Villanova held Kevin Durant to only a single second half point on Saturday. That’s right — one point in twenty minutes. For a guy who had been averaging nearly a point for each minute of conference play. Needless to say, the Longhorns struggled, falling 76-69 to the Wildcats on Saturday afternoon.

The bright spots were few and far between in a game that was tough to watch. Although Texas led for much of the first half, it never really felt like they were in control. The offense came to a screeching halt against Villanova’s zone, where the length was waiting out top. The Horns simply stood around, lackadaisically tossing the ball around the perimeter before throwing up a three pointer. And when you go 3-for-13 from behind the arc in the first half, that’s not a great game plan.

It’s easy to attribute the senior-citizen rec-league offense to tired legs after the Horns played 55 minutes of basketball on Tuesday night in Stillwater. And it certainly did look like Texas was tired. Players stood with hands on their hips after the under-8 TV timeout in the first half. Kevin Durant and D.J. Augustin missed free throws off the front of the iron in the second.

Defensively, things didn’t look much better. Texas was completely unable to deny entry passes into the lane and often had to give away fouls to avoid allowing easy buckets. Matt Hill had five of those fouls in only eight minutes of play, which was the only evidence on the stat sheet that he was even in the game. Zero points, rebounds, and assists filled out the rest of his line.

Freshman Scottie Reynolds played a great game for the Cats when they needed him the most. Curtis Sumpter missed the game due to a knee bruise, but thanks to Reynolds, Villanova’s offense was still able to get by. The freshman chipped in 26 points — including 12-of-13 from the line — and played all but two minutes.

Three-point threat Mike Nardi was mostly off, only going 3-for-11 from behind the arc. But it seemed that the ones he did make came at big moments in the second half, helping Villanova build a twelve-point lead and then helping to quiet Longhorn rallies down the stretch.

D.J. Augustin was the only UT player who seemed to want to give any effort against Nova’s zone. His dribble penetration made up most of the offense in the second half, as he provided 25 points in only 32 minutes of play. Augustin was awarded Big 12 Rookie of the Week yesterday for his efforts against Villanova and OSU.

Despite looking lethargic and indifferent for most of the game, Texas managed to put together a brief surge late in the game. With 2:23 left, A.J. Abrams hit a three and trimmed the Wildcat lead to only two. But Texas could not make another field goal, going 0-for-6 the rest of the way. Their only points in the final 153 seconds came from a trio of J.D. Lewis free throws. Meanwhile, Villanova knocked down 8-of-10 free throws over that same stretch to ice the game.

A two-game losing streak is never fun, but it’s definitely not the end of the world. A 20-win season is still within reach if Texas can go 7-5 to close out Big 12 play. And thanks to Texas Tech’s upset on Saturday, the 3-1 mark that the Horns are sporting has them still tied for second in league play.

So when Texas heads to Nebraska on Wednesday night, it’s not only a chance to end the brief skid and right the ship, but also to stay right in the thick of things in the top-heavy Big 12 conference. Game preview comes your way late tonight.