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Texas Basketball: 5 reasons Longhorns upset Kansas Jayhawks

By Andrew Miller

LAWRENCE, KANSAS - DECEMBER 18: Lagerald Vick #24 of the Kansas Jayhawks celebrates a basket against the South Dakota Coyotes in the second half at Allen Fieldhouse on December 18, 2018 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
LAWRENCE, KANSAS - DECEMBER 18: Lagerald Vick #24 of the Kansas Jayhawks celebrates a basket against the South Dakota Coyotes in the second half at Allen Fieldhouse on December 18, 2018 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /
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LAWRENCE, KANSAS – DECEMBER 18: Lagerald Vick #24 of the Kansas Jayhawks celebrates a basket against the South Dakota Coyotes in the second half at Allen Fieldhouse on December 18, 2018 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
LAWRENCE, KANSAS – DECEMBER 18: Lagerald Vick #24 of the Kansas Jayhawks celebrates a basket against the South Dakota Coyotes in the second half at Allen Fieldhouse on December 18, 2018 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /

Potentially the toughest matchup of the season is here for Texas basketball, with the Kansas Jayhawks looming in Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 14.

Another disappointing loss for the Texas basketball program made for a rough start to the most daunting stretch of the Big 12 slate. As a borderline NCAA Tournament team at this point of the regular season, Texas basketball needs a strong response very soon.

After starting out the Big 12 slate 2-0, Texas basketball lost its last two games that were both winnable. The two wins for Texas basketball came over the Kansas State Wildcats on the road and the West Virginia Mountaineers at home. Kansas State and West Virginia proved so far that both could be bottom dwellers in the Big 12 standings.

However, the two losses for Texas basketball in Big 12 play came at the hands of the No. 8 ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders and Oklahoma State Cowboys. Texas Tech was a very excusable loss for Texas basketball, but Oklahoma State was more than a winnable contest. Oklahoma State came into its battle against Texas basketball with no wins in Big 12 play and as the only team with a losing record in the entire conference.

The losses to Texas Tech and Oklahoma State just added to the host of disappointments for head Texas basketball coach Shaka Smart on the season. Smart had some rumors before the 2018-19 regular season tipped that he could be on the hot seat if he didn’t get off to a good start.

A decent start, even through the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational, cooled Smart’s seat down for a bit. But, he is digging himself in a hole with the way conference play turned out within the past week. Texas basketball needed a good start to this daunting slate of Big 12 games upcoming that tipped off against Texas Tech. The remaining stretch features a very difficult set of opponents including the Kansas Jayhawks (twice), Iowa State Cyclones, and Oklahoma Sooners.

Here’s a look at the five reasons why the Texas Longhorns can pull off the upset against the Kansas Jayhawks in a key Big 12 Jan. 14 showdown.

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