Why Texas Won
The Longhorns held the Horned Frogs to less than 33 percent shooting from the field. Texas pounded the ball inside the paint, scoring 30 of its 60 points in the lane. Ioannis Papapetrou scored in double figures for the fourth time in six games, adding 13 points and nine rebounds. Sheldon McClellan scored a game-high 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting.
First Half
Papapetrou and McClellan get off to an early start, scoring seven points apiece. The Horned Frogs connected on just eight field goal attempts and fell victim to three Cameron Ridley blocks. The Longhorns forced eight turnovers and recorded six steals. Texas leads by 12 at the half.
Second Half
The Horned Frogs make nine shots in the second half and hit fewer than a third of their shots during the game. The Longhorns’ 52.3 percent field goal percentage for the game is a season-best. McClellan adds eight second-half points, five of them coming in the final five minutes. Freshman Connor Lammert scores a career-high 10 points.
Stock Up
Ioannis Papapetrou- “Papi” is a matchup nightmare. At 6 feet 8 inches tall, he can bang it out down low and convert tough shots in the lane, but his range stretches beyond the three-point line. The 34 minutes he played against TCU matched the season high he set back in November against USC. As his confidence grows, he could become a serious offensive threat for Texas.
Stock Down
Prince Ibeh– To his credit, Ibeh did make two trips to the free-throw line, where he hit two of four shots. But when a player picks up two fouls in five minutes on the court, it’s tough to get in any sort of rhythm. Ibeh needs a lot of work with his hands and post maneuvers if he wants to see extended playing time behind Ridley and Lammert.
By The Numbers
6- As in six straight games that Papapetrou has hit at least one three-point shot. He’s shooting 45 percent from behind the arc during that stretch.
18- Consecutive starts for sophomore Julien Lewis. “Juice” and freshman Javan Felix are the only Longhorns to have started each of Texas’ first eight conference games.
500- Number of games Rick Barnes has now coached at Texas. In his 15th season Barnes has a 352-148 (.703) record, the most wins by any Texas coach.
100- Wins by Texas over TCU, making it the fifth school to lose at least 100 times to the Longhorns. The others are Baylor (157), Texas A&M (137), Rice (135) and SMU (103).
What’s Next
Texas will look to even the season series with West Virginia (10-11, 3-5) after the Mountaineers won 57-53 in overtime against the Longhorns on in Austin Jan. 9. The Mountaineers sit one game ahead of the Longhorns in the Big 12 standings at 3-5 in conference play. Like the Longhorns, Texas Tech and TCU are the only other Big 12 teams the Mountaineers have defeated.
