No Better Start

The young 2017-18 NCAA basketball season is barely a week old for the UT Arlington basketball teams. While it hasn't always been pretty, both teams sit undefeated to this point. It all started with homecoming wins on November 11.

And that leads me to the "it hasn't always been pretty" part. The men opened the season with high expectations as the preseason favorites in the Sun Belt Conference.Yes, there were a lot of losses with grind it out guys like Jorge Bilbao, Jalen Jones and Drew Charles gone. But with senior leadership from NBA-caliber players Eric Neal and Kevin Hervey, also known as the Sun Belt preseason player of the year, there is a lot of firepower. Those two, especial Neal on the point, make everyone better.

The big question mark going in was how the interior defensive play would shape up. After the homecoming game against Loyola Marymount, it was no clearer.



Quite frankly, it was a game they should have lost. There was a brief spurt in the first half and the last third or so of the second half where they looked in control. Thankfully they knew how to finish and escaped with an 85-80 win. But they were outplayed in the paint. The Lions outrebounded the Mavs, 39-29 and seemed to have a hard time with the interior play. My first impression of Johnny Hamilton, a graduate transfer from Virginia Tech who was highly touted in the offseason, was tepid at best. It didn't appear that Link Kabadyundi had progressed much from last season. With the absence of Julian Harris, who is essentially day-to-day with an injury, they needed to step up and they played better in the stretch. That showed me that the Mavs need better interior play to be the elite team Mav faithful are all hoping they are.

Which led to the BYU game the following Saturday. It's been thoroughly mentioned in Maverick circles about last year's NIT run. It started in Provo, Utah against the higher seeded Cougars. There were many who said BYU didn't get up because they were disappointed in their placement within the NIT and didn't have much to play for. Well, I don't think that argument holds up very well after this year's game.

The 89-75 win was a dominant effort by the Mavs. UTA led almost from the get-go. The 14 point win was closer than it actually was. My concern over the interior play from LMU game led me to believe this could be a loss. It was the interior that led the way.

Hamilton grabbed 10 points and five rebounds while Kabadyundi went for seven points and three rebounds. More importantly, it was their defensive play and presence inside that prompted the Cougar offense to put up bad shots. BYU shot 33% in the first half and were it not for a run BYU had late, 43% FG shooting for the entire game would have been lower.

Of course, Neal and Hervey did what they normally do, and that grabs the headlines. But if the Mavs can get play like that inside, they will be the force that prognosticators are predicting.

Up next is Alabama at their place tonight as both teams put their undefeated records on the line.

As for the women, they are cruising right along as well.

They opened their season against Incarnate Word, also their homecoming game. Other than a slow second quarter, the game went pretty much as expected. Where the UTA program has elevated itself at this point in time, the Cardinals should never really be a threat. They held UIW to under 30 percent shooting both in FG and three-pointers while hitting 44 and 50 respectively. Not common to be better from behind the arc than overall, but that may be the single biggest reason this team is competitive.

They turned around and hosted Oral Roberts two days later and there were no issues. Oral Roberts scored the first basket of the game, but the Mavericks throttled the Golden Eagles the rest of the way. They started the second quarter up 24-6 and ended up winning 70-46. Aside from Crystal Allen's 22 points, there were no real standouts as 11 Mavericks played and ten logged ten or more minutes of action, exactly what is needed in the early season games.

Next up was UTSA, one of the biggest rivalries UTA had for the women's basketball program their last decade in the Southland Conference. I don't blame them for going to Conference USA, but I wonder what could have been had they stayed in the same conference like UTA and Texas State have done. Games like this are exactly why.

It was very reminiscent of the battles for the conference title, both regular season and tournament time. UTA controlled the odd quarters, winning the first and third, 17-16 and 18-12 respectively. The Roadrunners won the even quarters, 15-12 in the second and 18-14 in the fourth. That setup an OT period that wasn't decided until the final whistle. UTSA took an early two-point lead. Then, preseason SBC player of the year Rebekah VanDijk hit a shot underneath to tie it after getting an offensive rebound. Then, immediately after, she secured a defensive rebound which kept it tied. 15 seconds later, she is fouled and makes both free throws to give the Mavs the lead. Crystal Allen would end up making both free throws she attempted later while Laurynn McGowen and Shelby Richards would make one of two. Six of the eight points UTA scored came from the line. That was clutch. If they can keep it, winning via defense, three-pointers or free throws, they will be a force to be reckoned with as the season moves on.

The final game was one I was very interested in. I get very frustrated that there are four NCAA Division I institutions in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, yet it had been since 2014 when UTA played either of those three schools. That was a game against North Texas in December. The Mavs and Horned Frogs last squared off in December of 2010, a TCU win. The Mustangs hadn't scheduled UTA since they lost to the Mavericks in November of 2008.

I don't understand why. I call shenanigans on the argument that those teams have nothing to gain. The travel costs are lower than they ever will be for the whole season, fans can go to support the teams and the home side cares more due to geographical rivalry. The idea that they will lose a recruiting edge if they lose comes from the coaches, understandably, since that is their focus. But recruits choose schools for myriad reasons. Very last on the list is the schools win-loss to certain schools the prior year. Schools rise and fall. Some years they are juggernauts and others they are rebuilding.

I don't want to harp on the issue too much, because I could go on and on. I've covered the issue before here, for more in depth look at the topic.

As for the game, SMU's first visit to College Park Center was another tight, back and forth affair. It looked like the home team might falter to open, as the Mustangs virtually doubled up the Mavericks until finally UTA found a rhythm. The teams played even until the fourth when UTA charged ahead. The highlight reel moment was an Allen three-pointer with seven seconds left to break a 55 tie.

Close games build character. Winning close games are the hallmark of good teams. It is clear that UTA is a solid team. I'm very interested to see how the team stacks up against the SBC this year.

As it is now, they are 4-0 and will play Fresno State at College Park Center on Friday. The Bulldogs are 1-2 with a home win over Eastern Washington and home losses to Arizona State and UC-Riverside.