Timmy Allen Proving To Be The Heartbeat For No. 8 Texas

The No. 8 Texas Longhorns picked a quality win over San Jose State on Saturday night, defeating the Spartans 79-45 in front of a rowdy crowd at the Erwin Center.  

In what has become a trend through Texas' first four games, a balanced scoring attack, led by Timmy Allen's 17 points, helped pace the Longhorns towards the finish line. 

Yet, despite the 34-point home blowout, Allen didn't seem to show any satisfaction with Texas' third win during the post-game presser. 

"We can't come out in the second half and be flat just because we have the lead," Allen said. "With our goals, that's not acceptable."

After entering halftime up 47-17, the Longhorns nearly got outscored in the second half. It's hard to find many players that would be upset despite a blowout victory, but maybe that's what special about Allen, who has emerged as a leader in a talented and experienced locker room.

"I'm supposed to be the leader of this team and I can't let (the lead) slide like that," he said. 

The former Utah Ute has filled these shoes before. As an All Pac-12 First-Team selection last season, Allen engineered the team's production in nearly every facet: scoring, crashing the glass, sharing the ball, and all while playing underrated defense. 

Now with four games under his belt as a Longhorn, he's doing more of the same. Allen currently leads the team in scoring (13.3 points per game) and rebounding (5.8 boards per game). 

But of course, like a true spoken leader, he's directing *most* of the success to his tight-knit group of teammates. 

"My teammates give me great confidence," Allen said. "I'm just trying to feed off of (them)." 

Allen has also steadily got more comfortable shooting the ball from beyond the arc, making his third three of the season on Saturday after making only 11 all of last season.

"I think (the three-point shot) has been a part of my game that's been lacking over the past couple of years and this probably as confident as I've ever been," he said. 

This confidence has oozed over seamlessly to his head coach Chris Beard, who sat proudly by Allen's side at the podium on Saturday. 

"Anything Timmy Allen says, I'm gonna support," Beard said. "(He's) a competitor, he's a perfectionist, and he doesn't sit around thinking about getting a second-place trophy. 

He continued nodding his head in agreement as Allen spoke on the high expectations of this team. It's clear Beard has vocalized to his locker-room leader what the standard should be, which bodes well for Texas' success as the season continues to take shape. 

Allen and the Longhorns (3-1) will have a few days off before taking on California Baptist at 7:30 p.m C.T this Wednesday at the Erwin Center. 

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