Texas crumbled to No. 9 Kansas 86-67 due to shoddy defense and an inability to find scoring opportunities.
A common tale for the Texas squad played out when the Longhorns initially hung with the Jayhawks, even leading twice without letting Kansas build a strong lead. However, by the end of the first half, sloppy shot attempts and a strong Kansas front on both sides of the ball allowed Texas to let the lead slip away, creating a 20-point differential at the half.
At half Texas shot a dismal 26% from field goal range, one of the lowest percentages from any half this season, in contrast to Kansas’ 58%. Texas finished the second half with a redeemable 60.7% from field goal range and 38.5% from three-point range.
To put it into perspective, at one point in the first half, Texas had missed its last seven field goal attempts, while Kansas completed its last six.
The second half was a walk in the park for Kansas, with Texas not able to crack into a 10-point game with Jayhawks the entirety of the half.
Sophomore Dillon Mitchell and junior guard Tyrese Hunter both finished off as top scorers for Texas with 12 points and graduate guard Ithiel Horton ended the game with 10 points. Graduate guard Max Abmas, a usual top-scorer for Texas had a mere five points, his lowest of the season, and it seemed to be a pivotal factor in the Texas loss.
Along with Abmas, both graduate forward Dylan Disu and sophomore guard Chendall Weaver, both usually prominent players for Texas, finished with eight and nine points, respectively, showing that Texas’s offense simply could not hold their own against Kansas’ defense.
Kansas’ senior center Hunter Dickinson was a key factor in the Longhorns’ loss accumulating 20 points, seven rebounds and two assists.
Now sitting 6—8 in conference, Texas has its work cut out for it the rest of the season in hopes of making it to the NCAA tournament, with the Longhorns in the bottom half of the Big 12 standings. Texas will take on Texas Tech Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. in Lubbock, in hopes of avenging itself after their first matchup and first Big 12 loss of the season.
