Texas Men's Basketball: Takeaways from loss vs. Kansas

Texas Longhorns Men's Basketball traveled to Lawerence, Kansas, to take on the #9 Kansas Jayhawks. Early on, it looked like it was a closely contested game in the first quarter. However, Freshman guard Johnny Furphy was too much for the Longhorns to handle in the first half. The Longhorns would lose 86-57 to the Jayhawks on Saturday afternoon. Let's look at the three takeaways from the loss to the Jayhawks.

Texas Longhorns Men's Basketball vs. Kansas Jayhawks: 3. Freshman phenom too much to handle

Going into the game against the Jayhawks, Longhorns' fans were concerned that they wouldn't have an answer for Furphy. The Longhorns could not keep him from making play after play in the first half. He finished the game with 16 points and eight rebounds. Over the last ten games, Furphy has averaged 13.7 points a game. Furphy is going to have a solid basketball career when he goes pro. Don't be surprised if he ends up with the Freshman of the Year Award/

Texas Longhorns Men's Basketball vs. Kansas Jayhawks: 2. Allowed the Jayhawks to feast in the paint

The Jayhawks are a basketball program that likes to feast in the paint. Senior center Hunter Dickinson helped the Jayhawks score 61.5% in the paint. The Longhorns' defense had no answer defending the paint. If the Longhorns can't stop opponents from getting easy layups, their opponents will come away with easy wins. I wasn't surprised that Kansas put some of their backup players late in the second half of the game.

Texas Longhorns Men's Basketball vs. Kansas Jayhawks: 1. Max Abmas was shut down

Another reason the Longhorns lost to the Kansas Jayhawks was Senior guard Max Abmas was shut down. He could not score a basket in the first half against the Jayhawks. Abmas finished the first half with two points and finished the game with five. When Abmas doesn't score many points this season, the Longhorns fall behind early and can't get back in the game. There is only so much that Sophomore forward Dillion Mitchell can do to help win the game. The Longhorns travel to Lubbock, Texas, to take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders this Wednesday.