Big 12 Basketball power rankings: Kansas, Baylor clear above others

Different year, same old Texas Longhorns under head coach Shaka Smart. They have a really good defense but a below-average offense that makes them vulnerable against all kinds of teams. But unlike previous seasons, Texas has yet to have that “bad” loss that comes back to haunt them later on. The only defeat was to Georgetown who is far from a resume-killer.

While the centers have been the most noteworthy players for Texas recently, it’s all about the perimeter players this time around. Especially Andrew Jones, who has missed the last two seasons after battling both injuries and a Leukemia diagnosis. In 25 mpg off the bench, the 6’4 guard is second on the team with 12.3 ppg. He scored a career-high 20 points twice this season and nailed a key three-pointer to give the Longhorns their best win of the year over Purdue.

The three starting guards (Matt Coleman, Jese Febres and Courtney Ramey) are the other leading scorers and all four of them are shooting at least four three-pointers a game. The combined percentages are average but with just an uptick, Texas offense could take a big step forward.

This team doesn’t have much depth, using primarily four-guard lineups when both forwards Jericho Sims and Gerald Liddell aren’t on the court. It hurts them a bit on the boards but teams still struggle to score overall. If Sims can become more of a factor on offense, the ceiling for the Longhorns will certainly rise. But as long as this team can avoid a bad loss the rest of the non-conference, they’ll be in great shape to get back to the Big Dance.