching staff than this one. This year’s record speaks volumes. 15-5 in the Big East, play Sweet 16. We’ve come a long way from November to the end of March. The people here have had a lot to do with that. really proud of them. I think they represent Xavier University as well as you can as a student-athlete.”
Protect Souley Boumwho enjoyed playing for Terry while they were both at UTEP, ended his career with a night out on the field, scoring just 12 points in a 4/11 shootout. Adam Kunkel assembled the highest number of 21 in the game, but that was never enough to take the lead which rose to 24 at one point in the second half.
“I know my time here is very short. It goes by so quickly. It feels like I came here not too long ago, but I remember everything,” Boum said. “I appreciate this university. I appreciate the Coach (Miller) for believing in me, giving me a chance, a chance to come here and compete. I just appreciate everyone. People.”
That also includes Terry, with whom the recent graduate has embraced several times a week and is still in regular contact.
While the contents of their text messages will be kept private, perhaps it wouldn’t be too wrong to consider some of the recent messages as words of encouragement given an immediate assignment to a coach. Don’t just embark on an uncertain run. heading for a permanent gig in Austin – but one can now be extremely favored cutting the net just a short drive from where he grew up in south Houston.
After a string of notably turbulent results both Friday and the previous rounds, this will be the first NCAA Tournament without a single #1 seed in the Elite Eight since seeding began in 1979 – and only the third time ever there was a top seed the seed team would not appear in the Finals.
The last time that happened? Back in 2011, when college basketball’s biggest stage also took place in Houston at NRG Stadium.
“Keep wanting more. I mean, every round. Don’t be satisfied,” Terry said of his message to his team ahead of Sunday’s Midwest Regional final against fifth seed Miami . “We’re going to enjoy this win for one night, like we’ve had it all year, and we’re going into the next challenge.”
Grasping the path toward such an important obstacle can sometimes be difficult in Texas. But as the Longhorns and their interim coach have recently begun to reassert themselves, that’s what they’re certainly trying to embrace amid a string of unexpected temper tantrums that have put them on the brink of history – and one positive there – again.
Bryan Fischer is a college football writer for FOX Sports. He’s covered college athletics for nearly two decades at agencies like NBC Sports, CBS Sports, Yahoo! Sports and NFL.com among others. Follow him on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.
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