Big 12 Basketball: Big XII Preseason Team Power Rankings

Mar 7, 2015; Austin, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns guards Demarcus Holland (2) and Isaiah Taylor (1) react against the Kansas State Wildcats during the second half at the Frank Erwin Special Events Center. Texas beat Kansas State 62-49. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports

6. Texas Longhorns

Bottom line for Texas: I have no clue how Shaka Smart is going to mesh with these players. What he should do is install his havoc defense, and then just tell Isaiah Taylor and Javan Felix to go 110% down the floor every time they come up with a steal. This would create an issue with Cameron Ridley, the Longhorns’ 285lb center, and probably their second best player. Can he make it up and down the court?

I’m not sure, but I am sure that the Longhorns probably won’t go very far without him on the court for a great length of time. He has the potential to be a big-time game changer on the defensive end, as he can just station himself in the paint and dare any opposing guard to try and go up over him. But conditioning has always been an issue with him, and now it is even more so with the addition of a coach who runs a high-octane system.

Texas will win the conference if…

Isaiah Taylor controls the tempo. Run when necessary, slow it down when necessary. This will make it easier on Ridley while still giving the Longhorns some easy transition looks. Things won’t be easy in the halfcourt for them considering the lack of shooting, but believe it or not, Shaka has put together an elite offense before.

The issue there is that he likes to rely on his wing players in the halfcourt. Just think about every one of VCU’s leading scorers. Skeen, Burgess, Redic, Graham. All in the 6’6″-6’9″ range, and all guys capable of backing you down, or stepping outside for a jump shot. Texas has exactly zero guys like that. Let’s see how Shaka adjusts for this.

Next: 7. Oklahoma State