Texas had no problems Thursday night with Houston Christian. The Longhorns jumped to a 16-0 lead in the first six minutes, shot 51.5% from the field for the game and ultimately won 82-31 while holding Ron Cottrell’s Huskies to just 21.7% shooting from the field.
“They are so good defensively,” Cottrell said.
No argument here.
Texas is currently ranked No. 1 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com. Granted, it’s way early. But it should be noted that Chris Beard’s teams — first at Texas Tech, then at Texas — have finished no worse than 18th in adjusted defensive efficiency in five straight years. So it’s reasonable to assume the Longhorns will cause problems for offenses all season, which is among the reasons next week’s showdown with Gonzaga and CBS Sports Preseason Player of the Year Drew Timme projects as one of the sport’s best early matchups.
Six Longhorns scored in double-figures against Houston Christian — among them five-star freshman Dillon Mitchell. The 6-foot-8 forward from Florida took five shots, made all five of them and finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds in just 18 minutes. He has not missed a shot through two games this season, the first of which was Monday’s 72-57 win over UTEP.
Texas remains No. 12 in Friday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. The Longhorns’ next game is Wednesday. That’s when they’ll host Gonzaga inside the Moody Center, their new $375 million on-campus basketball arena.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
College basketball rankings: Texas improves to 2-0, looks strong heading into next week’s clash vs. Gonzaga
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