A spirited second-half rally by Texas basketball and senior forward Arthur Kaluma fell short of the No. 2 Auburn Tigers as head coach Rodney Terry's squad dropped the SEC home opener at the Moody Center on Jan. 7. Texas got the game pretty close with under one minute remaining in the second half.
Arthur Kaluma's career-high 34 points nearly sparks a Texas basketball comeback vs. Auburn at home
Texas did get the lead down to just one possession with under 30 seconds left on the game clock in the second half, a couple of made free throws by junior guard Jordan Pope. But Auburn extended their lead back to two possessions when Denver Jones made a pair of clutch free throws.
There were some missed opportunities down the stretch in the second half and during the first half for the Longhorns. Texas kept things competitive around the halfway point of the first half, before Auburn made a run to extend its lead to double digits heading into the locker room at halftime.
The loss to Auburn drops Texas to four losses on the season and 0-2 to start SEC play. The road doesn't get much easier from here for the Longhorns, with three more ranked opponents in a row (including two of them on the road) in the next 11 days.
But the strong effort to nearly comeback against the Tigers in the second half is certainly a positive sign for the Longhorns heading into a matchup against the No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers at the Moody Center on Saturday (Jan. 11).
Here are three takeaways from the Longhorns' 87-82 loss to Auburn at the Moody Center on Jan. 7.
Tre Johnson has gone ice cold to start SEC play
After missing two games in December due to a hip injury, Johnson made a big return to the starting five for the Longhorns in the finale of non-conference play, putting up a team-high 19 points in a big win over the Northwestern State Demons at the Moody Center.
Johnson hasn't made much of an impact when Texas has needed him to step up in the second half when the past two games in conference play have been close against Texas A&M and Auburn tonight.
In the Longhorns' first two SEC games, Johnson has averaged just 10 points per game on under 30 percent shooting from the field and he's missed all eight attempts he's taken from beyond the arc.
After a slow start, with a season-low four first-half points on 2-of-5 shooting from the field and 0-of-1 from beyond the arc, Johnson has
Johnson had two three-point field goal attempts in the game's final 10 minutes that could've made a difference for the Longhorns' comeback efforts to narrow Auburn's lead late in this game. But he missed both three-point attempts and shot just 3-of-8 from the field in the second half.
Teams have started to figure out you can pressure Johnson and get up in his face to challenge shots on the perimeter to disrupt his offensive game. Johnson hasn't been able to drive the lane and dish the basketball out to his open teammates on the perimeter or fight through contact and finish at the rim consistently this season.
A team-low (among the starting five for the Longhorns) 21.1 percent of Johnson's points per game have come in the paint this season (per CBB Analytics).