Longhorns surge meets Aggies' "Bucky Ball" in a heated Lone Star rivalry. Expect fast-paced offense and high stakes when these Texas titans clash.
The vibes surrounding the Texas men's basketball squad have gone from gloomy to electric in the span of just two weeks.
The Longhorns' surge in form has come at a perfect time, as their next opponent is arch-rivals Texas A&M, a game that's always circled on both programs' calendars.
"Our team and everybody here are excited about tomorrow's game," Texas head coach Sean Miller said on Friday. "It's a rivalry game that means a great deal to our fans, our universities, and each of our respective teams."
The Aggies enter the rivalry game in great form of their own, sporting a 3-1 conference record, with their only loss coming in a heartbreaking overtime loss at Tennessee.
Like Texas, A&M also has a first-year head coach in Bucky McMillan. McMillan has brought a new style of basketball to College Station, one that he likes to call "Bucky Ball."
In a nutshell, Bucky Ball is a high-paced, tempo-based system where the Aggies like to get up and down the court, press full-court and shoot lots of threes.
A&M has encountered some bumps along the way, but McMillan's system has gelled nicely with the team, as it ranks 21st in the nation in adjusted tempo (according to kenpom.com) and 11th in three-pointers attempted.
The good news for the Longhorns is that they've faced a similar tactical approach just recently when they beat Nate Oats' Alabama 92-88. In that game, Texas was able to withstand the Crimson Tide's offensive firepower, earning enough stops to pull off the upset.
It needs a similar type of effort if it wants to have success against the Aggies.
"We have improved our effort level. As much as I can point towards that, we can lose it on Saturday," Miller said. "We have to be that same, connected, hard-playing team tomorrow against Texas A&M."
Saturday's Lone Star Showdown also presents an interesting clash of contrasting styles when it comes to scoring runs.
According to a recent graph from Evan Miyakawa, Texas is one of the least streakiest teams in college basketball, giving up few scoring runs to opponents, but also going on few of its own.
On the flipside, Miyakawa's graph has A&M as one of the streakiest teams in the country, going on plenty of big runs, but also giving up plenty to its opponents.
It'll be interesting to see which team's style prevails, or if the game will include a little bit of both.
Despite their different systems, both the Longhorns and Aggies are riding a wave of momentum into the rivalry, meaning fireworks are almost certain.
The team that shows the most hustle, getting rebounds, forcing turnovers and getting loose balls will likely leave the Moody Center victorious.
And of course, all the bragging rights.