NCAA Basketball: UConn, Purdue rise on top 25 power ranking after Feast Week
By Joey Loose
2. Texas (5-0)
The Longhorns proved they belonged among the elite teams with their 19-point win against Gonzaga nearly two weeks ago. The work Chris Beard has done to build this program into that type of elite unit already has been impressive. The play of Iowa State transfer Tyrese Hunter has been phenomenal while returning pieces like Marcus Carr are playing key roles in that success, which continued with little drama this past week.
Texas won two games over mid-majors as part of the Leon Black Classic. On Monday, they took care of Northern Arizona in a 73-48 win with another elite performance from their defense. Carr led all scorers with 17 points while Arterio Morris had a nice 11-point performance off the bench. Their second win came over the weekend, winning 91-54 with little drama against UTRGV. In that win, Carr had 18 points while Hunter had 17 points.
The defense has been outstanding three weeks into the season, with Gonzaga the only team to score more than 57 points against these Longhorns. While most of these early wins have come over mid-major foes, there’s still plenty to like early on, as evident in that game against the Bulldogs. With upcoming games against Creighton and Illinois, there will plenty more chances for the Longhorns to prove their spot on the rankings.