 "Photo: Chris Kominczak")
The Longhorns lost more than a month-long winning streak and a Top 5 ranking in Lubbock on Saturday.
They also lost their poise.
After stringing together the first perfect month of February in 45 years, Texas opened March by committing 12 turnovers and accumulating 31 personal fouls in an 83-80 loss to Texas Tech. However, according to Texas coach Rick Barnes, the team's true downfall occurred mentally.
"I don't want to do anything to take away from Texas Tech, but I felt a little bit of the [mental] slippage coming," Barnes said. "You can't give away possessions where mentally you are not getting yourself ready to play."
Primarily, Barnes pointed to his post players, who combined for only
20 points.
"We just settled for turnaround jump shots and stationary jump shots," Barnes said. "We didn't put enough pressure on the rim."
Connor Atchley had a particularly subpar performance, scoring two points on 1-of-3 shooting, while foul trouble forced him to the bench for all but 24 minutes of the contest.
"It's a double-edged sword because we want him to be aggressive and block shots," Barnes said. "It's judgment. He's trying to get his hand on a ball, but that's where he has to realize his importance on our team. We don't need him sitting on the bench."
The Longhorns (24-5, 11-3 Big 12) need a much better showing out of the starter tonight in the Frank Erwin Center when Atchley lines up across from one of the Big 12's premier big men in Nebraska's Aleks Maric.
The senior center anchors the conference's best scoring defense (60.4 ppg) while ranking fifth in league scoring (16.0 ppg) and third in rebounding (10.0 rpg).
"[Atchley] definitely needs to take more than three shots," Barnes said. "He has to be willing to pull the trigger."
While one Texas starter will be looking to take more shots, another just wants more of them to fall.
Since scoring 25 points in an overtime victory at Iowa State early in February, A.J. Abrams is just 22-of-65 from the field, including a 5-for-17 performance in the loss to Texas Tech. The defeat sent Texas sliding four spots to a No. 9 rank.
The good news for the Longhorns is that they typically respond well to losses. Texas followed up a conference-opening loss to Missouri by winning three in a row and then bounced back from a stinging 80-63 defeat to Texas A&M by producing a perfect 8-0 mark last month.
Texas might have the added benefit of not worrying about Nebraska point guard Cookie Miller during the contest after the freshman injured his shoulder on Feb. 23 against the Aggies, causing him to miss the team's last two games. Miller averages 6.1 points, 2.0 steals and ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 4.04 assists per game.
"He did a little workout [on Sunday], but I still don't know," said Nebraska coach Doc Sadler.
Even if the Cornhuskers (17-10, 6-8) are undermanned in Austin, Barnes knows his team cannot afford another 40 minutes of mental mishaps if they want to rebound from their recent setback.
"There is not a 'gimme' in this league," Barnes said. "You've got to play [smart], and if you don't, then you're going to get beat."
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