Contemporary Texas travels to Missouri hoping to take care of successful streak

After a midweek bye afforded the Texas Longhorns an opportunity to recuperate from the grind of SEC play, head coach Sean Miller’s workforce journeys to Columbia to face the Missouri Tigers at Mizzou Arena on Saturday attempting to increase the workforce’s successful streak to 4 video games.

“This week gives us the opportunity to mentally and physically be fresh for what I think is the stretch run of the season, and also at the same time balancing that with getting better,” Miller mentioned on Monday.

The break was significantly necessary for junior wing Dailyn Swain, who has been carrying a heavy playmaking load for the Horns, and graduate ahead Lassina Traore, held out of final Saturday’s win over Ole Miss after he took a knock on his surgically-repaired knee.

Miller hopes that the end for Texas appears to be like acquainted — final yr, his Xavier workforce made an surprising run to the NCAA Tournament by successful its closing seven regular-season video games.

“The team that I had was super, super hungry to finish strong. We had a lot of older guys, this was their last chance in college, and they were like, we’re not going out any other way than the best way we can and practice became everything. We practiced as well in February as we would have in November. As a matter of fact, in some areas better,” Miller mentioned.

After a number of Longhorns secured the primary three-game convention successful streak of their profession in opposition to the Rebels, the Texas head coach sees some related attributes on this group.

“I think that we’re hungry and determined to be the best we can be down the stretch,” Miller mentioned.

But the Horns face a harder path to the NCAA Tournament within the SEC than the Musketeers did within the Big East.

Narrow underdogs on the street in opposition to Missouri on Saturday earlier than internet hosting LSU as heavy house favorites subsequent Tuesday, Texas sees its schedule stiffen afterwards with three of the subsequent 4 video games on the street and as heavy underdogs when Florida involves the Moody Center on the twenty fifth.

The alternative exists to considerably enhance the workforce’s NCAA Tournament probabilities, which have solely elevated by about 10 proportion factors over the three-game successful streak. But final yr’s group beneath Rodney Terry is without doubt one of the most related resumes for these Longhorns, and the upside of groups with related profiles is restricted traditionally — solely three of the ten comparable groups made it previous the primary spherical and none superior to the Sweet 16.

Compared to the place Texas was after an 0-2 begin to SEC play, that statistical ceiling represents clear growth that should proceed individually to buoy Miller’s program-building efforts.

Sophomore middle Matas Vokietaitis possesses essentially the most untapped potential over the ultimate seven regular-season video games after bouncing again from his worst SEC efficiency to attain a game-high 27 factors within the 79-68 win over Ole Miss final Saturday.

In an effort that balanced the flexibility to complete by way of contact within the paint, Vokietaitis went 9-of-11 capturing from the sector and 9-of-12 capturing from the ground in an emotionally-regulated 35 minutes that represented his profession excessive, the massive Lithuanian showcased his superior conditioning and what Miller hopes is a burgeoning functionality to keep away from dangerous fouls by limiting the bodily contact that he creates offensively and sustaining his verticality defensively to drive contested photographs.

“We’re working with Matas to learn how to go vertically, straight up in the air, hands behind his head, where he can use his length and his size to our advantage defensively, but yet not foul,” Miller mentioned. “It’s a different way of protecting the rim that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to block the shot, but it’s really just protecting that area that has been unkind to us so many games where drives and shots around the basket do us in.”

Despite his peak, Vokietaitis has a 3.3-percent block fee that ranks as mediocre in faculty basketball that illustrates an absence of pure shot-blocking skill exacerbated by his breakdowns in fundamentals.

Offensively, nonetheless, Vokietaitis was remarkably environment friendly in opposition to the Rebels, getting the frontcourt for Ole Miss into foul bother and making the most of a defensive recreation plan that trapped greater than standard, opening up the lane for Vokietaits, who was additionally the beneficiary of the Ole Miss protection loading the robust aspect of the court docket with defenders to cease Swain’s penetration skill.

Because Vokietaitis was in a position to keep away from foul bother, he performed a career-high 35 minutes, showcasing his superior conditioning.

“We talked to modest about being able, at this point in the season, to play longer stretches, which means foul less, be more in control of your emotions. But his conditioning is incredible. He’s one of the best-conditioned big guys that I’ve ever been around — he’s seven foot, 250, and I think his body fat is about five or six percent, and with that, he’s one of the hardest workers on our team,” Miller mentioned after the Ole Miss win.

To beat Missouri, which has a 57-percent win likelihood, Texas will doubtless must decelerate bruising wing Mark Mitchell, a Duke switch who’s averaging 17.2 factors, 5.7 rebounds, and three.5 assists per recreation.

“He is a one-man wrecking crew. I’ll call him a bully in the most kind and good way I can — I mean that in a sports-specific way, like he just imposes his will on the opponent, rebounding, physicalit,y drives, living at the free-throw line, playing both the five and the four, using his quickness at the five, using his physicality at the four,” Miller mentioned. “And the other thing about him, he’s an excellent passer, so when you try to bring help or double team, he sees the game, and he finds his teammates, and his teammates are very, very skilled.”

Guards Jayden Stone and Jacob Crews are significantly harmful enjoying off of Mitchell with Stone capturing 41.2 % from three, and Crews hitting at 46.7 %. It’s a deep guard corps for the Tigers that additionally contains one other good shooter in Trent Pierce and a secondary playmaker in Anthony Robinson II, a poor shooter even within the mid vary.

Also within the midst of a three-game successful streak, Missouri does have some weaknesses — the Tigers don’t shield the ball significantly properly on offense and aren’t a great defensive workforce with a pronounced issue defending the three-point line.

Tip is at 7:30 p.m. Central on ESPN2.