Texas followed up their most complete performance of the season against OU earlier this week with one of their worst performances of the season against Iowa State, as the Longhorns fell to the Cyclones 79-70 in Ames. Here are some thoughts and takeaways:
- The number one storyline of the game was Texas’ inability to take care of the basketball. The Longhorns finished with a season high 20 turnovers and repeatedly gave away possessions with poor decision making. Marcus Carr and Tre Mitchell both had 4 turnovers apiece.
- Texas forward Timmie Allen picked up 2 fouls in the first 16 seconds of the game and ended up playing only 13 minutes. Allen’s absence was felt on both ends of the floor and Texas never seemed to recover from his quick exit.
- Texas had an uncharacteristically bad day on the defensive end of the floor. The Cyclones shot 57% from the field and 44% from deep and routinely got open looks for much of the afternoon.
- Devin Askew had a really rough afternoon, playing only 7 minutes and turning the ball over 3 times. Askew seemed to be coming on strong the last few games, so his performance is a step backwards as Chris Beard tries to find someone who can be the primary ball handler outside of Marcus Carr.
- Beard chose to go deep into his bench as the game played out into the second half. Tristen Licon and Avery Benson, both of whom have barely played in conference play, were inserted into the game. Licon provided a spark defensively with a pair of steals but was unable to connect on an open 3-pointer and a put back attempt.
- Texas seemed poise to make this a close game down the stretch, but Iowa State responded every time the Longhorns went on a run. Texas could not contain Gabe Kalscheur, who connected on 6 three pointers and had a game-high 22 points.
- There is no shame in losing a conference road game to a ranked team, but the Longhorns struggles on the road are beginning to become a noticeable trend. Texas does not appear to be coming out with the same sense of urgency on the road as they do at home. This will be something to monitor as the rest of the season plays out.
- The magic number for Texas moving forward is 9. That will likely be the number of wins required in conference play to comfortably be in the NCAA tournament. Texas is at 3 right now and has yet to play any of their two games Baylor, Kansas or Texas Tech. The time to stack wins is now.
What’s Next?
Texas is set to host Kansas State (who just defeated Texas Tech) at the Erwin Center on Tuesday evening.
