Marquette’s Shaka Smart told his players in advance of Wednesday’s showdown with Texas that coaching against the Big 12 program he previously led for six seasons didn’t really carry any special weight with him.
“Bullshit,” Marquette point guard Tyler Kolek said following the Golden Eagles’ 86-65 blowout of the Longhorns.
Put me down as #TeamKolek, if only because it defies logic to think there wouldn’t be at least a little something swirling inside Smart as he prepared to face the school whose fans turned on him in a way that made it sensible to leave Texas for Marquette following the 2020-21 season.
Despite making three of the five NCAA Tournaments that were played while he was at Texas, most UT fans were bothered by the fact that Smart never advanced in the 68-team bracket. After Texas, as a No. 3 seed, was upset by Abilene Christian in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament, it became clear that Smart would enter Year 7 at Texas very much on the so-called hot seat. Rather than live that life, he wisely bounced to Marquette, where Smart got a clean slate and fresh set of expectations.
The move has gone brilliantly.
Smart has already won a Big East championship and Big East Tournament title — and also participated in each of the past two NCAA Tournaments. His Golden Eagles are No. 7 in Thursday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings after the easy victory over Texas that served as a nice bounce-back from Saturday’s loss at Wisconsin.
“I told the guys in the locker room after the game that this really was the result, not just of their effort and connectivity tonight, but [of] what they were willing to put into the last few days,” Smart said. “There was some real conversation and reflection after Saturday’s game [at Wisconsin]. The difference between good teams and great teams is [that] great teams are able to come together after adversity.”
Texas’ 21-point loss at Marquette compelled me to completely remove Rodney Terry’s team from the Top 25 And 1. Simply put, we’re now more than a month into the season, and nothing that has happened suggests the Longhorns deserve to continue to keep a number beside their name. They’ve only played two schools ranked in the top 160 at KenPom.com — first UConn, then Marquette — and lost those games by an average of 15.5 points. Their best victory is an 81-80 win over a Louisville program that’s embarrassingly bad and ranked 162nd at KenPom.com and 171st at BartTorvik.com, meaning UT’s resume is filled with some whatever-wins and two lopsided defeats. So Texas is out of the Top 25 And 1 — and now the Longhorns won’t have another opportunity to secure their first win over a currently ranked team until they play Baylor in 44 days.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
In: Alabama | Out: Texas
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