Lovell’s thoughts following a must-win for the Longhorns over Missouri

Texas was able to get their first ranked win of the season defeating No. 22 Missouri 61-53. It was from a pretty game, but a win is a win, especially when you are sitting at 1-4 in conference play. The Longhorns shot just 34 percent from the field but Missouri managed to be even worse, shooting 31.3 percent. Texas deserves some credit on the defensive end, forcing Missouri to shoot just 4-22 from beyond the arc. Let’s take a look at some of the other takeaways from the Longhorns’ second SEC victory on the season.

Tre Johnson Needs Better Shot Selection

Freshman phenom Tre Johnson is a key cog in Rodney Terry’s offense and when he struggles, the Longhorns struggle. The freshman phenom went just 3-15 against Missouri and that will not get the job done on most nights. With Johnson struggling to that extent, Texas was fortunate to walk away with a win. Johnson is a very talented player, but the Longhorns need a more efficient version of Johnson moving forward.

Johnson takes a lot of mid-range jumpers, which isn’t something you see a lot of in 2025. Many will tell you the mid-range jump shot is the least efficient shot in basketball. There are skilled shot makers, like Johnson that are exception, but he needs to not settle for jump shots. Johnson is a great free throw shooter and attacking the rim will create more free throw opportunities for him. Beyond that, applying rim pressure to opposing defenses will create more open looks for his teammates.

Turnovers Remain an Issue For Texas

Texas had yet another game where they had more turnovers than assists. They have had just one conference game in which they had more assists than turnovers. That came in a loss against Tennessee where they had just nine assists. Anyone can watch the Texas offense and tell you they struggle at times. A large part of that is lack of ball movement.

Texas has some good scorers on offense but it is entirely too much one-on-one basketball on offense. Regardless if it’s Jordan Pope, Arthur Kaluma or Tre Johnson, it is too much isolated basketball. They are all able to get their own shot, but it is impossible for an offense to establish a rhythm when it’s constantly an isolated play which clears everyone else out. From an opposing standpoint, it makes an offense much easier to stop as well. If Texas plays more as a team on offense, they can be a team that consistently scores in the 80’s and win plenty of games.