Welcome to Bevo’s Fake Nuts, our weekly-ish column on the Texas Longhorns.
Why are we cheering for Texas today?
Because we have money on them.
But other things, too.
Our interests all season, here at BFN, have been for Shaka Smart to prove Texas was silly to run him out of town, and if a lack of success on Texas’s end could help send that message, so be it. As it stands, Texas was clearly the better team this year, but that was also expected. Shaka Smart left the cupboard more stocked here than he found it at Marquette, and it’s easier to draw transfers to play with Courtney Ramey and Andrew Jones in Austin than it is to bring them to this iteration of Marquette in Milwaukee (though Smart did some of that as well). Marquette overperformed expectations, Texas underperformed unreasonable expectations but is on track with reasonable ones. If they win today, they’ll likely make the “Elite” Eight, and that would be a firm success for the Horns. So, that doesn’t feel great for us, but at the same time…
We like Chris Beard. And much more importantly, we like the players.
It’s not the most likable crew—not as likable as last year’s team—but it’s a fun group, and if you watch any college athletes long enough, you start to develop a personal fondness for them. You want them to do well. You want Ramey and Jones to succeed. You would love Jase Febres to have a moment. You don’t have anything against the imports—again, they’re college athletes—and we, at least, don’t dislike Brock Cunningham (even if his treatment from the elder statesmen of the beat jumped the shark long ago), and so you pull for the team with whom you have more familiarity, especially since Purdue’s not exactly a heartwarming crew. Matt Painter inspires little emotion. A team that doesn’t play defense is naturally frustrating. A team that refuses to give the ball to Zach Edey as often as they should can spark that feeling that “these guys don’t deserve to win.”
So, we’re in on Texas. Emotionally.
That said.
If this team doesn’t make the second weekend…and especially if it happens pretty heartbreakingly…
I’m curious what the reaction would be. My perception right now of the state of the fanbase is that there’s a little bit of frustration about the Horns that would be wiped away completely with an “Elite” Eight trip but could potentially surge with a bad defeat. If it’s a weird one—something like Nevada in 2018—it doesn’t seem as likely there’d be an anti-Beard backlash, but there’d definitely be some whining about luck, and that would actually be really stinking fair. The luck thing was kind of our point all along with Shaka Smart. Judging a coach based on three or four percent of their games is a dumb way to judge a coach.
So, we’ll see. And we might have some enjoyment either way. But for today…
Hook ‘em.
