By Bill Peterson
Following last year's 3-24 effort by the men's basketball team at Texas State, you weren't expecting Doug Davalos to swing into San Marcos, build a colossus by March, sweep to the Southland Conference Tournament championship and beat Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
And you're not going to get it.
But you've gotten an improved operation this season. If 9-19 with one game left doesn't have you checking your accounts for money you can donate to the university, it's a lot better than last year's 3-24 under the departed Dennis Nutt. And Texas State fans are somewhat responding, even as the team struggled through the Southland Conference season.
The Bobcats began the season with a 7-8 record while eight of their nine home crowds numbered fewer than 1,000 people. Then, the conference battles really began to take hold and the Bobcats have lost 11 of their last 13. But their home crowds have hit the range of 1,500-3,000 during the bad times.
Texas State won't qualify for the Southland Conference Tournament. The Bobcats have taken a couple on the chin this month – homecourt losses of 110-103 to Texas-Arlington and 67-65 to McNeese State. But the Bobcats also won ten days ago, 77-65 at Texas-San Antonio for their first road victory in the league since 2005.
While waiting for his next recruiting class to come in and make a difference, Davalos must be suffering through a basketball team that needs work. The Bobcats are shooting only 40.9 percent from the floor this year, making 19.6 turnovers per game against 14.1 assists per game. The good news is that they're playing a little defense, forcing 21 turnovers per game. But opponents who can hang onto the ball are shooting 50.9 percent from the floor.
