If there’s been a buzzword floating around the Texas men’s basketball locker room lately, it’s effort - and not just in the motivational poster kind of way. After a rocky start to conference play with back-to-back losses to Mississippi State and Tennessee, head coach Sean Miller made it clear: the Longhorns needed to bring more intensity, more grit, more everything. And judging by what we’ve seen over the last two games, that message landed.
Texas responded with the kind of urgency you want to see from a team with postseason aspirations. First, they went into Tuscaloosa and took down a ranked Alabama squad. Then, back home at the Moody Center, they handed previously undefeated Vanderbilt an 80-64 loss - a statement win that showcased not just talent, but toughness.
“You have to forget what happened and now say, ‘I got a brand new opportunity to be better and do things better,’” Miller said after the win. And that’s exactly what his team did - better defense, better rebounding, better all-around energy.
Let’s start with the defense, because that’s where this turnaround really begins. Graduate guard Tramon Mark and seniors Jordan Pope and Chendall Weaver were relentless on the perimeter.
They chased shooters off the line, fought through screens, and refused to give opposing guards breathing room. Against two high-powered backcourts in Alabama and Vanderbilt, that kind of pressure made a difference.
Weaver, in particular, brought a spark inside the paint as well. He pulled down nine boards - five on the offensive glass - and gave Texas multiple second-chance opportunities. Mark chipped in with two blocks, including a crucial one late in the second half that helped preserve a double-digit lead and sent the Moody Center crowd into a frenzy.
Inside, junior forward Dailyn Swain and sophomore center Matas Vokietaitis stepped up their interior defense. Swain matched Weaver with nine rebounds and showed a knack for being in the right place at the right time.
Vokietaitis, along with graduate forward Lassina Traore, leaned into a drop-coverage scheme that’s starting to pay dividends. By sagging into the paint after screens, they’ve been able to protect the rim more effectively - and when you pair that with the guards locking up on the perimeter, it forces opponents into tough, low-percentage mid-range shots.
That’s not just theory - Vanderbilt head coach Mark Byington saw it firsthand.
“(Texas) did a good job of forcing us to take mid-range shots and pull-ups,” he said. “We’re better than that. We kind of got suckered into that.”
But the shift in effort isn’t just coming from the coaching staff. It’s player-driven too.
Swain shared a moment from the Vanderbilt game when Mark called him out for not closing out hard enough. Instead of brushing it off, Swain took it as a challenge - and a sign of mutual respect.
“It’s a team thing,” Swain said. “I appreciate everybody being able to respect each other enough and have enough belief in each other to challenge each other.”
That kind of accountability, from coaches and teammates alike, is what turns promising teams into dangerous ones.
With the back-to-back wins, Texas has leveled its SEC record at 2-2 - and more importantly, both victories came against top-15 opponents. The road doesn’t get any easier, though. A rivalry matchup with Texas A&M looms on Saturday, followed by a trip to Rupp Arena to take on Kentucky.
Still, this group isn’t satisfied. Mark made that clear after the win over Vanderbilt.
“Don’t give up on us,” he said. “We’re a great team, and we’re still getting better. We’re still not playing our best basketball - best believe that we’re still getting better.”
If what we’ve seen over the last two games is just the beginning, then Texas might be heating up at just the right time.