Longhorns on outside not looking in
coach Rick Barnes. Asked after the game howhis team went five minutes at a time without dumping the ball inside, he shook his head. Looking for answers
“Good question,” Barnes said. “That’s what I’ve been asking these guys.”
The Jayhawks (16-3, 5-1) had no such issues. Even with UT running a zone defense that had been effective in recent games, Kansas moved the ball well enough to get an array of short floaters, layups and dunks.
“We just worked the middle,” said Jayhawks freshman forward Cliff Alexander, who had 15 points and nine rebounds. “It’s open-air time.”
That, in turn, opened up just enough space for guard Brannen Greene to drain four 3-pointers on his way to 14 points. Perry Ellis added 14 points, and Frank Mason III scored 12 for Kansas.
The Longhorns were almost entirely dependent on point guard Isaiah Taylor to create their offense. Although he scored 23 points while delivering his most effective, aggressive performance since returning from a broken wrist, he and Holmes (14 points) didn’t get much help.
Taylor put some of the blame on himself. He said he should have made a more concerted effort to feed the ball to big men Holmes, Cameron Ridley and Myles Turner.
“We let a couple of possessions get away from us,” Taylor said. “We know we’re an inside-out team.”
Barnes said he was “baffled” by his team’s inability to move the ball and get better shots.
“I don’t understand it, either,” Barnes said. “We should understand what our identity is, and we should play that way.” Offense digging holes
A key example of how the Longhorns strayed from that identity came just as the Jayhawks started to pull away. After a hook shot by Holmes pulled UT within 47-46 with 10:34 remaining, Demarcus Holland committed two consecutive turnovers trying to create a shot opportunity on the perimeter.
Both miscues led to fastbreak baskets by Kansas, which never looked back.
Now the Longhorns have to recover in time for Monday’s game at No. 9 Iowa State.
“Our offense, we just keep digging ourselves in a hole,” Barnes said. “The things we need to do are mental as much as anything.” mfinger@express-news.net twitter.com/mikefinger