The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
North Carolina
No. 2 Men's Basketball downs No. 10 North Carolina, 103-90
12.19.2009 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 19, 2009
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ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- After loading up on lopsided wins against mostly unimpressive foes, No. 2 Texas showed its can be just as tough on the big boys of college basketball.
Damion James had 25 points and 15 rebounds, leading a four-man scoring frenzy that carried the Longhorns to a 103-90 victory over No. 10 North Carolina on Saturday in the first basketball game at Cowboys Stadium.
James was among four Longhorns to score at least 20 points. That group alone nearly outscored the Tar Heels, combining for 89 points.
All told, Texas became the first team to score 100 points in regulation against North Carolina since Roy Williams became head coach in 2003-04.
The Longhorns (10-0) also kept up a streak of winning by double-digit margins. This was their closest game yet. Then again, it also was their first time playing a ranked team.
"We knew we had to come today and send a message to the nation that we're not playing around, that we can also go against good competition," said Dexter Pittman, who had 23 points and a season-high 15 rebounds. "We showed that."
Can they do it again? They'll find out Tuesday when No. 12 Michigan State visits Austin.
"Hopefully, we show up like we did today," said J'Covan Brown, who had 21 points.
Avery Bradley added 20 points as the Longhorns cruised to victory in the same building where Colt McCoy and the Texas football team won the Big 12 title two weeks before.
North Carolina (8-3) led for most of the first 16 minutes, then fell behind for good during a stretch of 10 straight misses. The Tar Heels gave up a 23-7 run going into halftime that included an inbounds pass that was stolen and turned into a layup by Bradley with 1 second left.
"That was an important play for us going into the end of the half," Bradley said. "It was a momentum boost for us."
North Carolina clawed to within 82-78 with 6:59 to play, but simply couldn't keep up with Texas' scorers.
For instance, while Ed Davis and Tyler Zeller were a combined 16 of 21 for 37 points, the rest of the Tar Heels combined for just 20 baskets.
Marcus Ginyard returned from a one-game absence to score 13, but he missed seven of his first 10 tries. Dexter Strickland also came back from a one-game absence and scored 12. No other UNC players hit double figures.
"Their energy level was higher than ours," Ginyard said. "Their intensity was higher than ours and they were competing for the majority of the game and we weren't."
The stat sheet backs him up.
The Longhorns outrebounded the Tar Heels 60-41, which went a long way toward helping them load up on easy baskets; Pittman alone had 12 offensive rebounds. Texas outscored North Carolina 27-11 on second-chance points and 16-8 on fast breaks.
"There were some point-blank shots we missed," Williams said. "There were too many plays we didn't finish. And they had some big guys that made us miss inside, too."
This was the second-most points the Tar Heels have allowed under Williams, topped only by Wake Forest's 119 in a triple-overtime victory in December 2003.
"It's not always something we're not doing," Williams said. "They're ranked second in the country for a reason."
The best news for North Carolina might be the end of an extremely tough stretch: five of eight games against teams currently among the top 18. The Tar Heels went 2-3, also losing to No. 3 Kentucky and No. 5 Syracuse.
"We definitely hope that it will make us a better team," Zeller said.
Texas coach Rick Barnes still found some flaws in his team's performance. Point distribution could be among them; besides the four 20-point scorers, the other eight players combined for 14 points.
"I think if we play to our potential, we can beat everybody we play," Barnes said.
Jai Lucas had an assist, a turnover and two fouls in 6 minutes for the Longhorns. This was his first game since transferring from Florida, where he made the SEC's all-freshman team in 2007-08.
Although this was technically a neutral site, burnt orange clothing filled the stands. The game drew 38,052; more than twice as many are expected for the next basketball game here - the NBA All-Star game in February.
"It's amazing what money can do," James said. "I think we can fit my hometown inside this place."
An NCAA regional round is coming to this building in 2013, and the Final Four in 2014. Williams won't mind staying away.
"It's not one of my favorite places," he said, smirking, "because I just got my tail kicked."
This was only the fifth time these programs have met. Texas has won the last three for a 3-2 series lead.
POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM
- Attendance for the game was 38,052 - the fourth largest crowd to ever for a Longhorns' basketball game and second-largest crowd for a regular-season game
Attendance Opponent Date City Venue
54,432 vs. Syracuse April 5, 2003 New Orleans, La. Superdome
42,211 vs. LSU Jan. 3, 1991 New Orleans, La. Superdome
39,940 vs. Georgia March 16, 1990 Indianapolis, Ind. RCA Dome
38,052 vs. North Carolina Dec. 19, 2009 Arlington, Texas Cowboys Stadium
37,842 vs. Purdue March 18, 1990 Indianapolis, Ind. RCA Dome
- Texas became the first team to score 100 points in a regulation game against North Carolina since Maryland beat the Tar Heels 112-79 on Jan. 9, 2002
- Texas started the season 10-0 for the 12th time in school history, but just the third time since 1947-48 (1981-82, 2007-08, 2009-10)
- Texas opened the season with 10 wins by double-digit margins for the first time since the 1921-22 season and just the third time in school history (1915-16, 1921-22, 2009-10)
- Texas scored 100 or more points for the third time this season and the 105th time in the history of the program
- Texas improved 96-9 all-time when topping the 100-point plateau
- Texas reached the century mark in scoring in back-to-back games for the first time since the 2007-08 season when accomplishing the feat against Arkansas-Monticello (100-52) and New Mexico State (102-87)
- Texas had four players score 20 or more points for the first time since it accomplished the feat against Tennessee at the StubHub! Legends Classic in Newark, N.J. (Nov. 24, 2007)
- Texas reached the century mark three times in a season for the first time since 2006-07
- Texas outrebounded an opponent for the eighth time in 10 games this season
Avery Bradley
- Scored a career-high 20 points, topping the 18 he scored against UT Pan American
- Scored 20 or more points for the first time in his career
- Reached double figures in scoring for the seventh time this season
- Grabbed a career-high four rebounds, topping the two he had on two occasions
- Has averaged 17.5 points over the last four games after averaging 8.2 points over the first six games
- Equaled a career-high with three steals, tying the three he registered against UT Pan American
J'Covan Brown
- Scored a career-high 21 points, topping the 15 he scored against Rice
- Scored 20 or more points for the first time in his career
- Reached double figures in scoring for the eighth time this season
- Equaled a career-high with five rebounds, tying the five he had on two prior occasions
Damion James
- Recorded a double-double (25 points, 15 rebounds) for the fourth time this season and the 41st time in 118 career games
- Scored 20 or more points for the fourth time this season and the 14th time in his career
- Reached double figures in scoring for the eighth time this season and the 77th time in his career
- Reached double figures in rebounding for the fourth time this season and the 52nd time in his career
- Ended the game with 1,470 points to pass Gabe Muoneke (1,456 - 1997-2000) and LaSalle Thompson (1,463 - 1980-82) for 13th place on the UT career scoring list
- Ended the game with 1,073 rebounds to move within four rebounds of James Thomas (1,077 - 2000-03) for the Texas career record
- Registered a career-high four steals, topping the three he had on six prior occasions
Jai Lucas
- Played in his first game since the Postseason NIT semifinal against Massachusetts on April 1, 2008. He entered game at the 13:01 mark of the first half
- First UT assist came at the 12:28 mark of the first half
Dexter Pittman
- Recorded a double-double (23 points, 15 rebounds) for the first time this season and the eighth time in 110 career games
- Scored 20 or more points in a game for the third time this season and the sixth time in his career
- Reached double figures in scoring for eighth time this season and the 25th time in his career
- Reached double figures in rebounding for the first time this season and the eighth time in his career
TEXAS COACH QUOTES
HEAD COACH Rick Barnes
On the win: We did some good things, they did some good things. It's a December game. If both teams can continue to grow, both teams have a chance to have a terrific year.
On the keys to beating North Carolina: When you watch tape of North Carolina play, you know right from the get-go what they're trying to do. It's no secret they're going to guard you inside. In the second half we weren't very good defensively and they pretty much got what they wanted. You know what they're doing. They're very unselfish and they know what they're looking for. Again, guard play is so important for both teams. We told them the game was going to be decided right around the basket, both offensively and defensively because they do such a great job of not only getting a high percentage shot but when they miss it they go get it. We actually told our guys that blocking out's not enough, you've got to go get it.
On Dexter Pittman: I thought Dexter was terrific today. We've been hard on Dexter the last couple weeks and I thought he came out and really responded well. That's a hard game for post guys because of the speed of the game. Every time we've ever played against Roy Williams, at Kansas or North Carolina, it's always been a high possession, high scoring game.
SENIOR CENTER Dexter Pittman
On how he felt during the game: I was just out there having fun. Coach told me to. He said go out there and fun. My mom also told me to go out there and have fun and relax. That's what I was doing. It's North Carolina. It's once in a lifetime when you play college ball to play a great team like that.
On everyone contributing to the win: I said the second game of the season that (the freshmen) got the butterflies out. We also got Jai Lucas back today. He's a great addition to our team. He got his butterflies out of him today too. I'm looking forward to getting back on the court against Michigan State on Tuesday - a great, tough team. They beat us three years in a row. This is their first time coming to Austin. We know what we've got to do.
SENIOR FORWARD Damion James
On the team: We know what we bring to the table every day, every practice, every film session, every workout in the weight room. We know what we bring to the table. This team is unbelievable. We're only going to get better. Everybody is going to get better individually, and we're going to get better as a team.
On the Texas freshmen: They're great. We have a chance to be a great team. We have to continue to get better every day, and focus on the things that are going to allow us to win and stay humble and stay working hard every day.
FRESHMAN GUARD J'Covan Brown
On if the team proved anything today: When we went out there it wasn't about North Carolina. It was about us and what we do as a team. We're going to do our game plan and just do us and get better. That's what we did. North Carolina is a great team. Other than that we did a great job.
On if the game went the way the team planned: Not really. We wanted to send a message defensively. North Carolina is a good team. They're not going to back down just because we're number two. We had to try to change up to slow their point guards down to help the big guys. Other than that it was good.
FRESHMAN GUARD Avery Bradley
On the team's feeling at halftime: We were just all hyped. That was an important play for us going into the end of the half. It was a momentum boost for us.
On how the freshmen responded to this situation: We did okay. We can always play better just like the rest of our teammates. We're still learning, and we're still getting better.
NORTH CAROLINA QUOTES
HEAD COACH ROY WILLIAMS
On the game: Two really big keys to the game: they have 60 rebounds, we have 41; they outscored us 27-11 on the backboards. My teams have always been really good rebounding teams but Texas killed us on the boards. Dexter Pittman kicked our tail by himself. He and Damion (James) had 30 rebounds by themselves. The other thing is, we always made a living getting the ball inside and getting to the free throw line and they shot 34 free throws and we shot 19. You can't do those kinds of things.
On Texas: They're a really good basketball team. To me, by the end of the season, this has the chance, in my opinion, to be the best Texas team (Coach Barnes) has had since he's been there, and he took a team to the Final Four.
On his team's struggles on the boards: They're good. It's not always something we're not doing. They're ranked second in the country for the reason. Dexter, you've got to be proud of the youngster to do what he has done. We wanted to get him in foul trouble and run him so he wasn't in there as much and he played 34 minutes. We didn't run him, we didn't get him in foul trouble and now he's in there and he's a load inside. We can do a better job of boxing out, we can do a better job in the weight room.
SOPHOMORE FORWARD TYLER ZELLER
On the main difference between them and Texas: Offensive rebounding. We couldn't keep them off of the boards. I believe Pittman had 12 offensive rebounds and Damian had too many. Those two together had way too many offensive rebounds.
On the benefit of playing Texas, Kentucky and Michigan State: Yeah we definitely hope that it will make us a better team. We have to go out and be able to match the intensity that some of these teams, like Texas, have.
SENIOR GUARD/FORWARD MARCUS GINYARD
On what sticks out to him the most: In my mind, this is the best team we've played all year. They did a fantastic job of attacking us on the perimeter and obviously on the inside.
On whether he felt he needed to put the team on his shoulders late in the game: As a team we just didn't have any energy. Their energy level was higher than ours. Their intensity was higher than ours and they were competing for the majority of the game and we weren't. I'm just trying to show a little more effort out there and just try to compete.
SOPHOMORE FORWARD ED DAVIS
On what stood out the most for the game: We did a poor job of rebounding on offense and defense, and it showed in the outcome. James and Pittman had 15 rebounds apiece. That's what hurt us. That's the main reason why lost.
On cutting the deficit to four then having turnovers: We made our run. Basketball is a game of runs. They made their run just before halftime and we didn't fight back. In the second half we came out and made our run, but we just couldn't get over that hump. It just didn't come out the way we wanted it to.
