SportsLine.com Report
March 18, 2000

Round 2: Longhorns ousted by LSU, 72-67

Texas had a major size advantage in its second-round tussle with Louisiana State. The Tigers, however, had something the Longhorns didn't.

His name is Stromile Swift and the sophomore forward scored 23 points and came up with a clutch blocked shot in LSU's 72-67 win in the Midwest Regional in Salt Lake City. The setback ended the Longhorns' season and moved the Tigers into the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1987.

The game was tied at 60 at the three-minute mark of the second half, but the fourth-seeded Tigers (28-5) scored the next six points to seize control. LSU freshman point guard Torris Bright split the Texas defense for a layup, Swift scored over Texas' Gabe Muoneke, and Brian Beshara made two big free throws after intercepting a pass in the Longhorns' backcourt.

Ivan Wagner led fifth-seeded Texas (24-9) with 19 points, hitting 5-of-7 from 3-point range. The Longhorns also got 11 points each from Muoneke and All-American center Chris Mihm, who had 11 rebounds but committed five turnovers.

The game might have been the last Mihm plays in college. The junior has yet to announce his intentions for next year and he is projected as a high pick in the NBA Draft.

How They Got There

Texas finished second in the regular season Big 12 standings and recorded the 16th 20-win season in its 94 years of basketball -- the first since 1995-96 (21-10). It also marked the fifth time in Rick Barnes' 13 years as a coach that he has guided his team to 20 wins. Barnes has now led all four schools he has coached (George Mason, Providence, Clemson and Texas) to at least one 20-win season.

Since Barnes took over the Texas program, the Horns have shot to the top of the Big 12 Conference. Texas has a 26-6 record in league games over the last two years, the best in the conference. After winning the Big 12 title in his first year at Texas with a 13-3 mark, Barnes guided the Horns to a 13-3 record and a No. 2 seed in this year's Big 12 Tournament.

Starting Lineup

• PG Ivan Wagner (6-1, 195, Sr.): The trigger man of the offense, Wagner led the squad in assists (131) and steals (47) for the second consecutive year, with a assist-to-turnover ratio of better than 2-to-1.
• G William Clay (6-2, 190, Sr.): After struggling to find his role throughout 1998-99, he appears much more confident in the halfcourt offensive set while quickly earning a reputation as one of the best one-on-one defenders in the Big 12.
• G Darren Kelly (6-3, 185, Jr.): A huge addition to the starting lineup toward the end of the season. After coming off the bench the first 21 games, he started the last eight regular season contests. Kelly scored 33 points on 13 of 17 shooting, grabbed four rebounds and made two steals in regular-season finale.
• C Chris Mihm (7-0, 262, Jr.): An Austin native, he is the only player in Texas history to record 1,100 career points, 800 rebounds and 200 blocks. Mihm does all the little things right and records a double-double in almost every big game.
• PF Gabe Muoneke (6-7, 250, Sr.): He can take over a game, as he did on Jan. 15 against No. 16 Oklahoma, when he poured in 30 points, outshining OU SportsLine.com All-American Eduardo Najera. Muoneke also seems to have much more control over his emotions than he has at any point in his career.

Keys to Success

With Mihm and Muoneke in the middle, Texas can match-up with most any team in the low post. But the key for Texas all year has been the play of its often unpredictable guards.

When Texas' guards have been good, the Longhorns have been exceptional. When the backcourt has struggled, so have the Horns. For the most part, Texas' guards have played well in virtually every big win this season. But the majority of Texas' losses this season can be traced back to poor backcourt play.

In a 73-65 loss to Oklahoma State on Jan. 19, Texas' starting guards (at the time), Ivan Wagner, William Clay and Lawrence Williams, were a combined four of 17 from the floor, including Clay's zero for seven.

The guards' unpredictability was on display in back-to-back road games against UConn and Texas A&M.

In a 77-67 loss to defending national champion Connecticut on Jan. 10, Texas shot a season-low 33.3 percent (24 of 72), and Wagner made just 2 of 15 shots. Two nights later, Wagner energized Texas in the second half with a pair of sparkling defensive plays and 14 points to avoid an upset against Texas A&M.

The Coach

The 1999 Big 12 Coach of the Year, Rick Barnes entered the league tournament with a 243-154 (.612) record in 13 years as a head coach at George Mason, Providence, Clemson and Texas. Along the way, he has guided his teams to seven NCAA and three NIT appearances.

With the Longhorns' appearance in last year's NCAA Tourney, Barnes became one of 23 coaches who have taken three different teams to the NCAAs. He also became the only one of these 23 coaches to take his team to the Big Dance by his second year with each program. In each case, Barnes inherited a program that had not been to the NCAA Tournament the previous season.

The Bench

Last year, Texas won the Big 12 regular season title despite playing with just seven scholarship players for the majority of the season. This year, the Horns again were faced with limited numbers early on due to injuries to junior guard Lawrence Williams and freshman forward William Wyatt. Williams returned from his pulled groin against Wofford (Dec. 18). Wyatt made his debut against Niagara (Dec. 28), returning from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.

Freshman guard Roosevelt Brown was cleared by the NCAA to play against Texas A&M on Jan. 12. Last year, four UT players averaged over 30 minutes. This year, only Chris Mihm (30.8 minutes per contest) and Ivan Wagner (31.4 minutes) are in that category.

Offense

An athletic team, the Longhorns like to push the ball whenever possible. But with Mihm and Muoneke in the middle, the Horns are also quite content to play a halfcourt offense. Texas finished sixth in the Big 12 in scoring offense, averaging 74.9 points per game. The Horns were third in the league in both field goal percentage (46.8) and 3-point percentage (37.6).

Defense

Rick Barnes has made defense his top priority since arriving in Austin. The Longhorns held their opponents to just 40.6 percent field goal shooting in 1998-99, marking the lowest field goal percentage recorded by the Horns since 1962-63 (36-year span).

This year, Texas has been even better. During the regular season, the Longhorns limited opponents to 38.9 percent shooting. In fact, the Horns allowed just three opponents to shoot better than 47 percent from the floor during the regular season. Texas went 16-0 during the regular season when holding opponents to under 40 percent shooting.