The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Texas-Pan American
Men's Basketball rolls past UT-Pan American
11.29.2005 | Men's Basketball
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- When things aren't going well, No. 2 Texas has learned to lean on wiry center LaMarcus Aldridge.
The sophomore got his sixth double-double of the season Tuesday night with a career-high 23 points and 11 rebounds, helping the Longhorns shake off poor shooting in a sloppy 82-54 win over Texas-Pan American.
After missing half of last season with a hip injury, Aldridge has a double-double in every game this season for the Longhorns (6-0), off to their best start since winning their first 14 games in 1981-82.
"LaMarcus has played 22 collegiate games, he's doing pretty good," Texas coach Rick Barnes said. "The biggest thing he's adjusting to now [is] his teammates are really looking for him."
P.J. Tucker added 19 points and 11 rebounds for Texas. Mike Williams also had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Longhorns have made a habit of beating up on their weaker state rivals early in the season -- they are 56-5 against Lone Star opponents under Barnes -- and the Broncs hardly figured to be much of a match.
But Pan American made it anything but easy in the early going for the Longhorns, who shot just 37 percent in the first half, including 2-of-12 from 3-point range. Texas missed layups, threw passes into the stands and turned the ball over eight times.
"We were real stagnant," Tucker said. "We got a lot of shots we wanted but we were missing. [But] we don't want to be playing our best basketball right now. Good teams get better as the season goes on."
Tucker, who hit all nine of his shots against Louisiana-Monroe three days earlier, missed his first two Tuesday night and Texas trailed 11-10 before seizing the lead with a defensive effort that kept Pan American scoreless for six minutes in a 10-0 run. Aldridge converted a three-point play and Connor Atchley's putback made it 20-11.
Pan American cut it to 26-21 before Aldridge and Williams helped Texas end any threat of an upset. Aldridge scored the Longhorns' final six points of the half, including a dunk, to send Texas into halftime leading 32-23.
Texas slowly stretched the lead in the second. Williams scored eight points as the Longhorns continued to struggle shooting but built a 48-30 lead with rebounding that produced second and third shots. J.D. Lewis' 3-pointer and Aldridge's rebound and putback off Lewis' miss made it 56-36 with 9:29 left.
Aldridge and Williams combined to grab 12 offensive boards as Texas outrebounded Pan American 48-33.
"We got whipped inside," Pan American coach Robert Davenport said. "Aldridge and Williams, they knew when the ball went up, they could go get it. They had a field day."
Johnathan Chatman and Dexter Shankle each scored 10 points to lead Texas-Pan American (2-4).
Aldridge has been dominant inside, but he deflected any praise to Williams.
"Mike is doing great this year," Aldridge said. "He's a real physical guy and we're going to need that down the line."
The Longhorns next play Texas-Arlington and Rice before traveling to New Jersey to meet No. 1 Duke.
TEXAS GAME NOTES
Team Notes
- This game marks the first time since Nov. 24, 2003 (Sam Houston State), that Texas had three players total a double-double in a single game. LaMarcus Aldridge (23p/11r), P.J. Tucker (19p/11r) and Mike Williams (10p/10r) all recorded a double-double in the game.
- UT-Pan American's 23 points at halftime was the second lowest output allowed by a Texas opponent this season. Samford scored only 13 points in the first half against Texas earlier this season.
- The win marks the 32nd straight non-conference home victory for Texas. The streak dates back to an 88-74 loss to Arizona on Nov. 17, 2001.
- The Longhorns are now 56-5 (.918) against in-state foes during head coach Rick Barnes' tenure in Austin.
- Since Barnes' arrival, UT has posted a 94-15 (.862) mark at the Erwin Center.
- Texas now leads the all-time series with UT-Pan American 5-0.
- Texas's 6-0 start is the best start by a Texas team since the 2002-03 Final Four squad started the season 5-0 before dropping a 98-92 decision to Notre Dame.
- The 6-0 start is UT's first since the 1981-82 season, when the Longhorns won 14 straight games to start the year.
- Texas has now won 48 of their last 51 home games.
- Texas finished with a 48 to 33 lead in rebounding; marking the fourth time first six games Texas recorded at least a +10 rebounding margin.
- The Longhorns have limited their first six opponents to 55.3 points per contest.
Individual Notes
LaMarcus Aldridge
- Aldridge's 23 points in the game was a career-high, his previous was 21 points against Louisiana-Monroe. He shot 10-of-15 from the floor and 3-of-6 from the charity stripe.
- The game marked his sixth consecutive double-double of the season in as many games, the sixth best streak in UT history.
- With one block in the game, Aldridge now has at least one in each of Texas' six games this season. He now has a streak of eight games dating back UT's game versus Texas A&M last season.
Mike Williams
- He totaled his first double-double of the season, second of his career, with 10 points and a career-high 10 boards.
- His 10 points was his second game in a row in double-digit scoring (12 points vs. Louisiana-Monroe) in only his third career start, second of the season.
P.J. Tucker
- Tucker's 19 points and 11 rebounds marked his first double-double of the season, 13th of his career.
- It was Tucker's first double-double since UNLV of last season, he had 25 points and 10 rebounds.
UT Starters: Daniel Gibson, LaMarcus Aldridge, Mike Williams, Kenton Paulino, P.J. Tucker
Tip: Texas wins the tip.
Texas Player Quotes
P.J. Tucker, Junior Forward
On Texas' first-half play: We were timid; we were really trying to get the ball inside. We were really stagnant and weren't flowing as well as we wanted to. There were some shots we missed that we usually make. When you are missing shots like that you just have to play the game like you know how. Once we got going, we really got going.
On playing unranked teams: All of these teams are good. I think Pan Am was really good tonight. Those guys could shoot the ball and they ran the floor really well. They were really good at the zone. Every team we play brings something different to the table and helps us get better, learning from different teams.
LaMarcus Aldridge, Sophomore Forward
On Mike Williams: Mike is doing great this year. He always plays hard and rebounds really tough. I think from last year to this year, Mike feels more comfortable on the court. He's a big, physical guy and we are going to need that down the line.
On halftime adjustments: Coach really talked to us post guys; the posts weren't posting up very hard. The guards were trying to get in there but we weren't posting deep enough. So he talked to us about getting deep, posting harder and getting ready for the shots, which opened up things for the outside.
Head Coach Rick Barnes
General comments: We had a tough night shooting the ball. We talk about playing inside out and our perimeter guys were very conscious of getting the ball inside to our post guys. The second half our post guys did a better job. We had 16 turnovers, but then you look on the other side and we had a couple of guys give you double-doubles and you can't ask for much more that that. I think we made some pretty good plays tonight.
On new guys playing: Without guys like Brad [Buckman] playing it's important to give other guys like Mike Williams, Connor Atchley, and Craig Winder time to find new roles. This was Mike's longest time playing and he has to learn how to play when he's tired. Conner was also able to gain some more experience and Craig had great energy tonight.
On P.J. Tucker becoming complete: P.J. [Tucker] has always had really good ball skills and he has spent a lot of time working on his jump shot. P.J. doesn't feel any pressure to shoot it, but if he's open he's going to take the shot, and he's not going to take a shot he's not comfortable with.
Head Coach Robert Davenport
General Comments: It obviously didn't turn out the way we wanted. There is a reason why Texas is ranked number two. To say they are a well coached team is an understatement and to say they have good players is a massive understatement.
On La Marcus Aldridge: He has obviously put on some weight and gained some strength since last year. I tell my kids, he is light but very strong. He did a really good job of going and getting the ball. LaMarcus is a tremendous talent. Not only was he rebounding, but he was scoring as well.
On containing Texas in the first half: In the first half we played zone because I know Texas can shoot the ball. We felt that a zone would be best because we are comfortable playing it and we will use it all year against bigger and better teams like Texas because it is an equalizer.
