The Texas Longhorns started the day with an opportunity to claim sole possession of the third seed in the upcoming Big 12 Tournament. The Texas Tech Red Raiders were tied with Texas before falling to Kansas 66-62. The Longhorns scored their first bucket of the afternoon with 18:48 to go in the first half. Royce Hamm Jr added a free throw but couldn’t score again until 12:32 to go when Courtney Ramey hit a jump shot, Texas trailed at that point 20-5.
The first half was not kind to Texas as they shot just 25 percent from the field including 2-15 from beyond the arc. When Texas’ outside shooting is cold, this team struggles to score. On the other side, Oklahoma State couldn’t miss with 60.7 percent shooting which included a blistering 54.5 percent from three. A big reason Texas trailed 43-21 at the break. Kai Jones was the leading scorer with eight points and five rebounds. The Pokes were led by Thomas Dziagwa with 14 off the bench.
The second half began in the same light as the first half did, with OSU going on a run to keep Texas at bay. While Texas continued to struggle shooting the ball, the Cowboys continued their hot shooting. Dziagwa was lethal from behind the arc.
The game was really decided in the first half with the Longhorns inability to really have an answer all game despite Kai Jones career-high 20 points. The Longhorns will now likely need a strong showing in the Big 12 tournament to punch their postseason ticket.
Texas percentage of making the NCAA Tournament is 89% with a win to 53% with a loss per ESPN.
— Longhorns Wire (@LonghornsWire) March 7, 2020
Final Stats
Final numbers today in Austin. Horns were 5-for-29 from 3-pt range. Shot 35.2% overall. OSU's McGriff and Dziagwa both get 19. Kai Jones had career-high 20. pic.twitter.com/MESOAVZ2B4
— Brian Davis (@BDavisAAS) March 7, 2020