The standard is also different for football and basketball. We are a true blue-blood in football. We might be up or down any given year, but we are without question one of the 7-8 best programs in the history of the sport. We should expect to make the new playoffs every year, and win a title once every 15-20 years.
In basketball, we have potential to be a great program, but we have never lived up to it. Barnes was (and is) a very good coach, but only got us to one Final Four and two Elite 8s. Shaka was the hottest coach in the country when we hired him and he sucked ass. Now he left and is having more success at freaking Marquette. Chris Beard was building something good, but who knows if he would have reached the mountain top. Even if he hadn't bit and choked his way out of Austin, he has a volatile temper and has a hard time holding on to talented players.
Ultimately, Texas basketball has more in common with Aggy football than with UT football. We recruit well and hire previously successful coaches. We get glimmers of success, but just never pull it all together for a sustained period. It sucks, but it is true. Expecting more from RT than was delivered by Penders, Barnes, Shaka and Beard is weird.