2 studs, 1 dud from Texas's win vs. Northwestern State

Texas basketball and head coach Rodney Terry got multiple key players back from injuries for the final tune-up game of non-conference play against the Northwestern State Demons at the Moody Center on Dec. 29.

Jon Rothstein reported before the game that Texas was getting two of its key impact players in the rotation back for today's matchup vs. Northwestern State.

Tre Johnson's game-high 18 points leads Texas basketball to an 11th victory to close out the non-con schedule vs. Northwestern State

Freshman guard Tre Johnson returned from a hip injury that kept him out for the past two games. Johnson's hip injury seemed to be more precautionary regarding why the Longhorns' staff kept him out of Texas's previous two games.

Senior forward Jayson Kent returned to the frontcourt lineup for the Longhorns for the first time in eight games due to various lingering injuries. Kent was fighting through an ankle injury since early in the regular season in November. But he also dealt with a wrist injury that was the bigger reason why Kent missed eight games in a row for the Longhorns.

For the fourth game in a row, the Longhorns got off to a strong start offensively. Led by Johnson's 10-point first half in his return to the starting lineup today, Texas scored 41 points and held a comfortable 19-point lead at halftime.

But the strong offensive start and shooting efficiency from the Longhorns in the first half mostly died out in the second. Texas had some long offensive scoring droughts down the stretch in the second half.

Here are two studs, and one dud from the Longhorns double-digit win in the non-conference finale over Northwestern State at the Moody Center on Dec. 29.

Stud: Tre Johnson, G

Texas's offense got an immediate shot in the arm with Johnson back in the lineup in the starting backcourt this afternoon. Johnson got his juice back right away, scoring 10 points on an efficient 4-of-6 shooting from the field and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc in the game's first 20 minutes against Northwestern State.

Johnson stayed hot early in the second half for the Longhorns, draining two threes and three field goals early in the game's final frame.

In just 22 minutes on the floor, Johnson scored a game-high 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. It was good to see Johnson giving the Longhorns some efficient volume scoring in this game in his return from the hip injury.

Johnson averaged over 1.5 points per field goal attempt, without getting to the free-throw line even one time.

But the contributions the Longhorns got in this win over Northwestern State from Johnson weren't just limited to scoring on the offensive end. He was active with his on-ball defense and off-ball communication, which was good to see in his first game back before SEC play.

Johnson also picked up four defensive rebounds, four assists, and just one turnover.

This efficient and well-rounded performance on both ends of the floor from Johnson was a great sign for the Longhorns for his return to the starting lineup before SEC play tips off next weekend against Texas A&M.