This is What Should Give You Faith In Texas Longhorns Basketball

The Texas Longhorns bounced back from their season-opening defeat at the hands of the Duke Blue Devils with a dominant 97-60 win over Louisiana Lafayette, giving head coach Sean Miller his first win at Moody Center.

The Longhorns put on an impressive offensive display, shooting 52.4% from the field and 39.1% specifically from three-point range. Miller had six players score in the double digits, guard Tramon Mark leading the way with 16.

But Mark views this team performance as just the beginning of Texas' development offensively.

"We're still not even scratching the surface on our offense yet," Mark said postgame.

Texas shares the ball against Louisiana Lafayette

Nov 8, 2025; Austin, Texas, USA;Texas Longhorns guard Simeon Wilcher (7) is congratulated by guard Tramon Mark (12) during the second half against the Lafayette Leopards at Moody Center. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

"When you can have 21 assists on 33 made field goals, I think that shows that we played together," Miller said postgame.

On Saturday, the Longhorns accumulated 21 assists and just nine turnovers. Comparatively, against Duke, Texas had just six assists and turned the ball over 16 times. A very different level of execution from Miller's team.

That tendency to spread the ball around gives Texas an exciting offensive identity: versatility.

"We have so many guys that can be our leading scorer, that can go get us 15, 20 points on any given night," Mark said. "So that being our versatility, we got good shooters, we got guys that can rebound. We just got to get tougher on defense in my opinion."

Miller agreed postgame that his team isn't reliant on any one player. His hope is for there to be plenty of games with different players in double figures.

"A balanced scoring attack is something that we're developing, and I think that is the upside of our roster and our team," Miller said. "There isn't a big separation between some of the players that don't start and several that do."

Texas had 42 bench points against Louisiana Lafayette, including 15 from guard Chendall Weaver and 12 from guard Simeon Wilcher, who went 3 of 4 from three. It also got double-digit scoring performances from four out of five starters.

The Longhorns gained extra possessions on Saturday through 16 offensive rebounds and 15 forced turnovers, and committed to a style driven by pushing the pace up and down the floor.

"The more you watch us, the more you'll see the fluidity become more a part of how we play the game, in terms of the pace of play," Miller said. "We have a long way to go. We were certainly a lot better than we were the other night."

Against Duke, Texas struggled to keep the Blue Devils away from the free-throw line in the second half, creating an inability to push the pace off missed shots or big stops in the run of play, per Miller. Against Louisiana Lafayette, the Longhorns got the opportunity to do so, and the result was tempo, efficiency, and a 37-point victory.

The Longhorns' capability to play at their preferred pace will be a theme to watch throughout the season.

Change to the starting five

Nov 8, 2025; Austin, Texas, USA;Texas Longhorns guard Jordan Pope (0) dribbles during the first half against the Lafayette Leopards at Moody Center. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

For Saturday's game, Miller made a change to the starting lineup, replacing Weaver with Pope at a guard spot.

Pope didn't start in either of the closed scrimmages or against Duke, Miller commending his leadership and attitude, even while the plan was for him to come off the bench. But now, Miller sees the switch as necessary to put the best combination on the court to start the game.

"As we've learned more about our team, he's our starter at that position, and that's played itself out over time," Miller said about Pope postgame.

Miller went on to say that Weaver's "style and energy can make him one of the best six men in the country," believing that role for Weaver fits the team best moving forward. Weaver has shown an ability to be an off-the-bench X-factor throughout his time as a Longhorn, further proving that in his 24 minutes of run on Saturday.

Texas returns to the Moody Center against Fairleigh Dickinson on Nov. 12.