UTSA Basketball: Roadrunners are putting the C-USA on alert

UTSA basketball has shown that they are a talented team early in this season. The C-USA is loaded this year and maybe the Roadrunners can play spoiler.

The UTSA Roadrunners were going into the 2017-18 season with very low expectations. Second-year head coach Steve Henson was tasked with starting a winning tradition for this program and he has already instilled an identity. That identity could make one of the tougher teams to beat once the C-USA season begins.

The Roadrunners as UTSA are aptly named and live up to their moniker. This team plays fast and is loaded with shooters. The Roadrunners under Coach Henson play a style that is tough to prepare for, as all five players on the floor are a threat to shoot and can make threes from anywhere on the court. So far this season, UTSA has lit up the scoreboard.

The Roadrunners are led by their freshman backcourt. Keaton Wallace and Jhivvan Jackson have the green light whenever the ball is in their hand and both players can beat teams in different ways. Jackson has incredible range and can shoot from anywhere on the floor. He also is so quick to the basket and blows by most defenders. Wallace is a great shooter from deep as well and typically beats people with his shot.

The Roadrunners do have a talented frontcourt player in junior Nick Allen as well. Allen is another player who can shoot and make numerous threes in addition to killing teams inside. He is also a very good rebounder. Wallace, Jackson, and Allen are the three players who are going to lead UTSA to some wins in the C-USA this year and in future years.

The C-USA is locked down currently by the MTSU Blue Raiders, who are the class of the conference and are able to beat most teams in the country. With the way that UTSA has started off this year, they are putting MTSU and the rest of the C-USA on upset alert. UTSA has one of the most explosive offenses in the country, already within the top-25 in most major offensive categories.

UTSA has lit up the scoreboard for 90 or more points six times already this year. It is amazing that this team has actually lost six games with that scoring. However, the Roadrunners do not play much defense and they foul a lot. UTSA is going to struggle to stop most teams they play, but if they can get teams into a shootout, they will win a lot of games. It is hard for teams to score 90 on a consistent basis during the whole season against quality competition.

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If the Roadrunners are able to get their defensive positioning figured out, they are an instant contender in the C-USA. They rebound well enough on the defensive end to hold teams to one possession and one look at the basket on most trips. UTSA is also a great free throw shooting team when they get fouled. When the threes are not falling, UTSA has enough talent and offensive prowess to get the ball inside and get the easy baskets.

In the Roadrunners most recent game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, they fouled so much that Nebraska took 50 foul shots. If UTSA cannot figure out how to play defense without fouling, they won’t do much in conference play, especially with the caliber of the teams that are at the top of the conference.

Scoring usually goes down once teams get into the doldrums of the conference season. Coach Henson and his staff have a full bag of tricks on offense, and numerous options to fall back on if one of their best players is not hitting shots. The bench is not deep, but it is effective and, as was mentioned earlier, each guy on the floor at all times can and will shoot threes.

The Roadrunners play so fast that by the end of the game, many teams are going to be worn out. If they are able to take advantage of this and get themselves out to early leads, they are going to be just fine. Early in the season, it appears that UTSA does not fully get comfortable until they are trailing by double digits, which is a dangerous recipe.

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Coach Henson is well on his way to building a team who can compete in the C-USA. It is a reasonable expectation for the current team to finish in the top half of the conference this season. If UTSA can remain this efficient on the offensive end of the floor, they are going to outscore most of the teams they play. UTSA may be able to pull a few upsets if they continue this torrid pace of play. The C-USA should be on alert with the scoring outputs from this team.