Unfortunately, that pesky “real” life got in the way yesterday, so we will just make some quick notes on the loss before hitting the road for Stillwater in an hour or so.

1) Free throws finally cost the Horns – You could make the argument that free-throw woes were part of Texas’ downfall at Kansas State and probably build a solid case. But with Saturday’s loss to Baylor, there is simply no doubt. When your opponent needs a putback with miliseconds on the clock just to tie the game, it’s easy to see that 15-of-23 shooting from the line in regulation prevented the win. The Longhorns have actually become even more horrid at the line in conference play, hitting just 59.9% of their attempts and dropping their season average to 61.3%.

2) Bad Jordan showed up – I can’t take credit for the name (that goes to the fine folks at Shaggy Bevo), but there’s no denying that there is a Jekyll-and-Hyde aspect to Hamilton’s play this season. In this game, he took three bad shots and turned it over once in roughly two minutes on the court. That basically equates to four turnovers, which is something the Horns can’t afford if they are going to tighten up the rotation. To compliment the core players, Texas needs a few quality minutes from Jordan every game, not a few nightmarish ones.

3) Jai Lucas needs to move off the ball – It’s a delicate situation, as Jai transferred to Texas because he wanted a chance to play the point. But the guard has been sloppy with the basketball and has yet to prove that he can create his own shot against anyone besides overmatched opponents from small conferences. Against the Bears, Jai managed to turn the ball over three times in his two minutes at the point. As Coach Barnes works on a tighter rotation, Lucas best serves the team as an A.J. Abrams type of marksman. Of course, his height deficiencies make him a liability on defense against most teams, so he should be playing in short stints to bring a scoring spark off the bench at the two.