Despite all the struggles that have plagued Texas since the beginning of the season, the opportunity was there for the taking for the Longhorns to secure a signature win against 6th ranked Kansas. A win that would have looked very good come March if Texas were sitting on the bubble. Instead of a signature win, Texas was left with nothing after fading down the stretch in a 66-57 loss to the Jayhawks.
The Longhorns received a career game from Jericho Sims. The junior poured in a career-high 20 points and also added 6 rebounds. Fellow junior Matt Coleman also added 10 points and 3 assists. Texas found itself out in front for much of the first half, taking a 31-26 lead into halftime. In the second half though, the Jayhawks fought back behind a huge performance from Devon Dotson, who returned to the floor Saturday after a 1-game absence due to injury. Dotson scored a game-high 21 points and was 8-9 from the foul line, preventing any type of Texas comeback down the stretch. Two key factors that hurt the Longhorns throughout the afternoon were their inability to make free throws (55%) and their inconsistency from 3-point range.
Texas did turn in a very good performance on the defensive end of the floor, holding Kansas to 20% from 3-point range and maintaining a strong presence inside with Sims. Ultimately though, the Jayhawks made the plays they needed to down the stretch to leave Austin with a victory.
The loss drops the Longhorns to 12-5 on the season and 2-3 in conference play. A season that began with hopes of at the very least making the NCAA Tournament continues to hang in the balance with a tough stretch awaiting. Texas will travel to West Virginia on Monday to face the Mountaineers before returning home to face LSU at the Frank Erwin Center on Saturday.
