Texas Goes Entire Season Without Winning Road Game
Texas Basketball lost to Texas Tech on Wednesday to complete their road schedule without a single win.
Texas Tech beat the Longhorns 67-57 in Lubbock, meaning Texas did not win a single road game this season.
The Horns struggled to execute on offense for long stretches of the game, including a backbreaking start to the second half.
Texas did not reach the 50-point mark until 2:27 was left in the game. Fittingly, Texas had a chance to hit 50 points on the previous possession, but Kerwin Roach missed a wide-open lay-up.
Texas had several wide-open misses during the game, including a key play in the first half when they last held the lead. (Full Box Score)
Texas Could Not Seize Momentum vs. Texas Tech in First Half
The Longhorns and Red Raiders traded momentum back-and-forth throughout the first half. It was anyone’s game to take control of.
Texas freshman Jacob Young nailed a three-pointer with about six minutes left to give Texas a 22-21 lead. But, after Tech took the lead back on free throws, Young had a wide-open drive to the hoop, but he missed the lay-up.
Tech then went on a mini-run to stretch their lead to eight points. It seems like this has been the story of every road game in Big 12 conference play for Shaka Smart’s team. There is one play – just one play – that sends this young Longhorns team into a downward spiral.
But, Texas was able to regain some momentum on the last play of the half when Jacob Young hit a 35-foot three-pointer at the buzzer. This brought the Longhorns to within five points at 34-29 at halftime.
The momentum only lasted the length of the halftime break, though, as Texas came out inexcusably flat after the break.
Texas Tech Drops Hammer on Texas Longhorns in Second Half
A five-point deficit for Texas turned into a 15-point deficit in a matter of three minutes.
Shaka Smart, sensing his team was not focused after halftime, even called a timeout two minutes into the half. But, Tech picked up more points before the Longhorns finally stopped a 10-0 Tech run to start the half.
Texas was very sloppy on offense. Meanwhile, Tech could not miss on offense.
The Longhorns spent the next 17 minutes trying to get the game under double digits. But, as has been the theme throughout the year in road games, no one stepped up with a big-time shot.
Texas had open looks on three-pointers and drives to the basket that could have really flipped the game, but players could not convert. Without a true PG to feel out the game and decide who should take over, the Horns stayed stuck in neutral.
After the opening stretch, the closest Texas got in the second half was nine points. But, Texas was unable to take advantage of a cold stretch for Tech when they went scoreless for about three minutes.
Part of the issue was another recurring theme – the Texas Longhorns guards not understanding how to attack the defense.
Jarrett Allen Not Enough of a Factor vs. Texas Tech
Texas freshman star Jarrett Allen was not involved enough in the game. The guards spent too much time dribbling on the perimeter in the first half or settling for tough shots.
Then, in the second half, Tech decided to pack in their defense and double-team or front Allen to prevent him from getting the ball.
The guards started to hesitate and play tentatively, allowing Tech to dictate how the game was going to be played.
The result was Allen only had seven field goal attempts in the game. The last one was an easy dunk on the last play to get him to a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Texas starter Eric Davis finished with 0 points, Andrew Jones only had 3 points after scoring 18 points against Kansas on Saturday, and Mareik Isom scored 0 points off the bench before fouling out.
Jacob Young had his best game of the season with 14 points. But, the only other Texas player in double figures was Shaq Cleare with 15 points.
Unfortunately, Cleare did most of his damage in the first half when Texas was battling Tech for control of the game. Then, Cleare became a non-factor in the second half as Tech packed in their defense against Texas’ big men.
The inconsistency of this year’s Texas team has been particularly frustrating, especially for Shaka Smart. He just does not know from game-to-game who will buy in and be ready to play, or be able to shoot the ball consistently.
Overall, Texas only shot 43 percent from the field compared to 48 percent for Tech. Texas even made one more three-pointer, but they made 9 fewer free throws than the Red Raiders.
Add it all up to a 10-point win for Texas Tech, keeping Texas winless on the season away from Austin. Texas is now 10-20 overall and 4-13 in the Big 12 conference.
Next: Why UT Basketball Will Be National Title Contender In Two Years
Next up for the Longhorns is Senior Night against Baylor on Saturday. Can they pull a huge upset over the Bears to get some momentum for the Big 12 Conference tournament?