Texas basketball (10-2, 0-0 SEC) came out with its most thoroughly dominant effort of the regular season so far this afternoon at the Moody Center in a humongous 121-57 win over the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions (2-10, 0-0 SWAC) on Dec. 15.
Offense explodes for Texas basketball in a 121-57 demolition of Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Head coach Rodney Terry and the Longhorns had a season-high eight players score in double figures in the win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff today. Texas was able to score at this level, albeit against a struggling UAPB squad, without the services of freshman guard Tre Johnson.
The SEC's leading scorer, Johnson, did not play in today's game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff due to a hip injury, per Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.
Texas shot 63 percent from the field and 57 percent from beyond the arc to absolutely decimate Arkansas-Pine Bluff from the tip-off of this game today.
True freshman power forward had his coming out party for the Longhorns with a career-high 20 points in just 16 minutes off the bench. Texas just couldn't be stopped on the offensive end of the floor. And given that Arkansas-Pine Bluff had a whopping 73 offensive possessions in this game, holding the Golden Lions to just 57 points was a solid defensive performance for the Longhorns.
Here are two studs and one dud from the Longhorns' 60+ point win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff at the Moody Center on Dec. 15.
Stud: Jordan Pope, G
A few days ago, I wrote about how junior guard Jordan Pope needed to be more confident and aggressive with his shooting stroke when he got open looks, especially from beyond the arc, for the Longhorns.
We saw the result today when Pope is a more confident initiator and shooter from the field for Texas on the offensive end against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Pope scored a season-high 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 from beyond the arc.
He was doing everything at a high level for the Longhorns in this game, including three rebounds and four assists with zero turnovers, while achieving an impressive +33 on the floor.
Pope's contributions weren't just felt on the offensive end of the floor, though. He also picked up a career-high four steals to give the Longhorns a major boost with his perimeter defense.
This was a huge game to get Pope in a good rhythm each way for Texas. The starting point guard for the Longhorns needs to continue building momentum like he did in this game, entering SEC play in a few weeks.