Second-Ranked Longhorns Stifle Bobcats at the Drum

Unlike 2007 and 2008, Texas State was unable to keep much of a pulse in this one. In an 87-54 decision, the Longhorns rode a double-double from Damion James, showed impressive inside presence and shut down the Bobcat offense in the Frank Erwin Center on Saturday.

The Bobcats started the game with a quick 2-0 lead with 1:20 gone in the first half, and that would be the only time they would see themselves with the lead. UT then quickly jumped out to a 20-6 lead and proceeded to snuff the life out of an already inconsistent Bobcat offense. The closest the Bobcats would get after that point was a 22-10 deficit which Texas quickly countered with a 13-2 run of their own. At halftime, the numbers weren't pretty for the maroon and gold: Texas State shot 8 of 34 for a horrid 23.5% clip from the field, gave up 20 points off of 13 turnovers, were held scoreless for a total of 9 minutes, and worst of all, trailed 46-24. The second half wouldn't be any less painful to watch for Bobcat fans.

Despite the fact that the Bobcats were only outscored by 11 in the second half, Texas still kept a stranglehold on the game with the brute force and precision of a python. Damion James poured it on for UT as he finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds, while Avery Bradley chipped in 15 and Jordan Hamilton scored 15 for the 'Horns. The Bobcats couldn't counter with much in the scoring column, as J.B. Conley was the only player in double figures with 10 points. Cameron Johnson, who as previously mentioned torched UT for 24 last year, put up a shocking goose egg in the scoring column.

Overall, Texas played much better this year, while Texas State clearly misses the presence of Brandon Bush and Brent Benson to take some of the heat off of Johnson. Turnovers and points off of turnovers have been the bane of Texas State's existence so far this year, and Saturday was no different as UT capitalized on 21 Bobcat turnovers for 33 points. It's clear that while turnovers can and will happen in Davalos's free-wheeling, fast-paced offense, there is gargantuan room for improvement in taking care of the basketball with this team. Texas State also needs to work on their shot selection, especially from beyond the arc. The Bobcats only shot 20% from 3-point land in a 4-20 effort, and many of those shots were put up while off-balance or in haste.

The story was the same leading up to this year's game, as national and local media pundits predicted a big Texas win. Texas State, however shattered those prognostications in 2007 and 2008. The Bobcats trailed #4 UT by 2 at half in 2007's 96-81 loss, and got even closer in 2008, almost upsetting the 6th-ranked Longhorns in a gripping 81-73 loss. Few outside of San Marcos gave the Bobcats much of a chance in those years, and this year would be no different. The Longhorns checked in with an 8-0 record and a #2 national ranking, trailing only Big 12 rival and basketball blue blood Kansas. On the opposite end, Texas State traveled to Austin with a 3-6 record and had only one Division 1 win to their name--a 10 point win over a sad sack 2-10 UT-Pan American team in San Marcos. This was finally the year that the pundits had their predictions validated, as the Bobcats looked overwhelmed all game and were outmatched in almost every facet of the contest.

With the win, Texas improves to 9-0 while Texas State drops to 3-7 and 1-7 against Division 1 competition. Texas State has also lost 21 straight to the Longhorns and fall to 5-39 all-time against their neighbors. The Bobcats will have a few days off to regroup before hitting the road again to face 6-3 DePaul in Chicago on Saturday at 1 pm. You can catch all of the action on 89.9 FM KTSW and online at ktsw.net or txstatebobcats.com

-Will Butler, KTSW Sports Director/Blog Editor