Texas Basketball Unable to Execute in Loss to #1 Ranked Kansas
Texas Basketball dropped another Big 12 road game against Kansas to complete a brutal stretch of conference games.
Texas Basketball is right there. It’s so close. Yet, it seems so far away for head coach Shaka Smart without a true PG and such a young team.
Texas lost 79-67 to #1/2 Kansas on Saturday afternoon in a nationally televised game on CBS.
It looked like Kansas was going to wipe the Longhorns off the court in the first five minutes. However, Texas had a really nice stretch in the first half to close within three points.
But, just like the loss to #6 Baylor earlier in the week, a key possession in the first half sealed Texas’ fate.
Texas Basketball Struggles to Get Over Hump
After a terrible start, Texas battled all the way back to a one-possession game with six minutes left in the first half.
Then, Eric Davis missed an open three-pointer and Kansas quickly converted the rebound into fastbreak points. This ended a long scoring drought for the Jayhawks that had helped Texas get back in the game. KU then stretched the halftime lead to eight.
Against Baylor on Tuesday night, Davis had a chance to nail a three-pointer to extend Texas’ first-half lead. However, after he missed, Baylor immediately tied the game. Baylor then took the lead and Texas never led again the rest of the game.
Similarly, against Kansas, Texas never got within three points the rest of the game after Davis missed his shot.
The Horns battled back to a four-point game midway through the second half. However, transfer guard Mareik Isom missed a three-pointer that would have made it a one-possession game. Kansas quickly scored on the other end and protected their lead the rest of the game.
Texas had one last chance to make things interesting. Texas was within seven points with just a few minutes remaining, but a lack of execution and poor shooting doomed the Horns. Kansas eventually stretched their lead and won by 12.
Shooting and Turnovers Continue to Doom Texas Basketball
“Really, if you take away that first stretch, we played even. I know that’s not how the game works, obviously, but I think that a lot of guys have gotten better… When you’re playing good teams, you have to be more consistent.” – Shaka Smart
After those first five minutes of poor basketball, Texas battled Kansas pretty evenly on their home court. Some of it was Kansas’ own lack of execution, as they turned the ball over 16 times to Texas’ 19 TOs. But, Kansas made up for it with their shooting.
Texas only made 6-16 three-pointers, while Kansas nailed 11-23 from long range.
Kansas also had seven more assists than the Longhorns. Every time Texas put together a good stretch, Kansas answered with a three-pointer or well-executed offensive set. There were just too many empty possessions for the Horns from either the guards or big men in the post.
Jarrett Allen a Flawed Bright Spot
Freshman center Jarrett Allen continues to improve each night. He notched a career-high 22 points and 19 rebounds. And, 12 of those boards were on the offensive end. But, he had six turnovers.
Allen has to work on being more assertive when he catches the ball or gets in position to score. Yes, part of the issue is the guard play without a true PG to feed him the ball. But, it wasn’t until the second half when Allen really started to dominate and show some poise playing against Kansas for the first time.
While Allen was getting his feet under him, senior big man Shaq Cleare kept the Horns moving. Cleare helped the Longhorns avoid complete disaster in the first five minutes of the game. But, he missed some close shots in the second half that could have helped Texas close the gap.
Longhorns Basketball an Inconsistent Work in Progress
Overall, the Longhorns are right there. They survived three-straight Top 10 opponents with signs of growth everywhere. But, because of their inconsistency and empty possessions, Texas just hasn’t been able to put it all together.
It certainly starts with a lack of PG, which won’t be addressed this season. Matt Coleman is coming next year, but Kerwin Roach, Andrew Jones, or Jacob Young needs to asserts himself as the primary ballhandler for the rest of this season.
The other variable is not knowing when – or if – Tevin Mack will return from suspension. Texas ran the gauntlet of West Virginia, Baylor, and Kansas without their leading scorer and really missed his presence on the perimeter.
Related Story: Texas Basketball Officially in Rebuilding Mode
Eric Davis, Young, Roach, and Jones are very inconsistent shooters. Mack would have made a big difference in this game where a few timely three-pointers would have made Kansas sweat. Without a threat on the outside, though, Jarrett Allen and eventually Shaq saw double-teams all afternoon.
The guards need to play better and be more consistent to make Shaka Smart’s offense flow. They can’t wait for Matt Coleman to show up next year. Until that happens, Texas is essentially playing to avoid the Big 12 basement in their rebuilding season.
Next Up: Texas returns home to face Oklahoma on Monday night. This is probably not what ESPN envisioned for Big Monday when setting the schedule. The Horns and Sooners are at the bottom of the Big 12 standings through their first seven conference games.