Kansas held off the Longhorns and held up their 50th conference championship trophy
Two years ago I sat in the very top row of Allen Fieldhouse, sweating off ten pounds in that sauna of a gym as the Longhorns were whipped by twenty-five. LaMarcus Aldridge was on the bench with an injury, while P.J. Tucker was watching in Austin due to academic ineligibility.
So when we drove into Lawrence on Saturday morning, my hopes were high for a better performance. After all, it’s tough to lose by more than 25 points. And I felt that this Texas team could hang with the Jayhawks and keep themselves within ten at the final buzzer. Little did I know that the Horns were going to play absolutely out of their minds in the first half and have all of their fans thinking upset.
Texas (22-8 overall, 12-4 Big 12) started the game shooting absolutely lights out. The Horns hit 57% of their shots, including a ridiculous 11-of-14 from behind the arc. There was one stretch where they scored on 12 straight possessions and even held a 16-point lead with less than three minutes remaining in the half.
But Kansas (27-4, 14-2) refused to go away, shooting 50% in the first half to keep Texas within arm’s reach at the break. The Jayhawks trailed by only 12 at halftime, and came out of the locker room with an incredible surge. Within four minutes of play, Kansas had retaken the lead at 58-57. During that stretch, the Horns made only four free throws.
Kansas stifled the Longhorn offense in the second half by extending the pressure out to the perimeter. In the first half, they had been content to try to double down on Durant when he touched the ball, and the Horns were utilizing the open man it created to make the Jayhawks pay. But with the pressure turned up around the arc, the Texas guards seemed frustrated. A big man would try to set a high screen, but before the guard could even dribble around it, the Kansas defender had fought through, turning it into a double team.
Finally, down four with about eleven minutes left, Kevin Durant attacked the rim from the wing. His shot missed, and as Texas fans looked for him to follow for the inside rebound and putback, we instead saw him crumple to the floor. He tried to get up and limp away, but fell once more. Our basketball lives flashed before our eyes. KD headed to the locker room and all hope seemed lost.
But D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrams stepped up in the absence of their teammate, scoring seven points over the ensuing two minutes to keep the Longhorns within one point. Unfortunately, Kansas hit the glass hard and extended that lead back out to nine before Durant returned from the locker room.
Texas was able to get the defecit down to six in the final minutes, but continually made mistakes on the offensive end after stopping the Jayhawks from scoring. A charge by Abrams negated one possession, while a fast break was killed when Abrams tossed the ball to Augustin when he was standing on the sideline. But despite those brain farts, missed free throws by Kansas and a late flurry of threes by the Horns made it a three-point game with time running out.
Durant grabbed a rebound off of a missed Kansas free throw, and the Horns pushed it up the floor with only 22 seconds left. Justin Mason missed a three from the corner, but Augustin controlled the carom with 12 seconds left. Instead of pulling it out and using the remaining time to find a good look, he tried to immediately go back up for three with a pair of Jayhawk defenders in his face. Julian Wright came from behind and stuffed the try as Durant, J.D. Lewis, and Abrams all stood wide-open elsewhere around the arc.
While it’s certainly frustrating to lose a 16-point lead and a chance for a second-straight stunning upset, this game shows huge progress for the Longhorns. Kansas is likely a 1-seed in the NCAA tournament, or at least one of the first 2-seeds if they lay an egg in the Big 12 tournament. And this young Texas team hung with that top-flight Kansas squad on the road, in a hostile environment, and without its biggest star for a chunk of the second half. I’m sure I sound like an Aggie fan grasping at moral victories, but you can’t be anything but encouraged by that performance.
In addition to Durant’s insane 25-point first half and 32-point night, there were other standout performances for the Horns. Damion James played tough inside against a bigger, more experienced, and more talented Kansas frontcourt. James had twelve points and seven boards on the night. Point guard Augustin did not miss a minute of play and chipped in with 19 points. But more amazingly, he dished out 13 assists to only three turnovers for his third double-double of the year.
Connor Atchley had a tough game inside, but I feel will bounce back admirably on Friday. A game against Missouri or Baylor should really increase his confidence, which is what I think he needs desperately at this point. Fans wanting more out of C.Atch should root for Baylor to upset Missouri on Thursday, as Connor had his best games of the year in the two earlier meetings with the Bears.
Matt Hill came back from injury and gave the Horns 13 minutes. He didn’t look at 100% and later told me that he was still feeling a bit sore, but played incredibly well for a guy who has been out of commission for a month and a half. And when you remember that his last outing resulted in a line with 5 fouls and a row of zeroes, his two points and three boards are a step in the right direction.
Texas now has nearly a week to rest and allow Durant’s ankle to heal back up. They have earned a bye through the first round of Big 12 Tournament play and will not play until roughly 8:30 P.M. on Friday night. In the meantime, I’ll be adding some road trip stuff to the site and perhaps throw in some updates from Championship Week. The calendar finally reads March, and I couldn’t be happier.
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