‘No panic’ in Horns after frustrating loss to Jayhawks
Late Monday night, about 30 minutes removed from a maddening 88-80 loss to No. 9 Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse, Texas guard Marcus Carr still smoldered with competitive energy.
The graduate guard was, in a word, ticked. He knew the sort of statement sweeping this twogame road trip would have made. And No. 5 Texas was right there with the Jayhawks in the second half, its 14-point deficit completely erased as the teams drew even with 17:17 remaining.
But conquering Kansas in its fortress isn’t easily accomplished. Texas had managed the feat only twice in its first 19 trips up to Lawrence. Monday’s loss dropped the Longhorns to 2-18 on the Jayhawks’ court and 12-37 in the all-time series.
Carr really wanted to upend that pattern of Jayhawks dominance. Doing so a couple days after roaring back from another double-digit deficit to beat No. 7 Kansas State would have represented the most impressive three-day stretch any program’s had all season.
Instead, Kansas (19-5, 7-4 Big 12) did what it does, thrusting itself back into the heart of the Big 12 race. Texas (19-5, 8-3) saw its lead over second-place Iowa State (16-6, 7-3) cut to half a game.
Carr praised the Longhorns’ effort and resilience after ripping off 22 of his game-high 29 points in the second half. But like all contenders, whether bona fide or self-anointed, the Longhorns are greedy. Carr wanted more, and if a few 50-50 plays had gone in Texas’ favor, he might have boarded the homebound flight sated.
“Yeah, proud of the first one, but not happy to leave here 1-1. We came here to be 2-0,” Carr said Monday. “We’re not going into any game preparing to lose or thinking we’re going to lose. Disappointed we didn’t get it done tonight. Just time to get back, regroup and focus on the next opponent.”
Still, pulling out that win over the Wildcats was significant in the grand scheme. It kept Texas atop the Big 12 with seven games remaining in its regular season, four against teams currently in the top half of the standings. The Longhorns are No. 6 in ESPN’s Basketball Power Index (BPI), No. 9 in NCAA NET and No. 10 in statistician Ken Pomeroy’s rankings. ESPN bracket whiz Joe Lunardi projected Texas as a solid No. 2 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament even after Monday’s defeat.
What the loss to Kansas did was expose some of the same vulnerabilities that cost Texas in its four previous losses.
KU lived in the paint. Its guards broke down Texas’ perimeter defense with relative ease and often found nothing but uninhabited hardwood between them and the rim. The Longhorns scored a whopping 42 points in the paint and still lost that particular battle to Kansas, which finished with 50 on the strength of 18 layups and a couple of dunks.
The other chief points of concern: Texas was outscored 24-8 in fast-break points and 18-11 in points off turnovers. Those are areas the Longhorns typically thrive in.
The coaching staff has empowered this group to play uptempo all season, to wield its athleticism, speed and depth as a weapon. On Monday, it was Kansas quickening the pace, gorging itself on stress-free runout layups off steals and long rebounds.
Afterward, Texas interim coach Rodney Terry was his usual tactful self. He deflected any sort of criticism directed toward individual players.
In private, Terry reminded the Longhorns that all of their preseason goals remain intact. “Keep it for a day,” he said of the loss, then grow from it.
“He talked about what we’re planning for, what our goals are,” super senior forward Timmy Allen said. “We’re trying to play March basketball in February so we’re prepared when we get there. He talked about grit. He talked about digging in. He talked about what we do and how we do it and who we are, and that’s defense; that’s Texas basketball. He knows we’ve got to lock in for Saturday, and we’re mentally prepared for it.”
One benefit of playing two games in three days is the longer layoff that follows.
Texas won’t play again until West Virginia (14-9, 3-7) comes to town for Saturday’s 11 a.m. game at the Moody Center. By then, Carr and his teammates will be fresh and eager to get back in the win column.
“There’s no panic with us,” Terry said Monday. “We knew we could play a whole lot better. We didn’t play as well as we were capable of playing, obviously. But there’s no quit in that locker room, man. There’s a lot of fight over there.”