Tag: big 12 basketball

Former Florida guard commits to Kansas on Easter

The Kansas Jayhawks added a talented guard from the SEC on Sunday.

The Kansas Jayhawks had a disappointing year by their standards after they were bounced in the second round of the NCAA Tournament by Gonzaga. One of the big issues was losing top scorer Kevin McCullar prior to the tournament getting underway. As head coach Bill Self looks to build for next year’s team, he already scored a major win in the transfer portal.

On Easter Sunday, former Florida Gators guard Riley Kugel announced that he would be heading to Lawrence for next season. Kugel posted his decision on X, formerly Twitter. In the post you can see a couple of photos of him wearing Kansas gear as a child. Apparently, it was always meant to be for Kugel.

The former Florida guard was listed as the No. 9 point guard in the transfer portal and No. 39 player overall by 247Sports. Coming out of high school in the 2022 cycle, Kugel was a four-star prospect and No. 56 nationally. This gives Self a good start to build around his 2024-25 roster.

Kugel is one of four newcomers to the 2024 class. He is joined by five-star center Flory Bidunga, four-star point guard Labaron Philon, and four-star shooting guard Rakease Passmore. All of who signed out of high school recently.

With the Gators, Kugel averaged 9.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 65 career games with Florida.

Kansas Jayhawks who won’t return

The following players won’t join the roster next season as each are out of college eligibility.

  • Kevin McCullar Jr, Texas Tech Transfer
  • Parker Braun, Santa Clara Transfer
  • Nicolas Timberlake, Towson Transfer

Kansas Jayhawks who could return

No players have announced yet if they will return but here is the list of players who could return. With the three signees and one transfer, that would leave the team with one open scholarship spot on the team due to NCAA penalties.

  • Hunter Dickinson, Center
  • Dajuan Harris Jr, Guard
  • Johnny Furphy, Guard
  • Jamari McDowell, Guard
  • Elmarko Jackson, Guard
  • KJ Adams Jr., Forward
  • Zach Clemence, Forward

2024 NCAA Tournament: #10 Colorado State Loses 56-44 to #7 Texas

Colorado State came into this game with high expectations, but a poor first half cost the Rams a chance to make a bigger splash.

2024 NCAA Tournament: #10 Colorado State Loses 56-44 to #7 Texas

The Rams couldn’t continue their momentum from Tuesday

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A bad first half cost CSU.

After taking it to the Virginia Cavaliers, the CSU Rams faced basically the same fate. A poor first half of just 11 points cost Colorado State. They were able to make a run in the second half, but the Texas Longhorns were just too much to overcome for the Rams.

First Half

The Rams got out to a fast start by opening an 8-2 lead, but then the Longhorns went on a 25-3 run to close out the half. The Rams were getting open looks, but they just weren’t falling. Isaiah Stevens also struggled from the field as he went 0-8 from the field in the first half.

Texas was active on defense as they didn’t allow the Rams to get comfortable. The Rams were held to just one three point make and 4-25 overall from the field with no free throw attempts. The length and physicality kept the Rams in check on both ends of the floor.

Second half

Colorado State tried to make it a game in the second half, but the week of travel they had just left them with dead legs. The Rams were missing a lot of their shots short and just couldn’t overcome the athleticism of Texas. Joel Scott and Isaiah Stevens were able to make it to double figures, but it just wasn’t enough.

Texas was held in check for the most part. Dylan Disu and Max Abmas combined to shoot 10-33 from the floor, 1-12 from three, and 3-6 from the line for 24 points. Chendal Weaver was the other player to step up for Texas. The sophomore guard was able to chip in 11 points and played strong defense for the Longhorns.

Final thoughts

This was a great season for the Rams. They were able to make it to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years. Niko Medved now has some things to work on for the Rams. They need to get more athletic and more physical. A lot of times they were outworked and outphysicaled this season. If the Rams can do that, they can go further in the NCAA tournament.

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Where Texas lands in ESPN’s latest bracketology

Joe Lunardi released his NCAA Tournament prediction the morning of Selection Sunday.

It’s officially Selection Sunday. Men’s and women’s basketball programs across the country will soon learn their seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Continue reading “Where Texas lands in ESPN’s latest bracketology”

Opinion: Texas tourney hopes rely on good shot taking, more Dylan Disu

For Texas to play winning offense, things have to change in the tournament.

The Texas Longhorns (20-12) await their NCAA tournament seed after an inconsistent season in Austin. The inconsistency could have something to do with how it is allotting its offensive opportunities.

The issue for Texas could lie in its offensive approach. One area that stands to improve is shot allotment. Lost in Wednesday’s loss to Kansas State was how many shot attempts each player received.

Guard Max Abmas scored 26 points but took 20 shot attempts for the game. Unfortunately, he didn’t get much help from fellow guard Tyrese Hunter, who followed a 30 point performance in the regular season finale against Oklahoma with an 0-for-7 shooting day from the field.

Texas forwards Dillon Mitchell and Dylan Disu combined for 14 shot attempts despite proving more reliable on the year. They went for a combined 8-for-14 on the day despite an off night for Disu. Perhaps the team might consider getting the ball to its higher percentage scorers.

The Longhorns lost to the Kansas State Wildcats (19-14) in their first and only Big 12 tournament matchup of the season. The Wildcats will likely be playing in the NIT after losing by 19 points in their next Big 12 tournament matchup.

If Texas doesn’t improve its approach it might be one-and-done again in March Madness.

Texas has more than one bad loss on its schedule. Its first few games in Big 12 play featured losses to West Virginia (9-23) and UCF (17-15). The aforementioned squads went 4-14 and 7-11 in Big 12 play. For the Longhorns, losses like those and Kansas State might have been the difference between a No. 6 or 7 seed and having to face a No. 1 seed in the round of 32.

In Texas’ win over Oklahoma in its regular season finale, the Longhorns took 12 three point attempts. They prioritized scoring around the basket and shot 63.5% from the field on the way to 94 points. Against Kansas State, the Longhorns went 26% from three-point range and saw a 10-point halftime lead vanish not long into the second half.

The strength of the Texas offense is its posts Dillon Mitchell and Dylan Disu. The Longhorns’ tournament approach could give an idea of whether or not they view their posts as their offensive strength.

Texas forward Dylan Disu is given first-team All-Big 12 honors

Dylan Disu was recognized as one of the best players at his position.

The All-Big 12 team has been announced. Texas forward Dylan Disu received first-team honors.

The distinction is well-earned for Disu who put up a career best season in Austin. For the year he put up a strong 16.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. The point average was bolstered by an impressive 51.3% conversion rate from three point range.

Disu was one of the few predictable players on Texas’ 2024 squad consistently producing for his team on the court. His strong performance aided Texas in reaching 20 wins on the year despite losing several key contributors from the team’s Elite Eight run a season ago.

Heading into the Big 12 tournament, Texas is seemingly a lock to reach the NCAA tournament. That said, it has plenty to gain by a strong showing over the next week including a higher tournament seed. How high the team can climb is up for debate, but one would presume a handful of resume-building win opportunities will be there if the Longhorns keep winning.

For Texas to experience continued success, Disu will likely be a huge part of it. The forward will look to secure more wins as his team enters the middle of March.

A look at the 2024 Big 12 Tournament bracket for men’s basketball

No. 7 Texas will face No. 10 Kansas State on March 13.

Texas concluded the 2024 college basketball regular season with a 94-80 win over Oklahoma on Saturday. Continue reading “A look at the 2024 Big 12 Tournament bracket for men’s basketball”

Texas hoops unofficially joins football as ‘SEC program’ after finale

Texas’ move to the SEC got more real after its Big 12 regular season finale against Oklahoma.

Texas football has been an SEC program for a couple of months now. Basketball is soon to join it on the other side of the move from the Big 12.

The Longhorns played their last Big 12 regular season game in Saturday’s win over the Oklahoma Sooners. After the upcoming week’s conference tournament, the team’s only tie to the league will be representing it in neutral site games over March Madness before departing.

There’s no love lost between the Longhorns and their current league. This season has seen fans of a couple teams chant “S-E-C” to punctuate victory over Texas. The Longhorns don’t take it as an insult.

Texas is on to bigger and better things in football, but the move to its new conference will make for a more manageable basketball schedule that what it has faced in the Big 12. College basketball’s juggernaut increased in difficulty when it added Houston to a conference led by Kansas, Baylor, Iowa State and other prominent basketball programs.

The Longhorns’ time in the Big 12 is coming to an end. Saturday marked the final basketball regular season in the conference.

Texas will play its final Big 12 basketball tournament as it tips off March 12.

‘Horns down the Sooners, 94-80

Texas reached 20 wins to cap the regular season with a win over Oklahoma.

For the third consecutive year, the Texas Longhorns swept the Oklahoma Sooners on the basketball court. It was the Longhorns’ seventh consecutive win over their hoops rival.

The win turns up the heat on Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser who has yet to beat Texas since taking over in Norman.

Texas head coach Rodney Terry took pressure off himself getting to the 20-win mark for the season. His team did so for the most part without reliance on three point baskets.

The Longhorns attempted 12 three-point shots making six of them. Consequently, Texas made 63.5% of its field goals and scored 94 points. The high scoring output was bolstered by a 22-for-23 performance from the free throw line.

The high field goal percentage and volume of free throw attempts are perhaps a result of more two-point shot attempts. Perhaps, for a program who isn’t afraid to shoot from long range, the team might have found a more efficient way to score given its personnel.

Texas isn’t loaded with three point scorers, but that doesn’t mean it lacks scorers altogether. The scoring output was well distributed on Saturday.

Veteran guard Tyrese Hunter led the scoring for the Longhorns with 30 points on 13 shot attempts. By comparison, fellow guard Max Abmas put up 11 points on 13 shot attempts.

Forward Dylan Disu added 16 points in post-injury action while Dillon Mitchell scored 14 points off the bench. Texas reserves Chendall Weaver and Kaden Shedrick put up nine and eight points respectively.

The Longhorns will look to follow one of their more complete offensive performances with a win in the Big 12 tournament.

Best photos from Oklahoma’s regular season finale vs. the Texas Longhorns

A look at the best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners loss to the Texas Longhorns in the Big 12 regular season finale.

The Oklahoma Sooners got off to a sluggish start in their Big 12 regular season finale against the Texas Longhorns. The offense had a couple of cold stretches, and the defense wasn’t up to the challenge in Austin, and the Longhorns completed the Red River sweep of Oklahoma 94-80 on Saturday afternoon.

Javian McCollum returned but didn’t provide much, scoring just five points on 2 of 6 shooting in 26 minutes. Rivaldo Soares stepped up and had a great game with 21 points to lead the way for the Sooners.

The Longhorns shot an astounding 63.6% from the field and 50% from three.

This season, the Texas Longhorns were simply a bad matchup for the Sooners. Oklahoma lost the two games this season by a combined 29 points. Unfortunately, the Sooners will now face the Longhorns in the opening round of the Big 12 tournament, which begins Wednesday.

Oklahoma Sooners drop regular season finale to Texas Longhorns

The Oklahoma Sooners dropped their Big 12 regular season finale to the Texas Longhorns 94-40.

The Oklahoma Sooners recovered from another slow start to close the first half trailing by only five. But the Texas Longhorns took it to another level by outscoring the Sooners by nine to win 94-80.

The Sooners fell to 20-11 and 8-10 in Big 12 play.

The Sooners struggled to get their offense going in the first half, especially from three. But late in the half, the Sooners began to find their rhythm and were hitting from deep to close the gap.

But the Longhorns took control in the second half, pushing their lead to as many as 20 over the final 20 minutes. The Sooners struggled to contain Tyrese Hunter, who had a career-high 30 points for the Longhorns, shooting 9 of 13 from the field. Hunter was also 3 of 4 from the three.

Oklahoma got a big game from [autotag]Rivaldo Soares[/autotag], who led the Sooners with 21 points on 7 of 9 from the field and 3 of 4 from three.

Despite the return of [autotag]Javian McCollum[/autotag], the Sooners offense wasn’t consistent enough to hang with the Longhorns for a full 40 minutes and the defense wasn’t much better, allowing the Horns to shoot 63.6% from the field.

The Sooners now head into Big 12 tournament play hoping to make a statement and solidify their NCAA tournament hopes. The Sooners will be the No. 9 seed in the Big 12 tournament and will have a difficult road in Kansas City.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on Twitter @john9williams.