In his 6 season as head coach at Texas, Shaka Smart has had plenty of big wins. The Longhorns have knocked off North Carolina three times while also securing wins in several different seasons against strong Oklahoma, West Virginia and Texas Tech teams. None of those wins compare to the win he secured at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon, blowing out 3rd ranked Kansas 84-59. The win improves the Longhorns record to 8-1 and 2-0 in Big 12 play.
Texas received a huge game from their frontcourt, with Jericho Sims turning in one of his best performances of the season to go along with a strong performance off the bench from Kai Jones. Sims registered a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds while having his way with the Kansas big men for much of the afternoon. Jones chipped in 12 points and 5 rebounds of his own, knocking down 2 of 3 three pointers. The Texas guards were equally as good, with Courtney Ramey, Andrew Jones and Matt Coleman all recording at least 13 points. Ramey led the way with a team high 18.
The Jayhawks struggled putting the ball in the basket all afternoon. Jalen Wilson was their main source of offense, pouring in a game high 20 points, but Kansas only had one other player reach double figures. As the team, the Jayhawks shot 30.8% from the field and 13% from deep. The Longhorns were red hot from the floor for the entire game, shooting 49.2% from the field and 46.2% from deep. Texas never trailed the entire game and won their first game in Allen Fieldhouse since 2011.
Biggest Takeaway
The biggest takeaway for Texas has to be the fashion in which they won. The game was pretty much over at the halfway mark of the second mark. The Longhorns put together their best defensive performance of the season and scored the basketball in a variety of ways all afternoon. Shaka Smart has shown a lot of faith in Jericho Sims despite some uneven performances to start the season and was rewarded today. If Texas gets consistent high level play from Sims for the rest of the season, the ceiling for Texas is raised significantly. It is important that Greg Brown did not contribute much today due to early foul trouble and the Longhorns still won by 25.
What’s Next
Texas will have a quick turnaround as they prepare to host Iowa State at the Erwin Center on Tuesday evening. Following the matchup with the Cyclones, the Longhorns will end the week by traveling to Morgantown to face West Virginia on Saturday.
