Texas Basketball: Should Longhorns’ fans be concerned after overseas losses?
By Taylor Sturm
The Texas Longhorns have now lost two games overseas during the offseason. Should fans be concerned?
Traveling overseas and succeeding has been a staple for the top college basketball programs over the last few seasons. Playing overseas allows a university to showcase its program, give its players real, competitive playing experience, and find out which players play well together.
For example, in 2015, the Kansas Jayhawks dominated the World University games by going 8-0 and winning the gold medal. Bill Self and Co. then proceeded to win the Big 12 regular season title, Big 12 Tournament, and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
However, sometimes the opposite happens – like now with the Texas Longhorns.
So far in the 2017-18 offseason, Texas has lost two games overseas. Supposedly taking a step forward from last season, this is alarming news for Longhorns’ fans, who likely expect the team to take a step forward now that Shaka Smart should be fully acclimated to the team.
Texas falls by 28 in Australia. Longhorns have now lost two games on their foreign tour. Will be a work in progress. No proven shooting.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) August 21, 2017
The good news is that overseas games really do not matter at all. If a team wins by 50 or 60, sure, it is a headline that will make the news, as would a player scoring 30 or more points.
However, there is so much experimentation with lineups and new techniques in these overseas games that they are almost worth less than the exhibition games.
My thoughts when it comes to overseas games are this: If it’s a big win like Kansas in the WUG, celebrate it. If it’s a loss, be glad it doesn’t actually count.
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Plus, Smart is an excellent coach who will have this team back on track once the regular season starts. The middle of the Big 12 is extremely competitive, and the NCAA Tournament is not at all out of the question for Texas.