“To die, to sleep; To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come.”
Every offseason, even the most pessimistic of fans can dream about what next season may look like. For UTRGV basketball fans, the merciful death of this nightmare of a season can’t come soon enough.
With two more regular season games scheduled, the UTRGV Vaqueros basketball team will likely end with the worst season they’ve had in over 13 years.
UTRGV’s basketball team holds a record of 6-23 overall and is sitting in last place in the WAC with a 2-16 conference record. Currently, the Vaqueros are on a 12 game losing streak that has culminated in a 36-point beat down middling California Baptist. During this losing streak, the Vaqueros have lost by an average of 17.25 ppg, giving up 81.o8 ppg while only scoring 63.83 ppg.
On offense, UTRGV ranks 268th scoring 70.6 ppg; not terrible but not exactly a winning basketball offense. However, their awful record can be most attributed to a poor execution on defense which has spelled disaster all season for the Vaqueros.
On defense, UTRGV ranks 353rd out of 363 D1 teams, giving up a porous 80.2 points a game and rank among the worst in the country in rebounding (357th), opponent field goal percentage (337th), and opponent offensive rebounds (323rd).
In fact, in Figger’s three seasons at the helm, UTRGV’s defense has ranked worse every year, starting at 348th his first season, 351st his second season, and 353rd in his third season.
Outside of a diminishing impact on defense, Figger has gone winless in the WAC tournament with UTRGV likely to see another first round exit and we are simply further away from securing the program’s first D1 tournament berth.
Before my comments section is flooded with “it’s UTRGV! They’ve never been good at basketball!” I’d like to remind people that 1) it’s been over a decade since the program has been this bad and 2) I don’t know any coach in America that would keep their job after being dead last in their conference and near the bottom 2 out of their last 3 years.
I get it, it’s a tough ask to fill in as a head coach with no real history of winning and to come into a program reeling from the sudden death of it’s head coach, but with the momentum of UTRGV football in full swing, the athletic department should seriously consider how to make this program legitimately competitive.
Parting ways with Figger might be the first step.
