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Texas Basketball vs. Oklahoma: 5 Longhorns victory takeaways

By Andrew Miller

AUSTIN, TEXAS - JANUARY 19: Kerwin Roach II #12 of the Texas Basketball Longhorns reacts as his team defeats Oklahoma Sooners 75-72 at The Frank Erwin Center on January 19, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TEXAS - JANUARY 19: Kerwin Roach II #12 of the Texas Basketball Longhorns reacts as his team defeats Oklahoma Sooners 75-72 at The Frank Erwin Center on January 19, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images) /
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AUSTIN, TEXAS – JANUARY 19: Kerwin Roach II #12 of the Texas Longhorns reacts after scoring a three-point shot against the Oklahoma Sooners during first half action at The Frank Erwin Center on January 19, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TEXAS – JANUARY 19: Kerwin Roach II #12 of the Texas Longhorns reacts after scoring a three-point shot against the Oklahoma Sooners during first half action at The Frank Erwin Center on January 19, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images) /

4. Kerwin Roach Jr. outplayed Christian James

When the scoring is on for Texas basketball, it’s more often than not sparked by senior shooting guard Kerwin Roach Jr. This game was no different as the narrative stuck to usual with Roach Jr. leading the Horns in scoring. And, he posted the game-high in points altogether as one of two players with at least 20.

One of the key matchups in this Red River Showdown for basketball involved Roach Jr. taking on star senior Oklahoma guard Christian James. At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, James held a bit of a size advantage over Roach Jr. But, that didn’t seem to slow down Roach Jr. on offense as he shot better than 50 percent from the field and was efficient from three-point range.

On the other hand, James posted a team-high 20 points for the Sooners while taking the bulk of the shots for his squad. James wasn’t as efficient from the field as Roach Jr. He was 7-of-17 from the field, but 3-of-4 from three-point range. And, James and freshman guard Jamal Bieniemy were the workhorses for Oklahoma, playing a combined 71 minutes on the floor.

This is the type of scoring performance the Horns need from a senior leader like Roach Jr. He outshined the senior leader for the higher ranked team with a better record coming into this game and did what he needed to get the victory. This was the second-best scoring performance of the season thus far for Roach Jr. The only one that topped this was his season-high 32 point outing in the upset win over the North Carolina Tar Heels.

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