Moments after a discouraging 77-71 residence loss to UCF on Wednesday evening, Texas males’s basketball coach Rodney Terry took offense at how among the Knights have been celebrating.
A handful of UCF gamers mocked Texas’ iconic Hook ‘Em Horns hand signal by elevating their arms and displaying the notorious Horns Down gesture.
Whereas going by way of the postgame handshake line, Terry repeatedly shouted “that’s classless” on the UCF gamers and instructed them, “Don’t try this s—.” Terry was nonetheless fuming half-hour later when he addressed the incident throughout his postgame information convention.
“While you do these sorts of issues, it appears to be like very classless and it additionally appears to be like such as you have been simply hoping to win,” Terry mentioned. “We by no means go into video games attempting to hope to win. We go into video games anticipating to win. So we don’t act like that. We anticipate to win. We don’t soar up and down and act like we gained the nationwide championship. We positive don’t step on anybody’s residence courtroom and act loopy and attempt to present them up in any means. We don’t try this.
“You guys gained. Hey, we shake your hand and tip our hat to you, however we’re not going to allow you to act that means in our constructing. You’re not going to place your horns down and do all that nonsense.”
UCF coach Johnny Dawkins instructed reporters after the sport that Terry is “an excellent man” and that he has “a number of respect” for the Texas program. Dawkins mentioned he would evaluate the footage and promised, “If there’s any motion that must be taken on my finish from our employees, I’ll try this.”
When Dawkins does watch video of the handshake line incident, he could be shocked how tame his gamers’ celebration was. They don’t appear to be flashing the Horns Down within the faces of Texas gamers. This wasn’t the atrocity that Terry made it out to be.
The larger concern for Terry needs to be his personal workforce’s lack of ability to guard a 15-point second-half lead. The Longhorns made solely 4 baskets over the sport’s last 12 minutes, following up a dreadful street loss at outmanned West Virginia with one other expensive setback in opposition to an unheralded UCF workforce within the midst of its debut Huge 12 season.
Dropping winnable video games is very damaging on this yr’s Huge 12 as a result of there aren’t many gimmes obtainable. Solely West Virginia, Oklahoma State and UCF are decrease than 54th within the nation per Ken Pomeroy’s rankings.
Now 12-5 total however 1-3 within the Huge 12, Texas is poised to start a gauntlet of video games in opposition to rugged competitors. Awaiting Texas the following three weeks: Baylor, at Oklahoma, at BYU, Houston, at TCU, Iowa State. And even when the Longhorns one way or the other survive that, street video games at Houston, Kansas, Texas Tech and Baylor nonetheless stay earlier than postseason play begins.
KenPom initiatives Texas to complete 17-14 total and 6-12 in league play.
That in all probability wouldn’t safe the Longhorns an NCAA event bid.
The excellent news for Terry is that the remedy for each his issues is identical. To return to the NCAA event and cease opponents from celebrating at their expense, the Longhorns want to begin piling up some extra wins.
