Marcus Carr, the top-ranked preseason transfer, did not score a single point in 33 minutes Saturday’s 61-55 loss to No. 9 Texas Tech. Afterwards, the guard apologized for his poor performance, and on Wednesday, Carr redeemed himself in No. 20 Texas’ 75-66 win over TCU at the Frank Erwin Center.

“I still have nightmares about that (Texas) Tech game,” Carr said. “(I’m) just going to try and learn from it as much as I can.”

The Minnesota transfer’s 19 points, four rebounds and two assists stand in stark contrast to Saturday’s outing, playing a big role in Texas’ tenth conference victory. 

While Texas came away with its 20th regular-season win for the first time since the 2015-16 season, it didn’t come without some serious trouble. After a brief lead in the first half, Texas did not lead again until the 08:13 mark in the second half. 

TCU led by as much as 10 points, largely because of a solid shooting night. Four different Horned Frogs recorded three-pointers, with all of junior guard Francisco Farabello’s points coming from behind the arc. 

The Horned Frogs’ shotmaking allowed them to hold the lead for 22:50 of the 40 minutes, with the team shooting 65% from the field and 71% from the three-point line in the first half. TCU took a 35-30 lead into the halftime break, despite committing seven turnovers to the Longhorns’ two. 

But the trio of Timmy Allen, Andrew Jones and Carr saved the night for the Longhorns. The three combined for 76% of Texas’ points on Wednesday night. 

Despite the win, Texas’ poor shooting was not helpful. The Longhorns only shot 1-of-14 from the three-point line and 45% from the field. Texas’ only successful 3-point shot came from Courtney Ramey at the 18:54 mark of the first half. 

“Sometimes there (are) just those better offensive moments (for the opponent),” Carr said. “But we know we can do better (than them) on the defensive end.”

TCU outshot Texas with its field goal and 3-point percentages, but Texas forced 17 turnovers out of TCU and only gave up eight themselves. TCU head coach Jamie Dixon cited Texas’ physicality in winning the turnover battle as a major factor in his team’s loss. 

“We made it tough,” Dixon said. “But they were certainly the more physical team.” 

Texas got to the charity stripe early and often, shooting 29 free throws compared with TCU’s 11. The Longhorns also outrebounded the Horned Frogs 30 to 28. 

With only three games left in the regular season before postseason play begins, Texas head coach Chris Beard does not want to pull off the throttle just yet.

“We’ll have to play our best 40 (minutes) of the year,” Beard said. “That’s going to be my message for the rest of the year on out.”

The Longhorns travel to Morgantown on Saturday to take on West Virginia.