The Texas Longhorns will play the Kansas Jayhawks in the Big 12 Tournament Final on Saturday. Tip-off from Kansas City is at 6:00 p.m. ET. The Jayhawks are 1.5-point spread favorites and the game total is 143 points.
Kansas (27-6 SU and 16-17 ATS) defeated Iowa State on Friday. The Jayhawks are 4-1 straight-up in their past five games. Senior guard Kevin McCullar Jr. (10.8 PPG and 7.3 RPG) is questionable to play with back spasms.
Texas (25-8 SU and 16-17 ATS) beat TCU on Friday. The Longhorns are 4-1 straight-up in their last five overall. Senior forward Timmy Allen (10.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 3.5 APG) is day-to-day with a lower right leg injury.
Texas and Kansas split their regular-season meetings. The Jayhawks won the first meeting 88-80, outshooting the Longhorns from the field and controlling the boards. In the second meeting, KU was held to 36.2 percent shooting from the field, leading to a 16-point UT win.
Texas beat TCU 66-60 in the tourney semifinals, shooting 40.7 percent from the field and holding its opponent to 35.6 percent. The Longhorns were inefficient from three (2-for-14) but made up for it with strong defensive play. They also won the rebounding and turnover battles.
Senior guard Marcus Carr leads the Longhorns in scoring. He averaged 16.2 points on 43.7 percent shooting during the regular season. Other players to watch are senior guard Sir'Jabari Rice (12.6 PPG) and sophomore guard Tyrese Hunter (10.5 PPG).
end to end work ?? pic.twitter.com/2hGHYO9RAP
— Texas Men's Basketball (@TexasMBB) March 11, 2023
Texas scores 78.8 points per game (30th) and shoots 47.1 percent from the field (43rd), including 34.5 percent from three-point range (43rd). It converts 74.9 percent of its free-throw attempts (56th) and averages 31.5 rebounds (197th) with a +0.7 rebounding margin. The Longhorns are 16th in offensive efficiency and 52nd in effective field goal percentage (53.3%).
Texas gives up 68.7 points per game on defense (138th), and its opponents shoot 42.7 percent from the field (114th), including 33.3 percent from three-point range (146th). UT is 19th in defensive efficiency, 24th in assist-per-turnover ratio, and 69th in tempo.
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