Texas Longhorns Officially Become Big 12 Contender in Dominant Win Over Kansas
The No. 8 Texas Longhorns asserted themselves as a true contender in the race for the Big 12 men’s basketball regular-season title with a 84-59 win over the No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.
In doing so, Texas (8-1, 2-0 in Big 12) shook up the Associated Press Top 10, which comes out on Monday. Kansas (8-2, 2-1) will likely drop a few spots after this loss, its first since losing to No. 1 Gonzaga in the season opener. Meanwhile, Texas could move up and into the Top 5. At No. 8, the Longhorns are already ranked the highest they’ve been under head coach Shaka Smart.
It’s also the worst loss at Allen Fieldhouse in the Bill Self era. The previous worst was the Jayhawks’ 85-73 loss to Texas Tech on Jan. 2, 2018.
Courtney Ramey led the Longhorns with 18 points, while Matt Coleman III had 13 points (along with 6 assists), Andrew Jones had 14 and Kai Jones came off the bench with 12 points. Jones and Jericho Sims combined for 17 rebounds, with Sims grabbing 12 rebounds, along with 11 points, to get his first double-double in a year.
Saturday was the first time the Longhorns defeated the Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse as a Big 12 member, according to the Big 12 basketball media guide. Entering the game Kansas had an all-time record of 35-9 over Texas and a 31-8 record over Texas in Big 12 play, including the Big 12 Tournament. Kansas had also won 18 of its last 20 meetings with Texas, dating back to March 12, 2011, in the Big 12 Tournament.
Texas had not played since its Big 12 opener against Oklahoma State on Dec. 22. Kansas had not played since its win over West Virginia on Dec. 22.
Texas was the team that didn’t show any rust.
Texas shot 49.2 percent from the floor, 46.2 from the 3-point line and 85.7 from the free throw line. They outrebounded Kansas 46-37 and by the 8-minute mark of the second half had a 21-point lead.
Kansas got a great game from redshirt freshman Jalen Wilson, who finished with 20 points and was the Jayhawks’ best scoring option in the second half. Ochai Agbaji had a good first half and finished with 11 points. But no other Jayhawks were in double figures, they shot 31.3 percent from the floor and just 13.6 percent from the 3-point line, the latter being an area where Self said before the holiday break the Jayhawks needed to improve. The only downside for Texas on Saturday? Backup forward Gerald Liddell opted to leave the program.
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