Though Texas basketball defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks last night, the excitement of the SEC victory was quickly overshadowed by the team's incessant fouling problem.
One of the Longhorns' most impactful players in 2026, C Matas Vokietaitis, fouled out of the game in the second half again. So far in 2026, he's committed 76 fouls and fouled out three times in 23 total games for Texas.
Shortly after the matchup, Sean Miller addressed some questions surrounding the 7-footer:
"I met with Matas after the game, one of the things I said to him was 'I'm not getting through to you."
He then went on to even explain some of the things that he's tried to physically do with Matas to get him to stop clubbing players. He's apparently given him lacrosse balls to hold onto on defense because it forces players to be "more aware" of their hands. It's an attempt to get players to keep their arms back and not swipe forward on shooters.
More from Coach Miller on what they've physically tried to do to curb Matas Vokietaitis's fouling troubles....
— anne-parker coleman (@anneparkercole1) February 4, 2026
Through 23 games he has committed 76 fouls....#Texas | #Hookem pic.twitter.com/sR9jV9iUzs
Fouling has almost single-handedly lost Texas a couple of games this year, and they absolutely have to figure out how to stop it if they want any chance at making it to the NCAA Tournament. As of right now, it's still a long shot for the team unless they string together quite a few big-time wins to finish out the season. To do that, they'll undoubtedly have to limit fouling.
The defense has gotten better overall as of late in terms of getting in advantageous positions on the court, but it doesn't matter if the Longhorns continue to hand opponents free points at the free-throw line.