3 Takeaways from Texas Longhorns' First Win of Sean Miller Era

AUSTIN -- The Texas Longhorns have moved to 1-1 in the first season under head coach Sean Miller after taking down the Lafayette Leopards 97-60 at the Moody Center.

Texas dropped its season opener to the No. 6 Duke Blue Devils in Charlotte but responded well in the home opener.

Here are three Texas takeaways from the win over Lafayette:

Simeon Wilcher Finds His Groove

Texas Longhorns guard Simeon Wilcher rebounds against the Lafayette Leopards during the second quarter at Moody Center. | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

Wilcher went scoreless in his Texas debut after playing 15 minutes vs. Duke in an overall disappointing outing.

He came off the bench once again on Saturday against Lafayette, but was hardly invisible on offense. The St. John's transfer finished with 12 points, two rebounds and two assists on 3 of 4 shooting from 3-point range in 23 minutes of action.

“It was great to see him shoot the ball with confidence," Miller said of Wilcher. "He worked as hard as anybody in our program individually shooting the ball and working on his game.”

Wilcher will likely get a few starts as the season goes on, but for now, he will be a big weapon off the bench for Texas.

Tramon Mark Responds

Texas Longhorns guard Tramon Mark drives against Lafayette Leopards guard Ryan Pettit during the second quarter at Moody Center. | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

After a disappointing outing in the loss to Duke in which he had just two points, Tramon Mark responded with a team-high 16 points on 5 of 10 shooting.

Mark was aggressive in the paint, earning himself trips to the foul line where he went 5 of 6. He also hit his first triple of the season.

"I just think we were all motivated as a team to bounce back in general because we lost," Mark said when asked by Texas Longhorns on SI. "Coming back to our home floor, first home game of the season, trying to get a win, and we did a great job of that tonight. We have some hiccups, of course, but we're still getting better."

Texas will need Mark to be at his best in order to reach its ceiling this season.

Everybody Eats

Texas Longhorns celebrate a three point basket by Texas Longhorns guard Anthon McDermott during the second half at Moody Center. | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

Texas had a three-man wrecking crew against Duke with Dailyn Swain, Matas Vokietaitis and Jordan Pope leading the way as the only Longhorns in double figures in the loss.

The competition was certainly different on Saturday, but the Longhorns still deserve credit for getting everyone involved.

Texas finished with six players in double figures, as Tramon Mark (16 points), Chendall Weaver (15 points) Simeon Wilcher (12 points), Matas Vokietaitis (14 points, 11 rebounds), Dailyn Swain (10 points, nine rebounds, six assists) and Jordan Pope (10 points) all joined the scoring spree.

This isn't last year's team where Tre Johnson was responsible for most of the scoring. Expect the offense to feature multiple faces each game this season.