Texas Basketball: Longhorns Show They Can Win Ugly vs. Oklahoma

The Longhorns weren't at their best against Oklahoma but made up for it with good old fashioned grit

Taken out of context, Matt Coleman's last-second shot to beat Oklahoma 52-51 in Norman on Tuesday wasn't ascetically beautiful. Coleman's shot traveled at a funny angle, hitting the backboard hard before finding its home at the bottom of the net. 

But it didn't need to be pretty. It just had to go in. 

Just like Coleman's team, his shot didn't need to win any beauty contests on Tuesday night. The Longhorns desperately needed to win a basketball game. They needed to keep their season alive against deep in enemy territory against their arch-rivals - also hungry for a win. 

And just like Coleman's shot, the Longhorns found a way to get it done in what might go down as the most physical game we've seen in the Big 12 this year. 

Neither team led by more than six points all the way through. Texas shot just 33%  (28.6% from three-point range) from the field. Oklahoma shot just 28% (a paltry 10% from three-point range). Players dove on the floor for loose balls, Oklahoma's Austin Reaves had a visible fat lip. Texas' Royce Hamm Jr. had to leave the game briefly after taking a hellacious (and accidental) elbow to the face from Kristian Doolittle. 

Several other players will wake up the kinds of bruises one would expect to get from participating in the football version of this rivalry in October. 

"It was a very imperfect game," Texas head coach Shaka Smart said after the game. "Stats were ugly. Our guys showed resolve and toughness. We had guys going out with blood and even had one receive stitches on the bench."

When they weren't recovering from actual wounds, Texas was bouncing back from emotional letdowns in the final couple of minutes that would have buried this same group a few weeks back. 

After missing a pair of shots that would have either put Texas ahead or tied the game, the Longhorns needed the Sooners to miss a pair of free throws to set up Coleman's shot. 

Yet the Longhorns took it all in stride, rolling with every punch the game had to throw at them, scratching and clawing their way to their fifth-straight win and the other side of the NCAA Tournament bubble. 

Of course, the fight isn't over. Texas still has work to do to solidify its place among the tournament field. The Longhorns close out the season against Oklahoma State and then may have to face off against these same Sooners for round three in to open the Big 12 Tournament in what is sure to be another knock-down, drag-out affair. 

You get the feeling these Longhorns wouldn't want it any other way.