The Incarnate Word Cardinals and the Texas Longhorns meet Monday in college basketball action from Moody Center. Incarnate Word managed to go 12-19 overall a season ago and finished near the bottom of the standings in the Southland Conference. As for Texas, they’re coming off a 29-9 overall run last year, winning the Big 12 Tournament along the way. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Incarnate Word Cardinals 

The Cardinals didn’t have a great season last year, but the team continued to improve in the record column. Incarnate Word put up a 12-19 overall record and a 6-12 run in the Southland Conference, finishing ahead of only Lamar (5-13) in the standings. The Cardinals ended up losing six of their final seven games in a rough finish. 

Incarnate Word gets a new head coach this season in Shane Heirman, who gets only a handful of returning players. Among them are Davante Dennis (8.6 PPG), who started 19 times last year and scored in double-digits 10 times. Senior Josh Morgan (7.0 PPG) will serve as an outside threat on 3-pointers, and grad transfer Shon Robinson (10.1 PPG) adds some extra scoring from Austin Peay. 

Texas Longhorns 

Over on the Longhorns’ side, they certainly had their ups and downs last year—but mostly ups. Texas persevered through a coaching change early in the season, eventually posting a 29-9 overall record with a 12-6 Big 12 finish. The Longhorns stormed through the Big 12 Tournament for a championship run, but were eventually stopped in the Elite Eight by Miami 88-81 in the national tourney. 

With Rodney Terry back at the helm, Texas has a bit of consistency on the sideline. The team suffered some turnover though, losing starters Timmy Allen (10.5 PPG), Christian Bishop (6.6 PPG) and Marcus Carr (15.9 PPG). Point guard Tyrese Hunter (10.3 PPG) returns to the fold however, and ex-Oral Roberts shooting guard Max Abmas (21.9 PPG) will serve as a dangerous outside threat. 

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’m staying with Texas, but the line’s probably too thick to play around with. The Longhorns were able to collect themselves after some early-season adversity last year, and that perseverance will serve the returning players well. Big men Dillon Mitchell (4.3 PPG) and Dylan Disu (8.8 PPG) should benefit greatly from the addition of Abmas. When teams clamp down on the 3-point shooting this year, there should be plenty of room for the Longhorns’ big men to receive passes under the basket for easy scores. If all of the pieces fit together, it should be a multilayered, dynamic offense that will be difficult to stop. Texas is off to the SEC next year, but they’ve got a great opportunity to finish off their Big 12 residency with another conference championship. Should be a fun year for the Longhorns faithful.