Texas Basketball: 3 thoughts after devastating loss to OK State

1. Guards cool back down

As far as this individual outing against Oklahoma State went for the Texas basketball program, there were plenty of flaws to point out as far as individual performances go. All that the Longhorns could hang their hat on really was the showing from true freshman forward Kai Jones, who finished up with a game-high 20 points. Jones also gave the Longhorns seven rebounds, one assist, two steals, and one block.

Junior guard Matt Coleman had a decent outing on March 7, finishing up with 18 points, one rebound, one assist, and one steal. But he also shot just 1-of-6 from beyond the arc and turned the ball over four times. A one-to-four assist-to-turnover ratio is never what the primary ball handler should strive for.

Sophomore guard Courtney Ramey and junior shooting guard Andrew Jones really cooled down too. Ramey and Jones combined to shoot just 4-of-18 from the field and 1-of-11 from three-point land.

The bench did the Longhorns no favors against Oklahoma State, as freshman center Will Baker, freshman forward Brock Cunningham, and sophomore forward Kamaka Hepa, combined to shoot 1-of-10 from the field. That one made field goal from those three bench players contributed just seven points in the end.

Oklahoma State got 27 points off the bench, namely from senior shooting guard Thomas Dziagwa, but that is always going to help a team get a big push when Texas manages just seven. Considering Texas nearly doubled Oklahoma State in rebounding and assists, it’s not hard to decipher where this game went wrong.