No. 5 Texas A&M is eager for conference play to begin as it aims to reach its goals.
AUSTIN — Never one to play coy, Mo Bamba came right out and spoke the truth.
“We can sit here and say it’s like every other game, but it’s not,” Texas’ star freshman said Thursday. “It’s, in a big way, a statement game. It’s a statement game because it’s Kansas. But we think we can get out and beat ’em.”
On Friday night against the 11th-ranked Jayhawks, Bamba imbued UT with a poise and power it had, at times, lacked throughout a roller-coaster season.
But it all came undone little by little, as if someone were slowly erasing the winning equation UT coach Shaka Smart drew up on the chalkboard. Texas unraveled late in the second half and fell to Kansas 9286,in the teams’ Big 12 opener in front of a near-capacity Erwin Center crowd.
Bamba dominated the game’s early portions, flashing the potential that has so tantalized NBA scouts and executives for years.
Twice he turned a blocked shot into a transition bucket and followed one Jacob Young miss with a powerful two-handed putback. He battled and bested Kansas 7-footer Udoka Azubuike and perfectly timed his rotations to provide help on drives, forcing guards to swerve back or calculate a way to get the ball around the gigantic net Bamba cast.
Jayhawks coach Bill Self quipped that Bamba could have “blocked the sun.”
“Man, he blocked everything it seemed like,” Kansas guard Devonte’ Graham said. “Couple of them might have been questionable, but he definitely went up there and got them. It was tough to get in the paint and make floaters. And we definitely weren’t getting any layups with him down there.”
Bamba finished the first half with 16 points, eight rebounds and five blocks, and UT (9-4) trailed by just three as it walked off the court. For the game, he set career highs with 22 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocks.
But Self ’s Jayhawks have not claimed 13 consecutive Big 12 regular-season titles by shrinking in the face of adversity. For more than a decade, they have weathered every opponent’s best punch and responded.
Kansas (11-2) hit eight of nine shots to open the second half and seize a 13-point lead. It buried UT under an avalanche of 3-pointers, 17 in all, and led by 14 with under three minutes left.
Even when defended well, the Jayhawks’ cadre of snipers were undaunted.
“Probably one of the best 3-point exhibitions I’ve ever seen in my life,” Bamba said. “They caught fire. It’s kind of hard to defend even when you’ve got a hand up or close-out hard. It definitely shifted the energy of the game.”
Said Longhorns guard Matt Coleman: “It’s like playing the (Golden State) Warriors almost.”
Even after slowing Kansas some with its full-court pressure, UT could not muster enough firepower to down the conference’s longtime king. UT made just 7 of 25 3-pointers.
Kansas guard Lagerald Vick scored a game-high 23 and had eight assists. Graham went for 21 points, while Svi Mykhailiuk added 20. Those three combined for 16 3-pointers.
Texas forward Dylan Ostekowski rebounded from an ineffective first half to finish with 17 points and seven rebounds. Coleman contributed 17 points and five assists. Guard Andrew Jones (wrist) came off the bench to score five points in nine minutes after missing four straight contests.
“There’s no such thing as a statement game if you lose,” Bamba said. “But there’s hope after this. We just played a team that made 17 3s, and we lost by six points. So, there’s definitely hope.”
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