Everything was clicking on all cylinders for the Texas Longhorns as they made their debut in the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament. From every starter finding the scoreboard to nearly doubling their opponent's rebound numbers, the Horns were dominating the Vanderbilt Commodores by halftime.
As the two teams headed to their locker rooms after the first half, Texas held a 41-26 lead over Vanderbilt and the Horns' head coach Rodney Terry was very pleased with his squad.
“We really wanted to try and attack the paint, inside out," Terry Said. "I think we’ve done a really good job of that.”
Texas wasn't settling for a small lead as they stormed past the Commodores to claim the 15-point lead at halftime. Senior forward Arthur Kaluma led the Horns in scoring with 11 points in the first half, followed by freshman Tre Johnson and senior Tramon Mark with nine points apiece.
THAT MOVE @___kingart 🫢🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/K4OqgHpmme
— Texas Men’s Basketball (@TexasMBB) March 12, 2025
The Longhorns secured 24 rebounds in the first half, 18 of which were off of the defensive glass, which was 10 more than the Commodores were able to bring down. Vanderbilt missed 20 shots from the field (going 9-of-29) but only came down with three offensive rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Horns shot an impressive 48.3 percent from the field and boasted 14 made field goals after the first 20 minutes.
In exciting news, veteran guard Chendall Weaver, who missed 15 games with an injury, seemed to be getting closer to his usual self as he contributed five rebounds, two assists, one block, and one steal when he came off the bench.
The final two starters, Kadin Shedrick and Jordan Pope, combined for nine points in the first half. Shedrick also recorded three rebounds and one block for Texas.
The winner of the first-round matchup would move on to face the No. 5 seed Texas A&M Aggies in the second round on Thursday, March 13, at 2:30 p.m. CT.