Oklahoma State senior Keiton Page saved his best performance for last. In his first seven games against the Texas Longhorns, the Oklahoma native was held to just 36 total points on 8-of-40 shooting. The Cowboys were a dismal 1-6 against Texas in those games, losing by an average of 14.5 points. Page made up for all of that on Saturday afternoon, exploding for a career-high 40 points to power Oklahoma State to a 90-78 win over Texas at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Longhorns, and marked a big step backwards for a team that was progressing towards the NCAA tournament. Although Texas remained in Joe Lunardi’s bracket following Saturday’s action, the team was the next-to-last squad in the field. With tough games still to come against Baylor and Kansas, a win over Oklahoma State would have allowed the Longhorns a little more wiggle room though the final two weeks of the season and the Big 12 Championship.

What looked good

Although the Longhorns were down by just three points midway through the second half, there was not much for Texas fans to get excited about. Myck Kabongo set a new career high with 22 points, but took himself out of the game for much of the first half with a pair of early fouls. When he was on the floor, Kabongo was able to get to the rim with ease, knocked down his open looks from outside, and kept the offense moving. If Texas is going to find any success in March, the freshman point guard has to stop picking up needless fouls that relegate him to the bench.

Without Kabongo on the floor for much of the first half, freshman Sheldon McClellan picked up the scoring slack. He was aggressive from the wings and showed good body control when elevating to knock down the floater. When McClellan plays with his instincts, he’s very hard to stop, as evidenced by his performance in this one.

While Sheldon could definitely earn his way back into the starting five by playing like this, it’s also tough to give up the defense that Julien Lewis provides. Against smaller teams, the Longhorns could shelve the two towers look and give McClellan the nod over Alexis Wangmene. Regardless of who is actually in the starting lineup, it’s reassuring for Texas fans to see someone besides Kabongo and J’Covan Brown willing to take control and get buckets.

Sterling Gibbs also made some nice offensive contributions while filling in for Kabongo. He knocked down a triple and scored three points the old-fashioned way on a quick drive to the hoop. He struggled defending Page, however, getting called for two fouls while trying to contain him off the ball. With Texas having been whistled for six fouls in the first four minutes of the game, those off-the-ball transgressions turned into four easy points for the Pokes.

What needed work

The foul trouble that kept Kabongo out of the game in the first half was a team-wide epidemic. Wangmene and Clint Chapman both found themselves saddled with two fouls in the first few minutes, forcing the Longhorns to go with a rotating frontcourt. As a result, Jonathan Holmes and Jaylen Bond combined to play 43 minutes.

The Longhorn defense was especially undisciplined in this game, looking nothing like a team coached by Rick Barnes. Texas defenders consistently bit on shot fakes, leaving their feet and fouling jump shooters. Page ended up going to the line 20 times on the afternoon, and made Texas pay by sinking every single free throw. When the Longhorns weren’t giving away free points at the line, poor rotation led to numerous easy buckets inside.

On the other end of the court, the Horns scuttled their comeback bid with poorly-timed turnovers. Texas coughed it up on 21.3% of their possessions. In the first half, those miscues led to easy fast break points for Oklahoma State. In the second, the Horns were at least able to limit the damage from the turnovers, but those wasted possessions were crippling when trying to dig out of a 14-point hole.

The Longhorn comeback was also undermined by frustrating offensive rebounds that ruined good defense. On the afternoon, Texas actually did an incredible job on the defensive glass, limiting OSU to an offensive rebounding mark of just 21.7%. But late in the game, with the Longhorns needing big stops to stay in it, those critical defensive boards were often just out of reach. All five of Oklahoma State’s offensive rebounds came in the second half, extending Cowboy possessions and burning critical time that the Longhorns needed.

The big picture

Yesterday’s loss kills the momentum that Texas had been building over the last two weeks, and knocks the Horns further down the S-curve. There have been numerous losses by other bubble contenders over the last week, so the loss isn’t quite as damaging as it could be. Still, the struggles by other bubble teams mean that the Horns let a golden opportunity slip away. Instead of stepping further away from a very mediocre pack, the Horns are now once again fighting for elbow room with all of the other bubblers.

A win over Oklahoma State would have practically guaranteed a 20-win season, which would be quite impressive to the committee when you consider Texas’ strength of schedule. The Horns can still get there, but now will have to mix in an upset of Baylor or Kansas, or a win in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship. That quarterfinal game will be against either Baylor or Iowa State, so a win there will be a tough task.

Of course, if the Horns happen to trip up against Oklahoma in Austin or Texas Tech in Lubbock, all of this discussion is moot. The loss to the Cowboys was the only questionable defeat that Texas could still afford at this point. Dropping one to the Sooners or the Red Raiders will have the Horns NIT-bound.

Up next: vs. Baylor (22-5 overall, 9-5 Big 12); Monday, 8 P.M. CT

For the 12th time this season, the Longhorns headed to the locker room on Tuesday night trailing their opponents. Texas had allowed the Oklahoma Sooners to build an eight-point lead late in the first before Sheldon McClellan finished out the half with a clutch three-point play to close the gap to five at the break. Unfortunately for the Sooners, there was still another half to be played.

The Longhorns continued their trend of strong second-half basketball, roaring out of the locker room with a seven-point burst that put them on top and set the tone for the final twenty minutes. Texas shot over 45% from the field in the second half after making just a third of their attempts in the first, and they forced 10 Oklahoma turnovers after the break. The Longhorns outscored the Sooners by 16 in the second frame, cruising to an 11-point win.

What looked good

Julien Lewis took over for the first few minutes of the second half, scoring on a fast break layup to open the scoring. On the next possession, he forced one of those 10 turnovers and turned his steal into a fast break bucket. Just two minutes later, Lewis added an offensive board on an outstanding hustle play, which led to a wide open three for Myck Kabongo that put the Horns on top by one.

J’Covan Brown kept the rally going for Texas, bouncing back from a tough and inefficient first half. After going 2-for-8 in the first half, Brown sank three of his six shots in the second, with all three makes coming from behind the arc. He also added a pair of steals as Texas turned up the defensive pressure in the second half.

Freshman Sheldon McClellan cracked double figures in scoring for the 16th time this year, chipping in 13 points. Although he missed all three of his attempts from long range, McClellan attacked with the bounce, knocking in some nice floaters amidst traffic. He also earned his way to the stripe with those drives, adding five points on a perfect night at the line. McClellan also snagged five boards, four of those coming on the defensive end. Against a solid offensive rebounding team like Oklahoma, getting that kind of board production from a swingman is huge.

McClellan wasn’t the only Longhorn who manufactured points, as the Longhorns did an excellent job attacking the defense inside and earning trips to the line in the second half. It was the second straight game that Texas scored a ton of points from the charity stripe down the stretch. Against Kansas State and Oklahoma, the Longhorns shot 46 second-half free throws, converting 39 of them. To put it in a tempo-free context, Texas posted a free-throw rate of 121%, meaning that the Horns actually shot 21% more free throws than field goals in their last two second halves.

Kabongo was a big part of that success at the line, as the freshman guard made all six of his free throw attempts. He finished with 13 points and seven assists — one on a highlight-reel alley-oop to Jaylen Bond — but easily could have had a double-double if his teammates converted the looks he was setting up for them. In the first half, Myck was the most successful player against the Oklahoma zone, consistently finding soft spots to penetrate before dishing it down low. Unfortunately, the Longhorns couldn’t make their open looks and started the game just 2-of-7 from the field.

What needed work

Those problems inside were especially tough for big man Clint Chapman, who made just two of nine on the night. While his makes came on a pair of nice midrange jumpers from the baseline, he was completely ineffective from within a few feet of the rim. Clint has played really well over the last few weeks, so fans have to hope that this was just one bad game and he will revert to that high level of play. On a Longhorn team that relies on quick, driving guards, the frontcourt has to be able to convert those easy looks inside.

The only other major concern for the Longhorns was a bit of lazy play against Oklahoma’s 3-2 zone in the first half. Although Kabongo was consistently attacking and the Horns were getting some quality looks from long range, there were still quite a few possessions where Texas settled for long, challenged jumpers. A team will never run every possession to perfection, but on a night where even the open looks weren’t going down, it made the wasted possessions stick out even more.

The Longhorns will be facing another zone on Monday night when they take on Baylor, so they need to remain disciplined and do the right things on offense. The Bear zone is particularly weak in the short corner, so quality team offense can result in a ton of easy buckets if Texas makes the smart plays.

The big picture

The fact that the Longhorns shot that poorly from the floor and still pulled out a win on the road is very reassuring. While Oklahoma isn’t a team bound for the NCAAs, they are still much more talented than their 3-10 conference record indicates. Finding a way to win on an off night is the sign of a quality team, and overcoming that kind of adversity has been a challenge for Texas this season.

Although this four-game winning streak includes wins over the bottom three teams in the league standings, it is still very encouraging. Two of those wins came on the road, while the comeback win against Kansas State at home was truly remarkable. The Texas schedule is easier than those of some other bubble teams right now, and the Horns are simply taking care of business. Although many of these wins won’t beef up the résumé, by simply continuing to win, the Horns are moving themselves up the S-curve. With just three victories needed for the magical 20-win mark, a W at Oklahoma State on Saturday would make that milestone a near certainty.

Up next: at Oklahoma State (12-13 overall, 5-7 Big 12); Saturday, 3 P.M. CT

As the Texas Longhorns headed to the locker room at halftime of Saturday afternoon’s game against Kansas State, it appeared that the hopes of a 14th-consecutive NCAA appearance could be circling the drain. The Wildcats had put on a late surge to build a 13-point lead heading into the break, thanks in large part to the fact that the Horns managed just two field goals in the final 16:28 of the half.

The first possession of the second half started off promising, as Clint Chapman blocked a shot and the Wildcats missed a short putback. But then another offensive rebound led to an easy hoop for K-State, and suddenly Texas was in a 15-point second-half hole on a day where they had yet to even manage that many points from the field. Even faced with those daunting odds, the Longhorns stormed back and kept their NCAA hopes alive, powered by a surprise performance from the unlikeliest of sources.

With 16:30 left in the game, Alexis Wangmene threw down a dunk off a missed layup by J’Covan Brown, breaking a 12-minute field goal drought for the Longhorns and bringing the Erwin Center crowd to life. It cut the Kansas State lead to 10 points and kick-started an 11-0 run that put the Longhorns back in the game. Following Wangmene’s dunk, Texas outscored KSU by a 43-20 count the rest of the way, cruising in the final minutes to an incredibly important win.

What looked good

While Wangmene provided the turning point for the Horns, he also chipped in his first career double-double, posting 15 points and 13 boards on the afternoon. His performance went beyond the stats, as his little hustle plays kept Texas in the game during a dismal first half and helped to lock up the game in the second. He added two blocks and a steal, but his active hands on defense disrupted many more plays than that.

The one possession that best exemplified Wangmene’s effort came in the first half when he was sprawled on the floor, stretched across the lane following a missed shot by Texas. Three Wildcats had chances to corral the rebound, but he kept tipping at the ball, knocking it out of their hands. Ultimately, a Kansas State player bobbled the ball out of bounds, giving it back to Texas on the baseline. He had no chance at actually securing the basketball himself, but Wangmene’s hustle forced a mistake by the opponents. That type of heads-up play defined Alexis’ performance on Saturday.

Myck Kabongo had set the tone early for Texas, picking up where he left off in the team’s first meeting at Bramlage Coliseum. The freshman consistently attacked the paint, as K-State’s Angel Rodriguez once again couldn’t keep up with his quick first step. Myck scored seven of Texas’ first 11 points, and added an assist on a nice interior bounce pass for a Wangmene dunk. His impact was short lived, however, as he picked up his second foul midway through the first and spent the rest of the half on the bench.

It took only three minutes of the second half for Kabongo to pick up his third foul, once again leaving the Horns without their point guard. Unlike the first half, the Texas offense remained aggressive with Kabongo off the floor, led by a revitalized Brown. The junior guard scored 15 of his 23 points in the second half, including a pair of buckets on nifty spin moves that froze Kansas State and electrified the crowd.

Brown’s commitment to driving the lane and attacking Kansas State spread to the team, and the Longhorns took advantage of an officiating crew that was calling everything tight. The two teams were called for nine fouls combined in the first four minutes of the game, and as a result both squads were shuffling players thanks to foul trouble. With the Wildcat frontcourt reduced to a platoon situation, the quick, athletic Longhorn guards and wings continually put the ball on the floor and made the defense react, earning easier looks inside and 28 trips to the line in the second half.

The Longhorns also continued their resurgence at the charity stripe, knocking down nearly 73% of their attempts for the game. In the first half, Texas was a questionable 13-of-20 from the line, but improved down the stretch when it mattered most. After making just 63.2% of their attempts in the games against Iowa State, Baylor, and Missouri, the Longhorns have made 75.5% of their free throws during their three-game winning streak.

While the aggressive play helped Texas storm back in the second half, the team’s dominating defensive performance made sure that Kansas State had no chance to stop the comeback. The Longhorns extended their pressure beyond the perimeter, with even Wangmene getting up in the shirt of K-State bigs when they would catch the ball on the arc. The Longhorns forced nine turnovers and held the Wildcats to just 32.3% shooting in the second half, while also shutting out top scorer Rodney McGruder for the final twenty minutes.

Texas also dominated the glass, making sure that their solid defensive possessions weren’t ruined by second chances for Kansas State. Led by Wangmene’s breakout performance, the Longhorns limited the Wildcats to just four offensive boards in the final 19:31 of the game. In tempo-free terms, that gave K-State an offensive rebounding mark of only 21% in crunch time, a far cry from their season average of 41.9%.

What needed work

When a team puts on such an inspiring comeback to save not just a game, but also a season, it can be hard to step back and take a look at what went wrong. Still, there were a few issues for Texas, particularly in the team’s flat first half.

The two first-half fouls by Kabongo were incredibly frustrating for Longhorn fans and coaches alike. The first came on a charge when he pushed the tempo into a trap, while the second was a hold on an inbounds play. While both likely wouldn’t have been called in a game where the refs weren’t working so hard to keep things under control, Kabongo needs to adjust to the situation. The Longhorns need him on the floor, so he can’t be picking up fouls on offense or when the ball isn’t even in play.

Without the freshman point guard on the floor, the Texas offense fizzled in the first half. As has been the case on many occasions this season, the Longhorns stood around, making lackluster cuts and setting weak screens. This team has shown that they can score without having both Brown and Kabongo on the floor, but fail to do it with any consistency. It seems at times like the youngsters just forget what they have to do off the ball to make the offense work.

Fortunately, the halftime adjustments in this game were perfect. The Texas coaching staff apparently said all the right things in the locker room, and the players took it to heart. The Longhorns have made it a habit to dig themselves deep holes in conference play before typically storming back late in the game. For much of the season, that has resulted in close losses. Although this time the team was able to salvage the win, it would be great for the hearts and stomachs of Longhorn Nation if the team could play solid first-half basketball in the future.

The big picture

The win levels Texas’ conference record at 6-6, establishing a tie for fifth with Kansas State. If Texas wants to claim fifth-place at season’s end, they will likely have to do it outright. With the two teams splitting their regular season games, the tiebreaker will come down to who has beaten a team higher in the standings. At the moment, K-State holds the edge by virtue of their home win against Missouri. Even if Texas beats Baylor, there’s little chance that the Bears will jump the Tigers in the standings.

If Texas can take care of business on the road in Oklahoma this week, their chances of finishing all alone in fifth are very good. The Wildcats now embark on a tough three-game stretch against Kansas, Missouri, and Baylor, with the latter two games coming on the road. If K-State can’t come up with some upsets, Texas has an excellent opportunity to make a big move in the standings.

Outside of the conference race, this game was also huge for Texas’ bubble prospects. The Longhorns have a favorable back-half of the league schedule that allows them to build momentum, but they also have a rather weak tournament profile. Texas owns just two wins against the RPI Top 50, with those coming at home against Temple and Iowa State. While the Wildcats will likely finish outside of that group, Top 100 wins are also used by the NCAA Selection Committee, and the Longhorns had yet to record a victory against teams ranked 51st to 100th. Winning games against Oklahoma State and Texas Tech wouldn’t impress anyone, so the Horns had to have this W.

With other bubble teams faltering over the last week, Texas now just needs to win the games it is supposed to. A loss in one of this week’s road games wouldn’t be deadly, but would certainly be damaging. What would be crippling is a sweep in the state of Oklahoma, which would put Texas back on the wrong side of the bubble with work left to do in the final three weeks. While the Horns earned a win they had to have on Saturday, they can’t afford to let their guard down as they hit the road.

Up next: at Oklahoma (13-11 overall, 3-9 Big 12)

The Longhorns finally got the monkey off their back, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Texas was 0-7 in games decided by two possessions or less this season, having left a handful of opportunities for quality wins sitting on the table. Monday night, the Longhorns learned from those past mistakes and came up with big plays in the clutch, hanging on for a narrow two-point win at Reed Arena.

As Texas heads down the homestretch of the season, the magnitude of each game grows. Unfortunately, simply winning games might not be enough to get the Longhorns into the NCAA Tournament for a 14th-consecutive year. They must win the right games, and avoiding losing to the wrong teams.

Even though last night’s victory came on the road against a talented A&M team, the unforgiving RPI numbers mean that Texas doesn’t get credit for a good win, only for avoiding a bad loss. The Aggies owned an RPI ranking of 145th coming into the game, and the Longhorns already have one loss against teams ranked below 100, having fallen in overtime to Oregon State early in the year. Another loss to the RPI 100+ group would have further weakened an already flimsy résumé.

What looked good

The Longhorns had one of their best offensive performances of the season against the Aggies, scoring 1.169 points per possession. It was the second-best output for an Aggie opponent this season, only ranking behind a 1.222 PPP performance by the Florida Gators in a 20-point blowout of A&M back in December.

Texas found success by being aggressive and moving the ball well. J’Covan Brown, Myck Kabongo, and Sheldon McClellan put the ball on the floor and attacked the paint, getting good midrange looks and setting up teammates under the hoop with timely assists.

McClellan had his best game of the year, scoring 15 points on 45% shooting. He was exceptionally hot in the first half and as a result, he took a few questionable shots. At that point, though, everything was going down for the freshman. With Kabongo having an unfortunate tendency to disappear at times or to get himself into foul trouble, Texas desperately needs a third offensive threat to step up and compliment Brown. If McClellan can continue to attack and play aggressively the rest of the year, the Longhorn offense will be much more effective.

Brown also had a fantastic game, leading all scorers with 20 points on 67% shooting. He was a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc, taking his shots off of good feeds or after coming around screens on the perimeter. When Brown doesn’t try to create his own outside looks, he finds much more success from long range. With the Aggie defense having to work harder to limit his outside looks, Brown continued to slice up the D with penetration, adding seven assists as he drew the help inside.

Brown’s dribble penetration also gave Texas the game winning basket, as he came off a screen on the perimeter and drove the left side of the lane. Clint Chapman provided an excellent seal on the help trying to rotate across the paint, and Brown was able to easily lay it in for the deciding points.

Off the bench, freshman Jaylen Bond led everyone with eight boards. He was especially important on the offensive glass in the first half, as it seemed at times that he was the only Longhorn crashing the boards on missed shots. Considering that only Bond, McClellan, and Alexis Wangmene logged any offensive rebounds, that might not have been far from the truth. Bond’s hard work inside led to four key points on putbacks.

In addition to being one of only three Longhorns to earn a second chance for the team, Wangmene did well inside in the early minutes. The guards were finding him when the defense collapsed on their drives, and he was doing a much better job than usual at corralling the passes and finishing. Wangmene finished with 10 points on 80% shooting, and came up with a big-time stop on David Loubeau in the final minute that forced a turnover to help ice the game.

What needed work

Other than that last-minute stand, the Texas defense wasn’t that stout on the inside. Fortunately, the Aggies were hitting just about every mid-range and three-point shot they took, so they didn’t focus on their advantage inside.

When Loubeau would actually receive entry passes on the block, he was practically impossible to stop. What Texas did succeed in doing was forcing him away from the lane prior to receiving those feeds. That’s half the battle, so now the Longhorns — particularly Wangmene and Bond — just need to make their defense more consistent and effective in post-up situations.

As a result of the problems in the paint, the Texas forwards were in constant foul trouble. Chapman saw only 12 minutes of action, having picked up two fouls before the first media timeout had even occurred. The good thing is that for the first time, the other Longhorn bigs stepped up without No. 53 on the court. Even though the whistles caused a revolving door of Texas forwards, Bond, Wangmene, and Jonathan Holmes all made key contributions to the win.

Although the Aggies shot 50% from the field — well above their season average — you can’t complain too much about the Texas defense outside of those low post problems. A&M’s players hit some tough shots with little separation from the defense, and it seemed like every shot they took found the bottom of the net. On some nights, that is just going to be the case, so it was fortuitous timing on the Longhorns’ part to have such an excellent offensive night themselves.

Texas also had some issues boxing out on the defensive end in the first half, giving up four points on a pair of putbacks, one of which turned into a three-point play. The Longhorns tightened up on the defensive glass, however, limiting the Aggies to just six total offensive boards and an offensive rebounding mark of just 30%.

The big picture

As we’ve already mentioned, this win isn’t one that’s going to move the needle for Texas. The Longhorns are at a point where now they must simply stockpile wins against the easier back half of their league schedule, while hopefully grabbing one or two against the remaining top-notch opponents.

The victory gives the Horns their first two-game winning streak since the first week of conference play. Fans have to hope that this gives the team some momentum heading into an incredibly important game against Kansas State on Saturday. While the Wildcats have been slipping lately, they still provide one of just five remaining opportunities for the Longhorns to earn another Top 100 RPI win during the regular season.

Next up: vs. Kansas State (16-6 overall, 5-5 Big 12); Saturday, 1 P.M. CT

If the sport were horseshoes or hand grenades, these Texas Longhorns would be All-Stars. Instead, Texas fans were treated to another verse of the same old song, as their team made another furious late-game comeback, only to come up short in a 67-66 loss.

Down 10 with just less than four minutes left, the Longhorns quickly erased the deficit, taking the lead on a leaner by J’Covan Brown with 56 seconds to go. Missouri’s Michael Dixon responded on the other end, tossing in a layup with 31 seconds left to put the Tigers back on top.

On the final possession, Texas spread the floor against a surprise zone defense, with the ball coming to Brown with just over 12 seconds left on the clock. The Tigers pushed out in a two-man trap, and Brown whipped a cross-court pass to Myck Kabongo, who had to leap to keep the ball in play. His baseline drive and jumper fell short, and Texas dropped to 0-7 in games decided by six points or less.

What looked good

The Texas defense in the first half was stifling. After being torched early in the teams’ first meeting in Columbia, the Longhorns were prepared to shut down the nation’s second-best offense. Texas defenders stayed in the shirts of the Missouri shooters on the perimeter, forcing them to pass it around.

Although there were a few possessions in which a Tiger slashed to the rack unchallenged, it was a vast improvement over the first meeting between the two teams. In fact, the Tigers were held to just 0.834 points per possession in the first half, well off their season average of 1.22.

The Longhorns capitalized on that tough defense by closing out possessions with rebounds. They dominated the glass on both ends of the floor, limiting Missouri to an offensive rebounding percentage of just 21.4%, while reclaiming 44.4% of their own misses. That workmanlike effort on the boards equated to a sizeable 22-6 advantage for Texas in second chance points.

Freshman Jonathan Holmes was the team leader in boards, snagging nine on the night. His effort on the glass led to easy putback points, and he was able to log seven points for the game. Unfortunately, he also led the team in turnovers with five, which was absolutely crippling in a game decided by one point.

Fellow freshman Jaylen Bond was also tenacious inside. He ripped down seven rebounds in just 14 minutes on the court and came up with two clutch buckets following offensive rebounds. Tempo-free stats underscore just how important Bond was during his short time on the court, as his personal offensive rebounding percentage was an incredible 23.8%, while his defensive was 40.8%.

The Longhorns also benefitted from aggressive play by Julien Lewis, who repeatedly attacked with drives from the corner. He started coming on strong in the second half of the Baylor game, and that confidence seemed to carry over into this one. Lewis led the way early for the Horns, seeming to be the only consistent scorer in a first half where the team had troubling putting the ball in the hoop. In the end, the freshman finished with 12 points on 44% shooting, a much more efficient contribution than his early performances in Big 12 play.

Big men Clint Chapman and Alexis Wangmene were a big part of Lewis’ success in this one, providing solid seals on the help defense when he drove to the rim. Chapman also showed off some agility with a few nice post moves, scoring six points in just 23 minutes on the court.

What needed work

Unfortunately, the fifth-year senior also had some tough moments on defense. In the first half, he let Ricardo Ratliffe establish very deep post position on a lob entry that had Coach Rick Barnes absolutely livid. He called an immediate timeout and angrily motioned Chapman to the bench with a jerk of the thumb. In the second half, Chapman was so intent on not letting Ratliffe get another easy bucket that he actually backed off a driving Tiger guard to prevent the dumpoff pass, instead giving up an uncontested layup.

Brown also played matador defense, although his struggles were much more consistent than Chapman’s. In the second half, he allowed Dixon to score in bunches. In the post-game press conference, Brown told the media, “I basically gave up half his points.” He couldn’t stay in front of Missouri’s speedy sixth man, letting Dixon spark a second-half scoring explosion for the Tigers.

Texas also did itself no favors with another rash of turnovers. In the first half, the Longhorns managed just 22 points, due in large part to a turnover rate close to 25%. For the game, Texas was able to push that mark down to just 19.9%, but those 13 miscues turned into 14 Tiger points. Perhaps the most frustrating was a second-half turnover by Myck Kabongo, who compounded his error by intentionally fouling Phil Pressey to give the Tigers two shots and the ball.

The Texas offense didn’t just bog down solely due to turnovers. The Longhorns often tried to establish Chapman or Wangmene in the post, but entry passes from the wing were simply not available. Typically, the big would then move out to the perimeter to set a ball screen, but the driving lanes were usually cut off by Missouri defenders.

Instead of reacting to the Tiger defense with quick ball movement, the Longhorns spread out the floor and played isolation basketball. With the team’s only buckets coming from one-on-one drives and offensive putbacks, Texas actually headed to the locker room without a single assist. They didn’t do much better in the second half, adding just five assists, one of them coming on a three-man fast-break.

For the third consecutive game, free throws were an albatross for the Longhorns. The team shot just 66.7% from the line, leaving eight freebies on the table. Texas did a great job of attacking and earning trips to the line, but did not take advantage of their edge in free throw attempts. You could even say the Longhorns left a ninth point at the line, as one of those misses came when Wangmene couldn’t hit the front end of a one-and-one.

In the last three games, the Longhorns have made just 63.2% of their free throws, a sharp decline from the season average of 73.2% that they carried into the first of those three games. For much of the season, the one thing that the Texas offense could count on was an ability to manufacture points at the line. Instead, trips to the charity stripe have become a scary proposition during the most important part of the season.

Finally, it must be noted that once again the Longhorns looked completely lost on the final possession of a close game. It’s one thing to lose a lot of close ones when the breaks just don’t go your way, but Texas has repeatedly failed to get good looks late in the game. The final possession against Kansas State resulted in a turnover and fast-break bucket, while Brown felt that his last-second three against Baylor wasn’t a bad look, despite Coach Barnes telling him the exact opposite.

Against the Tigers, the Longhorns had a play drawn up for both man and zone defenses. The Tigers came out in a zone look, and Texas spread the floor. Coach Barnes told the media that players weren’t making their cuts, which led to the breakdown. What he didn’t explain to reporters was why he didn’t use the team’s final timeout to regroup once he saw the players failing to make hard cuts. The Longhorns had more than 20 seconds left on the clock at the start of that final possession, but wasted thirteen of them before Brown’s risky cross-court pass set up Kabongo for his missed final shot.

The big picture

Texas is rapidly running out of opportunities to log a signature win, with just two games against Top 5 opponents left on the docket. During the final two weeks of the season, the Longhorns host Baylor and travel to Phog Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas State also travels to the Erwin Center on February 11th, but their recent slide has nearly sent them out of the RPI Top 50.

Texas has almost no margin for error at this point, essentially needing to win every game outside of the Baylor and Kansas match-ups. The odds aren’t in their favor, as the Longhorns still have road trips left to A&M, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State. Despite all three programs having down years, those teams still defend their home court well, and a Texas road win is far from a guarantee.

If the Longhorns pulled off the improbable run and beat everyone left on the schedule not named Kansas or Baylor, it would put them at 20-9 overall. Even though losses to the Jayhawks and Bears would give them a respectable 20-11 record in this hypothetical, the Longhorns would still be left with just two or three wins against the RPI Top 50, with Temple being the team’s best win on the year.

The odds are long for Texas at this point, but with nine games left on the season, you can’t write Texas off just yet. If they can learn from all of these close losses and regroup in time to attack the favorable back half of their league slate, perhaps the Longhorns can finally put together a run.

Up next: vs. Texas Tech (7-13 overall, 0-8 Big 12); Saturday, 6 P.M. CT