The UT Arlington basketball teams concluded the non-conference portion of their schedule to mixed results, but it looks like more of the same ole, same ole for the Mavericks team.
On the men's side, they finished with a home win against Cal-Poly of the Big West, but a stretch of three losses in four games have really hurt the Mavericks in a way UTA never really has had to worry about until recent years. The setbacks came against Northern Iowa on the road, Florida Gulf Coast at home and a ranked Creighton team on the road. It was the FGCU home loss that was the most damaging, as it came to a team sitting out of the top 100 in RPI (they are now not in the top 200).
More importantly to me, that showed a team that was easily rattled and had a lack of composure, something I haven't seen from a team wearing a Mavericks jersey in a good long while. Three different Mavericks earned a technical foul and FGCU seemed to be able to make the Mavericks play their game, not the other way around.
In the losses and even many of the wins, UTA exhibited a lack of consistency for a full forty minutes. It was shown against Alabama. Creighton is another example. For 30 minutes in that game, UTA played better and scored more than the Bluejays. But that ten minutes that went to the opponent was horrendous. UTA held a l3-11 lead slightly less than mid-way through the first half. But, as would be the case all game, UTA couldn't stop the Creighton long-range shot and Creighton made five three's by the last media timeout. A made free throw after a made bucket gave Creighton six three point possessions in that stretch. UTA also went cold, getting only five points to allow the Bluejays to build their lead to a game-high 25 points with roughly two minutes left. The final margin of victory was only five points.
While watching the North Texas game, a 65-60 win, I noticed a tendency to shoot long range shots often, even when they aren't falling. I don't know if it is because the inside game is falling from what I first observed in the first few opening games, if it is because they rush possessions when they have a momentum lull or if it is because they all have great confidence in the shot. But those shots haven't been falling for great stretches of the season, and as shown against Creighton, may have cost the Mavericks a marquee win.
UTA did rebound for a 21-point win to close the non-conference slate against Cal Poly, but even then, there were concerns. The Mustangs were a four-win team and went into half time with only a three-point lead. The Mustangs had an eight-point lead in the first half halfway through. UTA did what they needed to do in the 2nd, but I was (and still am) concerned about their inability to start and finish a game.
And that pretty much assures UTA there is no at-large shot. Unlike last year, where there was a legitimate chance (I still contend the Mavericks were hosed), UTA doesn't have the resume to hope for an at-large chance. There were road wins, ranked wins and big name wins last year. This year, UTA's big win is a road W at BYU, ranked 55th in RPI, the only top 100 RPI win. The other wins are against teams at 235, 194, 174, 302, 193, 276 and 271. Unless UTA just sweeps through conference play and makes it to the tournament championship and losses a close game, I don't see any scenario where UTA gets an at-large.
In the end, that may be a good thing. Sometimes I wonder if this team knows they are good and expect to win by stepping on the court. That goes counter to what Coach Scott Cross teaches and espouses, so I don't expect so. But the inconsistent play leaves a lot of questions.
The men open conference play this Thursday against Coastal Carolina in Conway. The Chanticleers are 6-7 on the year, but only 3-7 versus DI competition. One of UTA's four conference losses was in Conway last year. Hopefully that is fully on the mind of the Mavericks this Friday.
On the women's side of things, they hit their own major skid when they dropped five in a row after winning five in a row. A big reason for the skid is the loss of senior guard Cierra Johnson. She tore her ACL in the win against UT San Antonio and will sit out the remainder of the season. The reigning SBC defensive player of the year and a pre-season all-conference first team selection was a huge part of what the Mavericks were about this year.
They still managed to pick up two wins without her in the starting lineup. One needed a three at the buzzer against SMU, but they handled Fresno State. Four of the five losses were against Power-5 conference schools on the road. UTA had a chance at home against Houston, as they outscored the Cougars in the first, second and fourth quarter, total margin was 45-32. But a 30-13 third quarter doomed UTA to their second loss in the streak.
The other losses weren't close. The Mavericks only held 1st quarter leads in two games against their "P5" competition and only scored more than their opponents in two out of 12 quarters. So likely, the record wouldn't be much different had Johnson been in the lineup.
After those five losses, UTA fared better to close out the season at home, but still did it in heart attack fashion. Against San Fransisco, a West Coast Conference school, they opened a large first quarter lead, then played toe-to toe until the fourth quarter. The Dons scored a massive fourth quarter comeback and took their first and only lead with a little over four minutes remaining, 54-53. UTA's defensive locked down though and the Dons never scored again. Trouble was UTA didn't either and took the game down to their final possession when Shelby Richards hit a wide-open three. The Dons failed on their possession and UTA escaped with a 56-54 win.
My gripes watching that game were similar to the men's team in that they had a hard time getting it inside, especially that last quarter and settled for three's. It worked well prior, but UTA scored a total of four fourth quarter points, so it did not work well late. They got the W, but it is clear that the team misses Johnson. UTA is capable of winning the Sun Belt, but certainly will have their work cut out for them.
They also open the season against Coastal Carolina. The Chants are also 6-5, but like the men's team, that is a little misleading. Only four of those wins are against Division I schools and not great DI schools at that. UTA swept the series last year.
Finally, I'd like to let everyone who follows this blog know that my computer's hard drive has failed and that adding new entries to this blog is challenging. I'm having to add this on a different computer than normal and don't have access to my personal files. Really upset me that I didn't add the 1967 Pecan Bowl to the last entry of This Day in UTA Football History, but the game stories, stat sheets and other miscellaneous information I've acquired is unavailable. Until that is rectified, I'll do the best I can, but getting access and time away from home is very difficult. I'd like to do my annual post-non-conference, pre-SBC conference predictions, but don't know that I will have the opportunity. Bear with me in the short term please.
Until the next time, whenever that will be, I hope you enjoyed your Christmas, hope you will enjoy your New Year's and wish you the best for 2018.
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