There was little doubt what cost the Longhorns a win over Connecticut on Saturday. Texas was constantly abused on the defensive glass, and in the end suffered a one-point defeat in overtime. On Tuesday night in Lubbock, there was also little doubt as to what Texas had focused on in practice since that loss. The Longhorns threw their weight around inside, racking up 42 rebounds and 50 points in the paint en route to an easy 83-52 win.

What looked good

Texas bounced back on the glass against Texas Tech, posting an impressive +19 rebounding margin. The Longhorns were especially strong on the defensive glass, grabbing 80.8% of the Red Raider misses. The commanding performance gave the team its best defensive rebounding mark since the season opener, when the Horns secured 84.3% of the misses by Navy.

Not only did the Longhorns limit the Red Raiders to one-shot possessions nearly every trip down the floor, but they also forced tough their opponents into tough looks. Tech shot just 39% from the field, the tenth time this season that Texas held an opponent to less than 40% shooting. The stingy defense and lack of offensive rebounds resulted in a paltry 0.738 points per possession for the Red Raiders, marking the eighth time this season the Longhorn D has held an opponent to less than 0.8 points per possesion.

Against Tech’s constant screens and off-ball motion, the Longhorns talked it out on defense. The good communication was obvious, especially considering that the majority of the student section in the half-empty United Spirit Arena left with 11 minutes to play. Fans were actually able to hear the Longhorn defenders calling out switches for the rest of the game.

The solid team defense forced Tech to take contested jumpers on most of their possessions. Even big man Robert Lewandowski was forced to take some tough looks thanks to solid post defense from Tristan Thompson, but unlike the rest of the Red Raiders, Lewandowski was able to knock down difficult shots. He finished the night with 13 points, many of them on great turnaround jumpers with a hand in his face.

Thompson should also be commended for his excellent work sealing off defenders when the guards were driving the lane. His heads-up play allowed Dogus Balbay and the diminutive Jai Lucas to repeatedly reach the rim for uncontested layups. The pair of guards, who were previously averaging around eight points per game, combined for 14 against Tech. Balbay in particular had a career night, grabbing five rebounds and dishing out three dimes to go with his nine points, despite having to play only 21 minutes in the blowout.

In the frontcourt, Gary Johnson bounced back quickly after struggling with his mid-range jumper against Connecticut. Although he finished just one point shy of a double-double — the first time in the last eight games he didn’t hit double-digits in scoring — Johnson shot a scorching 57% from the field.

Off the bench, Alexis Wangmene did great work on the glass. He grabbed five boards in just 16 minutes, a solid performance after he spent most of the UConn game on the bench. J’Covan Brown also played well in relief, logging more assists (three) than buckets (two). It’s clear that Brown is embracing his role as a combo guard, and has shed most of the bad habits that led him to be a shoot-first player in his freshman year.

What needed work

In a game that was this one-sided, most Texas fans know that there is only one thing we can harp on. Once again, the Longhorns struggled mightily from the free-throw stripe, knocking down just 62.9% of their attempts. As usual, the biggest culprit was the freshman Thompson, who made just six of 11. Senior guard Dogus Balbay also earned five free-throw attempts with his aggressive moves to the bucket. Unfortunately for Dogus and the Longhorns, he made just one.

Next up: vs. Oklahoma (8-8 overall, 0-2 Big 12); Saturday, 3 P.M.