Texas Basketball: 3 reasons the Longhorns will dominate Kansas State

Texas has the perimeter defenders to limit Kansas State’s three-point threats

An underrated aspect of this game between Texas and Kansas State to watch is going to be the ability of the Longhorns’ top perimeter defenders to hold strong. Kansas State has some gifted shooters from distance on this team. The guard duo of sophomore Nijel Pack and senior former Mizzou Tigers and Illinois Fighting Illini sharpshooter Mark Smith is very potent for the Wildcats.

Both Pack and Smith are shooting well over 40 percent from beyond the arc this season. They’ve combined to hit 3.9 three-pointers on 9.2 attempts per game this season. That is a really good clip, and it is something Texas has to be mindful of.

It will be namely up to the trio of senior guard Marcus Carr, senior guard Courtney Ramey, and redshirt senior shooting guard/wing Andrew Jones to limit the potency of Kansas State’s three-point shooters.

The good news here is that Carr, Ramey, and Jones, are all very solid on-ball perimeter/wing defenders. They are some of the most experienced and proven perimeter defenders in the Big 12 this season. This trio is helping Texas limit their opponents to shooting around just 31 percent from beyond the arc so far this season.

If the duo of Carr and Ramey are playing some solid two-way basketball in this game, Texas will be in a good spot to win. Those two are major x-factors in this game, especially on the defensive end. If these two can help to limit Kansas State’s deep shooting threats, the rest of the pieces should fall into place.

As a team, Kansas State is shooting just 34.7 percent from beyond the arc this season. That means if Texas can limit the duo of Pack and Smith, they should really put that Kansas State offense in check.