The Texas Longhorns have started out back to back games with impressive first halves that ended with leads over Kansas and Texas Tech. In both games they couldn’t hold the lead. For Texas, those losses could ultimately what leads to a new coach in 2020-2021.
Scoring Droughts
Too often in the game against the Red Raiders, Texas would go long stretches especially in the second half without scoring. This allowed them to get right back in the game after being down by 16 at one point.
From the 14:53 mark of the second until the 10:27 mark, Texas failed to score and the Red Raiders went on a 9-0 run to tie the game. This was a huge reason that it was close for most of the second half.
Forcing Turnovers
When Texas built the lead early on in the game it was a combination of Andrew Jones shooting and forcing turnovers by Texas Tech. In the first half alone the Longhorns forced 11 turnovers that allowed them build their lead.
In the second half it was quite the opposite as they only forced two. The Longhorns weren’t able to force many but in fact turned it over nine times in the second half. Matt Coleman had three while Jericho Sims and Jones added two more apiece.
Taking Low Percentage Shots
In the first half it felt as if Jones couldn’t miss a shot but as the game wore on, he didn’t have that same magic for the Longhorns. As a whole Texas took too many ill-advised three pointers. They shot 23 three pointers with only six finding the net for 26.1 percent from the floor.
The combination of A1J and Coleman shot a combine 14-33 from the floor (42.2 percent). They combined for 35 of the Longhorns 57 points. Their poor shooting throughout the second is a big reason why Tech was able to outscore them 43-26 and steal the game on the road.
The Longhorns now set their sights on the number one ranked Baylor Bears on Big Monday. With just eight games remaining on the schedule and a 14-9 (4-6) record, time is running out on Shaka Smart and the Longhorns.