In 'Winning Time' Chris Beard Wants Longhorns to 'Hate to Lose'
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As Chris Beard sees it, the Texas Longhorns’ problem right now isn’t talent. It’s, as NBA legend Reggie Miller used to call it, ‘Winning Time.’
"I think we’ve got a bunch of guys who think they have the answers, but they really don’t,” Beard said after the Longhorns lost to TCU, 65-60, at the Big 12 Tournament on Thursday. “A part of that mentality is you’ve got to hate to lose."
Texas had it all in front of them after 20 minutes. An 18-point lead. They had cleared the decks in the first half with a 20-3 run in the final 5:47. Texas went 6-of-7 from the floor in that stretch, hit three straight 3-pointers and had a 40-22 lead at the break.
Amy Kontras, USA Today
William Purnell, USA Today
Amy Kontras, USA Today
Beard warned his team in the locker room. This game isn’t over. His players admitted as much.
“There’s 20 minutes left,” Longhorns guard Marcus Carr said Beard told them. “They’re not going to lay down.”
TCU didn’t and after falling twice to Texas in the regular season, outscored the Longhorns 43-20 in the second half to take the victory.
“It was a tale of two halves,” TCU head coach Jamie Dixon said.
Beard said the same thing. But with every question he took after Thursday’s loss, his pauses before answering became longer.
The Longhorns shot 65.2 percent in the first half. That 20-3 run was keyed by his veterans — Carr, Timmy Allen, Courtney Ramey and Brock Cunningham. Texas had just seen TCU a couple of weeks ago and were down in that game before rallying to win. Texas knew what was coming.
And, yet, TCU chipped away. An 8-2 start to the half. The Horned Frogs held the Longhorns to more than six minutes without a field goal. The defense and intensity that carried Texas through the first half were not there in the second half. Their play showed it. Beard called it out.
Were the Longhorns tight? Beard didn’t seem to care to use the excuse.
“I don’t buy into that with veterans,” Beard said. “They’re trying to play in the NBA after this. They’re handing out a trophy this weekend. Tight isn’t an excuse with vets.”
At this point, Beard is more than 30 games into a season with a team that ranks among the most career minutes played of any team in the country. And, yet, this team’s inconsistency continues. This wasn’t a game had to win to get into the NCAA Tournament. But it was a game that he wanted his team to WANT to win.
No, scratch that. It was a game Beard wanted his team to HATE to lose.
Amy Kontras, USA Today
William Purnell, USA Today
Amy Kontras, USA Today
“Everyone wants to win,” Beard said. “Guys that know how to win also hate to lose. I hate to lose. I have some guys that I’m trying to teach that to. That’s an art. We’re close, we’re knocking on the door. When it gets down to winning time, tied with four or five minutes left, I thought one team wanted to hate to lose more.”
That team was not Texas on Thursday, and it’s unclear if that team will be Texas in the NCAA Tournament starting next week.
“I think we have a team that can play with anyone, but we have to face the reality that we have to learn how to win in winning time,” Beard said.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
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