No. 18 Kansas State holds off Texas; Texas A&M beats Georgia by 17.
AUSTIN — The Big 12 leader arrived at the Erwin Center brimming with all sorts of earned confidence.
Kansas State had reeled off eight straight wins over Big 12 opponents and was itching to avenge one of its two in-conference losses.
Guard Kamau Stokes told local reporters that with him and forward Dean Wade on the court this time — foot injuries sidelined both during a 20-point loss to Texas on Jan. 2 — the Longhorns would struggle to contain the Wildcats’ myriad offensive threats.
Stokes’ words seemed prescient Tuesday night as Texas fell to 18th-ranked Kansas State 71-64.
During one huddle in the first half, UT coach Shaka Smart could be overheard telling his group, “We’re better than them.” At times, the Longhorns were. In the end, Kansas State proved itself not only the better team but the favorite to finally overthrow Kansas from the Big 12 throne it has occupied for 14 years.
Momentum seesawed throughout a first half in which both teams shot over 53 percent.
Strong first half for UT
Texas (14-11, 6-6 Big 12) tried to throw off Kansas State (19-5, 9-2) by shifting from man-to-man into a zone, only to be dissected by a steady stream of cutters, precision passing and superior shotmaking.
On the other end, the Longhorns carved up the Wildcats’ interior defense and clawed for offensive rebounds.
“I thought the first half, both teams played really, really well offensively,” Smart said. “The only thing I would change about our first half offensively — some turnovers that led to baskets for them.”
UT guard Kerwin Roach II shimmied and sliced his way to 14 first-half points, all on layups or free throws. And the Longhorns grabbed eight offensive rebounds, three courtesy of 6-3 guard Courtney Ramey, which they converted into 10 secondchance points.
Coming off a career-high 19point performance against West Virginia, Ramey ignited the arena when he scored eight points over a two-minute stretch to extend the Longhorns’ lead to eight.
Stokes and Barry Brown responded with a pair of jumpers to halve Kansas State’s deficit at the break.
The second half revealed exactly what Stokes meant when he said stopping the Wildcats would be a nightmare. They strung together scoring runs of 8-0 and 9-0 over the first seven minutes to flip a four-point deficit into a sevenpoint advantage.
Smart spent portions of the half on one knee, slapping the floor with both hands, imploring his team to defend, to string together stops against a team that looked almost unstoppable. But solid defensive possessions were rare as Kansas State shot 55 percent from the field and 47 percent from 3-point range.
Texas hung around even as Kansas State turned it into a jumpshooting team by clogging the lane and heading off cutters.
“Our guys have been pretty good against the zone of late,” Smart said. “But it got our guys on their heels. We told them during a timeout, ‘Just attack it, man. We play against 2-3 zone every day.’ We had some good possessions where we did and got a good look and didn’t make it.”
Seniors make a difference
With driving lanes clogged, Texas settled for an array of contested inside looks and 3-pointers. It shot 30 percent in the second half and 2-of-11 from deep. Even its rebounding edge disappeared, leaving Smart scrambling for options.
“We protected that paint,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “The first game we played them, we go back and watched the film and we were so disappointed. We were so soft.
“Second half tonight, (we were) much more compact. We changed a couple things, went to zone a few times to try to keep them off balance.”
Smart inserted floor-spacing guard Jase Febres as Ramey smoldered on the bench for nearly six minutes. Febres connected on his first and only 3-pointer with 4:04 left to cut Kansas State’s lead to four points, but otherwise struggled.
“Because of the way Kansas State was playing lineup-wise, we couldn’t really go small because Wade was at the four,” Smart said. “It’s a judgment call. Courtney’s been great, he’s getting better and better. But Jase has been really big down the stretch of some of those games, that’s why we played him.”
The Longhorns went scoreless over the final 2:17, stifled by the Wildcats at every turn. Even when a good look arose, they couldn’t convert.
Jaxson Hayes had two potential buckets — a buzzer-beating turnaround jumper and an alley-oop finish through contact — overturned on review. Those official reversals were the killing blow for Texas.
Stokes and Wade more than made up for their absence from the Wildcats’ loss to Texas at Bramlage Coliseum. The senior duo combined for 23 points on 10of-20 shooting and eight assists. Fellow senior Brown added 16 points by hitting 6-of-9.
Roach led Texas with 17 points. Ramey added 10, all in the first half.
“They made a big difference,” Smart said of Stokes and Wade. “The thing about Kansas State is they have older guys that have a ton of experience, winning experience. They make you pay. You make a mistake, they make you pay. You leave them open, they make you pay.”