To close the Maui Invitational, the stakes felt higher for the Texas Longhorns than merely securing a fifth-place finish in the tournament — first-year head coach Sean Miller’s team had a chance to secure
the first win against an AP Top 25 opponent, burnish its NCAA Tournament resume, and prove its resiliency after Monday’s disappointing, last-second loss to the Arizona State Sun Devils that sent the Longhorns into the consolation bracket.
So Wednesday’s 102-97 victory over the North Carolina State Wolfpack felt significant for the group, led by a game-high 28 points from senior guard Jordan Pope on a scorching shooting night and supported by five other players in double figures as Miller shortened his rotation to eight players in a preview of what a crunch-time lineup might look like for the Longhorns in conference play.
“I think we learned a lot about our group. We really did. I think you learn a lot about the character, resiliency, and the toughness you got,” Miller said in the post-game press conference.
“You notice on your team who sticks together, who maybe doesn’t quite stick together, who you’re going to go with, who you can go with a little bit more.”
The win certainly showcased the importance of Pope’s shooting ability. Technically the team’s point guard, Pope was so dangerous because he was able to work off the ball, especially in transition — of the five first-half threes from the Oregon State transfer, three came on fast breaks. In the halfcourt, Texas was able to run effective actions to get Pope open looks that he took advantage of with pristine footwork and balance to finish 7-of-13 shooting from three (53.8 percent), one short of his career high set last year against New Orleans.
“In terms of game plan, I knew how they played defensively — they were a heavy gap team, they stuffed the paint,” Pope said. “So I know drives and kicks were going to be open and my teammates gave me all the confidence, and they gave me the right passes when they needed to, and they were all rhythm shots. I’m glad they went in.”
Down the stretch, Pope helped seal the game with four free throws in the final 31 seconds as the Horns scored 13 of their final 15 points at the free-throw line. Texas went 19-of-23 at the line after halftime, keyed by the physicality of sophomore center Matas Vokietaitis inside — the big Lithuanian helped the Longhorns get into the bonus at the 12:33 mark in the second mark.
Not only did the early entrance into the bonus help Texas score easy points at the free-throw line, it put key North Carolina State players in foul trouble with three players ultimately fouling out for the Wolfpack, including leading scorer Darrion Williams and guard Tre Holloman.
Vokietaitis also fouled out because he struggled to control his emotions at a critical moment in the game, drawing a technical for punching the basketball out of the net after allowing an offensive rebound and committing a foul on a layup. When Vokietaitis was on the court, he was efficient in scoring 13 points on 4-of-4 shooting with a 5-of-6 effort at the line, drawing so much focus from NC State that Texas was able to get good looks from three, converting 16-of-32 from beyond the arc.
So Pope wasn’t the only key contributor from distance — three other players made three threes. Senior guard Chendall Weaver led the way in his best scoring performance of the season with 17 points, hitting 6-of-7 from the line, cleaning up on the defensive glass with eight rebounds, and adding three assists. Junior forward Camden Heide made three of his four baskets during a key stretch late in the second half, scoring 11 points before fouling out.
And junior guard Simeon Wilcher continued his positive shooting start to the season with 12 points on 3-of-5 shooting from three.
The best floor game for the Longhorns came from junior wing Dailyn Swain, who hit all six of his free throws to score 14 points, grabbed six rebounds, and recorded a team-high seven assists, one short of his career high.
Miller’s shortened rotation allowed those role players to make significant impacts at the expense of sophomore forward Nic Codie, who did not appear in the game, and graduate guard Tramon Mark, who finished minus-14 in 16 minutes. Mark was benched for the final 9:08 of the first half and played less than two minutes of the final 9:12 in the second half after missing Pope open on the wing in transition seconds after hitting a three, choosing instead to launch his own ill-advised shot, which not only missed but also led to graduate forward Lassina Traore committing a loose ball foul that sent NC State to the line for a one and one.
Beyond the rotation, the key strategic decision that Miller made was to switch up his pick-and-roll coverages, especially with Vokieitaitis, who has primarily played drop coverages that contributed to the hot three-point shooting by Arizona State on Monday. Hedging more often on Wednesday wasn’t always effective in stopping NC State from scoring — the Wolfpack did drop 97 points, after all — but it did help limit the open looks from deep as Texas had a plus-13 advantage in three-point attempts and a plus-21 advantage in three-point scoring, a huge difference in the game.
After committing 44 turnovers over the first two games in Hawaii, Texas bounced back, giving the ball away only seven times in the win to allow all those three-point attempts.
“I think we’ve learned a lot, we’ve grown a lot, and we leave this tournament better. But make no mistake, being able to get a win today is very meaningful for our group,” Miller said.
Texas is off until next Wednesday, when Virginia travels to the Moody Center for an important non-conference matchup in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
