Texas Basketball: Horns shock No. 3 Kansas, prove they’re atop the Big 12

A really huge win for the Texas basketball program and head coach Shaka Smart arrived on the road in Lawrence on Jan. 2 against No. 3 ranked Kansas.

After a thoroughly dominant performance for No. 8 ranked Texas basketball on the road at Allen Fieldhouse on the afternoon of Jan. 2, head coach Shaka Smart has his team primed for a huge run in the Big 12 for the rest of the conference slate. Texas controlled this key game over the weekend, and after the turn of the calendar year, from the very get go.

Smart and the Longhorns came into this meeting with the No. 3 ranked Kansas Jayhawks and head coach Bill Self with a record of 7-1 (1-0 Big 12), coming off their nice win back on Dec. 20 at home at the Frank Erwin Center over the Oklahoma State Cowboys by a narrow three-point margin. That win over Oklahoma State roughly two weeks ago at home was the first in Big 12 play, as the de facto conference opener.

Texas was around a five-point underdog before tip off of this top 10 meeting in Lawrence on Jan. 2. But this was not the first time that the Longhorns took command of a game when they entered as underdogs (i.e. the Maui Invitational semifinals and championship round).

Smart’s Longhorns team came out of the gates and took control of the game almost right away. They won the first half by a score of 37-29. And then the second half saw the Longhorns really lock down on the Jayhawks, extending their lead beyond 20 points down the stretch.

The jolt to the offense for the Longhorns, especially in the second half, was not only surprising, but it was what delivered this huge win. Texas saw four of the players in their starting five score well into double digits. Freshman power forward Greg Brown did cool off a good bit after he got scorching hot in his last two games.

Brown was the lone Longhorns starter that didn’t score in double figures. He registered five points, five rebounds, no assists, two steals, no blocks, and four turnovers. Sophomore big man Kai Jones was much more efficient playing at the four off the bench than Brown was in this game.

Two really big performances were delivered for Texas from junior guard Courtney Ramey and senior center Jericho Sims. It was nice to see Sims breakthrough in a big way under such a bright spotlight after the turn of the calendar year.

Sims registered 11 points, a team-high 12 rebounds, one assist, no steals, and one blocks. He shot 5-of-6 from the field and 1-of-2 from the charity stripe. This is definitely the most positive and impactful outing on the season so far for Sims.

Bouncing back in a big way from a rather poor showing in Texas’ Big 12 opener win over Oklahoma State back on Dec. 20, Ramey was the spark for his team’s offense against Kansas. He registered 18 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals, and no blocks. Ramey shot an efficient 7-of-11 from the field, 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, and 1-of-1 from the free-throw line.

Senior guard Matt Coleman was also big for the Longhorns in this game. He didn’t necessary light things up on the offensive end of the floor. But as usual, he was all-around efficient in his role as the Longhorns floor general on both ends.

Coleman registered 13 points, six rebounds, six assists, one steal, no blocks, and just one turnover.

The defense really showed up for Smart and the Longhorns too in this 84-59 upset of Kansas on the road on Jan. 2. Texas held Kansas to just 20-of-65 shooting from the field (30.8 percent) and a miserable 3-of-23 shooting from downtown (13.0 percent).

With the win over Kansas now in the books for the Longhorns, Smart’s team moves to a record of 8-1 (2-0 Big 12) on the season so far. Their biggest test in the Big 12 now looks to be the No. 2 ranked Baylor Bears. Texas was supposed to face Baylor on the road in Waco last month in their Big 12 opener, but it was pushed back due to novel coronavirus related issues on the Bears side.

Next up for the Longhorns on the hardwood is a meeting with the Iowa State Cyclones back at home at the Erwin Center on Jan. 5. Three of the next four games in the Big 12 slate for the Longhorns will come at home.