Rocked Chalked

FINAL SCORE: Kansas 75 – Texas 62

1^st Half: Kansas 32 – Texas 30

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[*]In the first 3 minutes, the Horns start with stout defense, and at least 3 passes before a shot on offense. That’s a winning mix for this team.

 

[*]Texas is dominating the glass on both ends, but not working the ball through the post on offense. It’s early but that needs to change.

 

[*]The difference between KU’s passing and Texas’ is stark. This is the same lazy style of offense that lost to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

 

[*]Guard penetration and feeding the post have the Horns back in the game. Ridley’s first bucket comes with 3:00 left in the half. That tells you everything you need to know about the half.

 

[*]The Horns closed the Jayhawks’ lead to just 2 points at the half. The last 6 minutes on offense were much more effective than the first 14:00.

 

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2^nd Half: Kansas 43 – Texas 32

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[*]Texas opens the half with a couple of blocked shots that lead to a shot clock violation. Then they went straight to Cam Ridley in the post….the message at halftime must’ve been clear.

 

[*]Jonathan Holmes’ wide open look and made 3-pointer (at the 15:14 mark) gives Texas a 4 point lead. More importantly, KU left him on the wing because Texas has been effective in the paint this half.

 

[*]Myles Turner is pressing. He wants to have a big game, but instead of letting it come to him, he’s forcing it and that is throwing his rhythm off.

 

[*]At the under 8:00 timeout, KU leads, 53-50. Other than Isaiah Taylor, the Horns have gotten almost nothing from their Guards today. Back-to-back turnovers from Holland helped spark this run for Kansas.

 

[*]Kansas extends their lead to 10 points by attacking the basket. The Jayhawks are executing to perfection. What makes it worse is that they’re executing the gameplan that Texas should be using.

 

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Top takeaways

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[*]At halftime, Texas led in both offensive & defensive rebounds, as well as blocked shots. With smarter offensive execution, Texas would be leading comfortably.

 

[*]The only team that Kansas has played with size comparable to Texas (Kentucky) annihilated the Jayhawks. Texas had a blueprint to win this game and ignored it, along with their physical advantages in the game.

 

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The stat story

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[*]Kansas had 3 total turnovers, and none in the 2^nd half.

 

[*]Not only was Texas 3-18 for 3-pointers, but Myles Turner and Connor Lammert took 8 of those 18 attempts.

 

[*]The Horns only attempted 15 free throws – an indictment on their offensive style.

 

[*]KU outscored Texas, 32-30 in the paint. Their bench outscored UT, 31-8.

 

[*]Javan Felix, Kendal Yancy, and Demarcus Holland were a combined 3-13 from the floor.

 

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Looking ahead

Texas plays consecutive road games in the coming week. First, the Horns travel to Ames for a Big Monday showdown with Iowa State, then on Saturday evening they make the short trip up I-35 to play Baylor.