Texas Basketball: 2 studs, 1 dud from persistent win over Texas Tech

Texas basketball was finally able to snap the losing streak at home against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Jan. 14, with a big win at home at the Moody Center in Austin. Texas and acting head coach Rodney Terry had to fight until the end against a Texas Tech squad that would not go away late in this game.

This was also a game that the Longhorns had to fight and claw their way back in the second half. Texas was down by double digits early in the second half until a big run spearheaded by senior guard Marcus Carr led them back to take the lead over the Red Raiders eventually.

A combination of Carr heating up in the second half with some of Texas’ upperclassmen knocking down critical free throws late in this game would ultimately seal the win by the final score of 72-70. This is also the second consecutive double-digit comeback win for the Longhorns.

While Texas was able to secure the win, it was anything but comfortable with Texas Tech consistently keeping the game within one possession down the stretch.

Studs and one dud from Texas basketball’s second straight comeback win at home

Here’s a look at two studs and one dud from the Longhorns’ tight win over Texas Tech on Jan. 14.

Stud No. 1: Marcus Carr, G

I already talked about how Carr was one of the main catalysts for Texas’ big offensive run in the second half of this game. In the second half alone, Carr put up 15 points. He would wind up being the team’s leading scorer with 20 points on 7-of-18 shooting from the field, 4-of-13 from beyond the arc, and 2-of-3 from the free-throw line.

This was the fourth game on the season so far where Carr put up at least 20 points. It also continues his streak of games scoring in the double figures to a whopping nine.

When Texas was down by double digits early in the second half, Carr started to find his shot from the field. Early in the second half when Texas was down 40-30, Carr rattled off five straight points to cut Texas Tech’s lead in half. And he would eventually score 10 of 11 points in a big 11-2 run for the Longhorns to close Tech’s lead to just one.

Carr’s scoring efforts have kept the Longhorns alive in quite a few games this season. But that’s not the only value that he brought to the table for the Longhorns here.

He also gave the Longhorns six rebounds and three assists with just one turnover. Carr took good care of the basketball and made some pretty major contributions on the boards.

Given that Carr was pretty cold shooting from the field in the first half, this was about as good of a response as I could hope for from the fifth-year senior down the stretch.