Conference crown still in play for Horns
AUSTIN — Regardless of what happens Tuesday night when first-place Kansas plays Texas Tech, Texas can snap its long conference title drought by closing the regular season with wins over TCU and the Jayhawks this week.
The first part will come Wednesday night, when the ninthranked Longhorns (22-7, 11-5 Big 12) meet the 22nd-ranked Horned Frogs (19-10, 8-8) at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth. Texas won the first game Jan. 11 in Austin, rallying from an 18-point deficit for a 79-75 win.
TCU looked lost during a recent stretch without All-Big 12 junior guard Mike Miles, who suffered a knee injury four minutes into a Jan. 28 overtime loss at Mississippi State. The Horned Frogs lost four of their next five without their leading scorer, but they’ve won two of three since he returned to reignite the offense.
Texas, one game behind Kansas in the Big 12 standings, only had its pride wounded in Saturday’s 81-72 loss to then-No. 9 Baylor in Waco. And the Longhorns can’t afford to take a two-game losing streak into Saturday’s regular-season finale against the Jayhawks at the Moody Center.
“Second time around, it gets down to who’s gonna execute better than the other team,” Texas interim coach Rodney Terry said of the rematch with TCU. “We know exactly what they’re gonna run. They know exactly what we’re gonna run. We may tweak something a little bit here or there. They may tweak something. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to be who you are in terms of your identity. You’re gonna play to your strengths. You’re not gonna do something you haven’t done all year.”
Texas and TCU were evenly matched the first time around.
Both teams generated their points inside and at the line while throwing up bricks from 3-point range. Texas scored 53 of its 79 points in the paint and at the freethrow line; TCU generated 51 points from those two areas.
The major difference was the Longhorns caught fire in the second half, shooting 59 percent from the floor and 83 percent from the foul line to outscore TCU 50-33. They forced eight turnovers and committed only three over the final 20 minutes, a key factor in the tight finish.
Sir’Jabari Rice also scored all 15 of his points in the second period, including three late free throws to clinch the win and secure the Longhorns’ largest comeback win since they overcame a 22point deficit against Oklahoma on Feb. 27, 2013.
“It’s gonna come down to who’s gonna put their will on who, who’s gonna out-execute who on the other end even knowing what’s coming,” Terry said. “We’re yelling out their plays, they’re yelling out our plays. It’s gonna come down to who’s gonna be willing to do the uncomfortable things.”