The rough stretch for Texas basketball continues after falling to Oklahoma State in double overtime on Saturday.
Since the 25-point victory over the Kansas Jayhawks, where Texas handed Bill Self his worst home loss, the Longhorns have struggled to win consistently. They played a close game against Iowa State, needed a last-second shot against West Virginia, and played close to a handful of other teams. Shaka Smart’s squad is just 3-4 over the last seven games after starting 8-1.
Some of it could be attributed to rust after not playing due to opponents cancelling games due to COVID along with their own outbreaks. At some point this team has to tighten the laces and find a way to win because that’s what championship level teams do. On Saturday, they just couldn’t find a way.
Despite the fact that the Longhorns shot just 25% from the field, they were able to force two overtime periods. They did do a great deal of damage from the free throw line, but shots in the paint and from three were hard to come by. Andrew Jones hit just two of 13 attempts. Courtney Ramey and Matt Coleman also struggled as they hit just one shot combined on 13 shots. Live by the three, die by the three.
Texas would turn the ball over 21 times in this game to only compound their issues. By the time the second overtime hit, the Longhorns looked like they were flat out of gas. Their only two points came from the charity stripe. Focus now shifts to the Kansas State Wildcats in Manhattan on Tuesday. Texas needs to end this current three-game skid that they are on.