Texas Basketball: 5 nailbiting Kansas defeat takeaways

2. Marcus Garrett made the difference

In the first half of play, Texas basketball and the Jayhawks went back and forth on the scoreboard. That mainly went to the Jayhawks benefit in the first half, though. Texas did start to bring it back closer in the second half, but both teams increased the scoring. The Horns got some nice contributions from the sophomore duo of point guard Matt Coleman and Jase Febres (combining for 28 points in this game).

However, what the Horns didn’t have an answer for was sophomore Kansas guard Marcus Garrett heating up from the field. Garrett was cold in the first half, but he finished the game with 20 points while shooting 8-11 from the field. He was one of two Jayhawks that posted at least 20 points alongside senior guard Lagerald Vick.

This was a huge game for the Dallas, TX, native Garrett who averages less than seven points per game this season. His presence is usually felt more on the defensive end of the court. But, he was able to notch a career-high in points in an individual game. He also nearly doubled his previous career-high of 11 points.

The contributions from Garrett stemmed far beyond his career-high night in scoring. He also added three steals and one block in a game where the turnovers weren’t too frequent. If not for the career-high in scoring while maintaining his strong defensive presence, this would be a win for the Horns.