Longhorns Country

Sean Miller Rips Texas Longhorns After Brutal Loss to Virginia

Texas Longhorns head coach Sean Miller got brutally honest about the team's defensive performance in the loss to the Virginia Cavaliers.
Zach Dimmitt|
Texas Longhorns guard Dailyn Swain reacts during the first half against the Virginia Cavaliers at Moody Center.
Texas Longhorns guard Dailyn Swain reacts during the first half against the Virginia Cavaliers at Moody Center. | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

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Texas Longhorns

The Texas Longhorns men's basketball team clearly has a long way to go during the first season of the Sean Miller era.

Texas was dominated from start to finish Wednesday night at the Moody Center against Virginia, falling to the Cavaliers in an 88-69 finish in the ACC/SEC Challenge.

The Longhorns are now 1-3 against high-major opponents during non-conference play, and a concerning trend has caught the attention of Miller, who wasn't afraid to call out his team while speaking to the media after the game.

Sean Miller Criticizes Texas' Defense

Texas Longhorns guard Dailyn Swain
Texas Longhorns guard Dailyn Swain reacts during the first half against the Virginia Cavaliers at Moody Center. | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

"Their offense overwhelmed our defense, and it's becoming a pattern with us," Miller said. "We're too easy to score on. We have to fix that. We have to be better. We have to do things that we're capable of doing to fix, and we have to have just more of an inner fight and toughness on that side of the ball to be able to defend the shot, challenge, the shot, rebound the ball, defend the man in front of you.

" ... We have to be tougher and better when it comes to that side of the ball. Too many guys had their way against us on offense," he continued.

The Longhorns have been able to make up for poor defense with some efficient offense at times, but the shots weren't falling against Virginia. Texas finished just 4 of 19 from deep while the Cavaliers went 12 of 24 from 3-point range.

Even though it's only nine games into the season, Miller said that the Longhorns are at a crossroads at this point.

"We're at a crossroads," Miller said. "You can't lose at home and be down by 25, 30, in a big game early in the year, great crowd, and not feel like that's a problem. And that's where we're at. So we have to improve."

However, when asked by Texas Longhorns on SI, Miller added that there's "power" in learning from the loss,

"I don't have a crystal ball of if and when that will happen, but that's what we have to work towards accomplishing," Miller said. "And there's a lot of power and learning through tonight's performance, failing like we did, and we have to grow and be better."

Texas will have to regroup quickly before hosting Southern on Monday. The Longhorns will then visit No. 5 UConn on Dec. 12.

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Zach Dimmitt
ZACH DIMMITT

Zach Dimmitt is the Deputy Editor for Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI. He also contributes as a writer for the On SI channels of the Oregon Ducks, Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans. He was previously the editor-in-chief of Buffalo Bills on SI, Philadelphia Eagles on SI and Seattle Seahawks on SI. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Dimmitt received his Bachelor’s Degree in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin in 2022. He originally started with SI’s Fan Nation network in 2021, providing extensive coverage of the NFL and NBA along with college football and basketball. In that time, Dimmitt has published thousands of stories and has reached millions of people across multiple fan bases. You can follow him on X at @ZachDimmitt7

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