No. 7 Texas will be looking to build on its strong season opener as it hosts Gardner-Webb on Thursday night in Austin.
The Longhorns (1-0) rolled to a 109-59 victory over Chicago State on Monday. They had five players score in double figures, led by Matas Vokietaitis with 22 points. Isaiah Johnson knocked down three 3-pointers en route to an 18-point performance, and Joe Sterling drained four long balls as part of his 14-point outing.
Texas finished with 48 points off the bench as 10 players scored in the game. It was an impressive showing for a team that’s expected to take a significant step forward in Sean Miller’s second season.
“I do believe in our depth,” Miller said after the game. “I think on given nights different players will be able to lead us in different categories.”
To that point, Miller mentioned freshman Austin Goosby leading the team with eight assists in his first college game. “Not easy to do regardless of your opponent,” Miller said.
Texas turned in a strong defensive performance Monday to go with the 109 points. It forced 15 turnovers, registered six blocks and held Chicago State to 39.3% shooting from the field.
The Longhorns will look to turn in a similar all-around performance against Gardner-Webb (0-1). The Runnin’ Bulldogs fell at No. 4 UConn 86-46 on Monday night. They missed eight of their first nine shots and shot 25.5% from the field for the game.
Jacob Hudson led the team in scoring with nine points, while Seth Brown and Jackson Skipper each had eight points.
While much of the attention Thursday will be on Vokietaitas, the 7-footer from Lithuania, the Longhorns also have Johnson, whose godfather is NBA legend Dwyane Wade, and freshman Marcus Spears Jr., the son of former NFL player Marcus Spears and WNBA player Aiysha Smith.
Johnson dished out five assists and had two steals to go with his 18 points Monday. Spears scored 11 points in 20 minutes in his debut.
Miller said that he liked Spears’ aggressiveness but added that the youngster will learn the importance of slowing the game down at times on offense.
“He’s one of those guys who shows up every day and really plays for us,” Miller said. “I thought his defense — steals, blocks, hedging ball screens — his activity was outstanding.”
Miller spent the opening part of his postgame comments praising the UT students for coming to the Moody Center on a Monday night. He’d like to see similar support Thursday as the Longhorns try to generate basketball buzz during football season.
“I thought our students were great … showing up at 8 p.m. on Monday on the heels of a home football game. Just great to have them in full force,” Miller said. “The student section in every arena is always the heartbeat of the crowd. Everybody really feeds off their energy.
“It’s something that’s super important for us to always be mindful of as a coach, as a team. Our students are really important. They did an amazing job of showing up and sending great energy this first game.”
