The Texas Longhorns and Kansas Jayhawks will take the court for a Big 12 Conference clash Monday at Allen Fieldhouse. Tip-off from Lawrence, KS, is at 9:00 p.m. ET.
UT, 19-4 SU and 10-13 ATS, beat Kansas State 69-66 on Saturday. The Longhorns are 4-1 in their past five and 8-2 in conference competition.
KU, 18-5 SU and 9-14 ATS, lost 68-53 to Iowa State on Saturday. The Jayhawks are 2-3 in their past five and 6-4 in conference play.
Kansas and Texas split their two meetings last season. The Jayhawks lead the series 33-11.
Texas bounced back nicely from its poor showing last weekend versus Tennessee, beating Baylor and Kansas State. The Longhorns are now sitting alone atop the Big 12 standings with eight regular season games left.
UT trailed 36-25 at halftime to KSU and then rallied for 44 second-half points to secure a critical road victory. It was a stirring win for a Longhorns program that seems to revel in the fight.
“Our league, we don't have any bad teams,” Longhorns interim coach Rodney Terry said. “To come in on a home court against a top-10 team and have this kind of performance, I'll stack it up with one of the best wins I've been part of in 30 years of coaching.”
FIRE US UP @Chris_Bishop32 ?? pic.twitter.com/uZenIwAAJO
— Texas Men's Basketball (@TexasMBB) February 4, 2023< /blockquote>
Texas got its revenge after falling to Kansas State in a wild 116-103 overtime thriller in Austin earlier this season. The Longhorns shot 45.1 percent and hit 19 of 24 free throws (79.2%), overcoming their 17 turnovers. The Wildcats led by as many as 14 but had their own issues taking care of the ball (19 TOs).
“There were points in the second half we did get rushed,” Kansas State guard Markquis Nowell said, “and it led to turnovers and fast-break points.”
Texas scores 79.4 points per game (29th) and shoots 48.0 percent from the field (29th) with a 33.1 three-point shooting percentage (246th). It converts 74.9 percent of its foul shot attempts (53rd) and averages 32.6 rebounds (142nd) with a +2.6 rebounding margin. UT is 13th nationally in schedule-adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom.
Senior guard Marcus Carr paces the Longhorns with 16.7 points and 4.0 assis ts per game. Other players to watch are senior guard Sir'Jabari Rice (11.0 PPG), senior forward Timmy Allen (10.8 PPG and 5.2 RPG), and sophomore guard Tyrese Hunter (10.3 PPG and 3.5 RPG).
Texas gives up 67.6 points per game (127th), and its opponents shoot 42.1 percent from the field (99th), including 32.7 percent from three-point range (138th). It's 26th in adjusted defensive efficiency, 88th in adjusted tempo, and 25th in assist-per-turnover ratio.
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