Longhorns’ cold snap ends final Big 12 tourney early
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Texas Longhorns’ final trip to the Big 12 men’s basketball tournament did not last long.
The seventh-seeded Longhorns went cold in the second half, allowing No. 10 Kansas State to rally and hold on for a 78-74 victory Wednesday at T-mobile Center.
Max Abmas had 26 points — 11 coming in the final two minutes as UT attempted a furious comeback — and Ithiel Horton added 14 points for the Longhorns, who are set to join the Southeastern Conference this summer.
UT shot just 29% in the second half, with six of its nine field goals coming in the final four minutes of the game.
Kansas State advanced to play No. 2 seed Iowa State in Thursday’s quarterfinals. The Longhorns (20-12) are projected as a No. 8 or No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
“Would it have been great to win this tournament? Yes. At the end of the day, we’re trying to play for the whole thing,” UT coach Rodney Terry said.
Ahead by 10 points, the Longhorns struggled offensively, missing 12 of 14 to begin the second half. Dylan Disu, UT’S all-conference forward, picked up his fourth foul with 11 minutes left. Disu, who was the tournament MVP last year, had nine points in 23 minutes. UT guard Tyrese Hunter was 0-for-7 shooting for three points.
Kansas State (19-13) took the lead, 50-49, on a jumper by David N’guessan — part of a momentum-shifting 15-4 run — midway through the second half.
“I thought they came out in the second half and attacked us,” Terry said.
Tylor Perry led the Wildcats with 17 points, including four free throws down the stretch to thwart a late Longhorns rally.
Disu scored on a putback to pull the Longhorns within 70-68 with 28 seconds left. On the inbounds pass, Perry was knocked to the ground by Chendall Weaver, who was called for a flagrant foul. Perry made both free throws, the Wildcats maintained possession and extended the lead to 74-68 on a layup by Cam Carter.
UT rallied from a 10point deficit to get within one possession on three occasions in the final 1½ minutes. Abmas hit consecutive 3-pointers, the last to pull UT within 76-74 with eight seconds left. Carter sealed the game with a pair of free throws for Kansas State.
Arthur Kaluma had 14 points and eight rebounds and N’guessan added 13. After committing eight turnovers in the first half, the Wildcats had just two after halftime.
“I told the guys that the team that was beating us was in our locker room,” Kansas State coach Jerome Tang said.