Texas Basketball: Three reasons for the loss to Texas Tech

Texas was handed their first Big 12 loss of the season on Wednesday by Texas Tech. Here are three reasons why the Red Raiders pulled it off.

Texas was handed their first Big 12 loss of the season on Wednesday in an instant classic by Texas Tech.

Transfer point guard Matt McClung played hero ball for the Red Raiders, hitting a game-winning jump shot with three seconds remaining in regulation.

It was a tale of two halves for the Longhorns. Shaka Smart’s team went into the locker room with a 10-point lead at the half. After the break, Texas Tech was the better team and rightfully went back to Lubbock with a win over the No. 4 team in the country.

It was a disappointing loss for Texas. There were multiple opportunities to put the game on ice late in the second half but the execution was not there. While losing one Big 12 game is not the end of the world, dropping one at home to an in-state rival is never a good feeling.

Here are three reasons Texas Tech was able to beat Texas.

Texas Longhorns Football: Three reasons Texas lost to TCU

Saturday’s loss to the Horned Frogs was a frustrating loss where UT beat themselves all day. Here are three reasons Texas lost to TCU.

Death, taxes, Gary Patterson beating Texas. Since joining the Big 12 in 2012, TCU has dominated the Longhorns, winning seven of the nine matchups. Saturday’s victory made it two in a row for the Horned Frogs.

A frustrating day all-around, Texas will fall to 2-1 on the season and already behind in the Big 12 standings. In the three seasons Tom Herman has been the head coach in Austin, the Longhorns have never begun a season 3-0.

Since 2017, Texas has lost six games to an unranked opponent as an AP ranked team, the most in the country. While Herman continually shows up in the biggest games of the year, his teams struggle against teams they are expected to win.

Against TCU, the story was the same. The Longhorns beat themselves with penalties and poor moments from both the offense and defense. A lot will need to be fixed before next week’s Red River Shootout against Oklahoma.

Here are three reasons Texas lost to TCU on Saturday: