They say that you always remember the ones that got away. For the Texas Longhorns, last night’s loss will certainly be one that sticks with them for some time, especially if they are left out of the NCAA field on Selection Sunday. Trailing for much of the game, Texas clawed back into it in the final minutes, aided in no small part by horrendous free-throw shooting by Kansas State. After a furious comeback, Texas found itself down just two points on the final possession before Martavious Irving stripped the ball and the chance for victory away from Myck Kabongo and J’Covan Brown.

Against a bigger, more physical Kansas State team, the Longhorns found themselves in foul trouble quickly. Jonathan Holmes and Jaylen Bond picked up two personals in just a few minutes, and the Longhorns went to a zone to protect their interior players. For the second-straight year, Rodney McGruder made them pay with a pair of clutch threes to spark a first-half run. K-State made 7-of-12 from behind the arc before heading to the locker room, but the Longhorns still managed to keep it within one point at the break.

A nip and tuck second half got away from the Longhorns in the final minutes, as Kansas State rebuilt their lead to seven with just 1:14 left on the clock. The Wildcats missed six of eight free throws over the final 74 seconds, while the Longhorns executed well under pressure to find themselves down just two points with the ball and 20 seconds on the clock. After bringing it across the timeline, Kabongo and Brown tried to execute a dribble handoff beyond the arc, allowing Irving and the Wildcats to ice the game with a steal and McGruder fast-break dunk.

What looked good

For the first time in weeks, freshman Julien Lewis started hot out of the gate. He knocked down his only two shots in the game’s first seven minutes, but spent a majority of his time on the bench thanks to foul trouble. Lewis eventually did foul out of the game, seeing the court for only seven minutes.

While Lewis’ bounceback performance was hampered by the whistle, Sheldon McClellan broke through in a big way. He scored 19 points on the night courtesy of a 7-of-13 shooting line. The only major knock on McClellan’s performance was that he played a bit out of control at times, a rarity for a guy who has been among the best nationally when it comes to protecting the ball. Sheldon had just two turnovers, but there were a few other situations where he and the Longhorns were lucky to retain possession when he was going too fast or drove into a dangerous spot on the floor.

The offensive resurgence for Lewis and McClellan was a welcome change after the pair struggled in the team’s previous four games. Against Iowa State, Oklahoma State, A&M, and Missouri, the two freshmen were just 21-of-78 (26.9%) from the floor. In the losing effort against Kansas State, they combined to shoot 9-of-15 (60%) from the field. While J’Covan Brown has been scoring in bunches, the Longhorns clearly need more scoring options. If Lewis and McClellan can continue to provide that in the coming weeks, the prognosis for Texas will be much sunnier than it was a few days ago.

If Lewis and McClellan can’t keep up their hot shooting, Myck Kabongo could certainly be the team’s second scoring option. Just as he did against Missouri, Kabongo posted a double-double, scoring 14 points to go with 10 assists. Once again, he was aggressive right off the bat, as K-State’s Angel Rodriguez had a very difficult time keeping Myck in front of him. When the help defense tried to cut off Kabongo’s angle to the rim, he consistently found open teammates to set up easy looks or draw fouls.

One of the most-frequent recipients of those assists was Clint Chapman, who finished with 11 points, seven of them coming at the line. When he wasn’t getting the dumpoffs in the lane, Chapman was also doing a good job sealing post defenders to keep the driving lanes open for the Texas guards.

It was also key that Clint kept himself out of foul trouble in this one until late in the game. He spent quite a bit of time on the bench against Missouri, and the team’s post defense suffered without him on the floor in that game. Against Thomas Robinson and Kansas on Saturday, the Longhorns will need Clint to once again avoid the fouls and play big minutes.

Texas also benefited from great free throw shooting to keep themselves in the game. The Longhorns made their first 14 free throws, and finished 19-for-21 on the night. In a game where Kansas State nearly blew the game with a terrible performance at the line, the Longhorns took full advantage of the freebies. Now that Kabongo is attacking with more confidence, the points he and Brown generate at the line will be key to keeping the offense humming.

As the numbers predicted, Texas did also a great job on the offensive glass against Kansas State. The Horns grabbed 46.1% of their misses, and turned those second chances into 11 points. Texas has now posted offensive rebounding percentages of greater than 46% in the last two games, but the Longhorns will find it tough to continue to rebound that well against KU on Saturday.

What needed work

While the offensive rebounding numbers were solid, the defensive numbers were awful. Once again, the stats for the two teams predicted that this would happen, but the Wildcat offensive boards were still daggers in such a close game. What was especially crippling were the three times that Kansas State got the ball back on missed free throws. Twice those second chances came from offensive boards, while the third came in crunch time when the Longhorns simply bobbled the ball out of bounds.

Texas also struggled with turnovers throughout the game, particularly when they dug a huge hole in the first half. The Longhorns lost the ball 16 times on the night, with 10 of those miscues coming in the first half. Those mistakes ended 22.3% of the possessions that Texas had, which is a devastating number in a game decided by just four points.

Some of those turnovers came when the Horns tried to push the tempo and beat the Wildcats in transition, but ended up lofting the ball well over the head of their teammates downcourt. It’s definitely worth going after those easy transition points, but the Texas guards might want to work on their touch in the next few practices so they can be a little more accurate on those full-court passes.

The worst turnover was of course the final one, which erased Texas’ final possession and gave the Wildcats a game-clinching dunk. A big part of the problem was that the Horns were out of timeouts and couldn’t draw up a play, but the guards have to realize that a dribble handoff in that situation brings an extra defender to the ball and eliminates the good spacing that you want on a final iso set. If anything can be taken from that disastrous possession, you have to think Kabongo and Brown won’t make that mistake at the end of any future games.

Unfortunately, it was a rather inefficient night for Brown even beyond that last-second mistake. Kansas State did an excellent job defending him with different guards in an effort to spread out the inevitable fouls they would pick up guarding him. The variety of defenders also served a second purpose, as it seemed to make it tougher for Brown to consistently penetrate. McGruder did solid work defending the Texas guard, but Will Spradling came up particularly huge in the second half, sticking on Brown like a dryer sheet. Without much room to work with, J’Covan shot just 8-of-28, including 4-of-14 from behind the arc.

The big picture

This was a loss that Texas fans could be replaying in their head on Selection Sunday. With the Longhorns hovering right on the bubble in practically every major bracket projection, every single win is big, but road wins against contenders are like résumé gold.

Texas showed great poise in fighting back from a 15-point deficit and again when down seven in the waning minutes, but the Longhorns failed to execute when it mattered most. Unfortunately, when the selection committee sequesters itself in Indianapolis in a few weeks, all they will see on their Nitty Gritty reports is an L next to this game.

Even the most optimistic Longhorn fan probably looked at this difficult six-game stretch on the schedule and hoped for two wins. While moral victories don’t count for much in the grand scheme of things, hopefully the performances in Columbia and Manhattan will give the young Longhorns confidence that they can get revenge at home and split the season series with Missouri and Kansas State.

Up next: vs. #7/7 Kansas (15-3 overall, 5-0 Big 12); Saturday, 3 P.M. CT

The Texas Longhorns continue their brief road trip with yet another test, taking on a talented Kansas State team at the always-dangerous Bramlage Coliseum. This is just one more tough match-up for the Longhorns in the midst of a brutal six-game stretch that includes four games against teams currently ranked in the Top 10.

The Wildcats are much better than their conference record would indicate, as they’ve been forced to take on the league’s three best teams — Baylor, Kansas, and Missouri — in their first four games. Kansas State managed to defend their home court against the Tigers, but stumbled on the road against Oklahoma on Saturday.

Coach Frank Martin was so mad with his team prior to the loss against the Sooners that he made five players run stairs for more than two hours rather than practice. One can only imagine what the team has been put through in the three days since that loss, so you can be sure they will be angry and hungry for a win when they hit the court tonight against Texas.

By the numbers

The Wildcats are not a good shooting team, but still manage to be have one of the most efficient offenses in the country thanks to strong work on the glass and an ability to get to the line. High offensive rebounding percentages and free-throw rates are a trademark of Martin’s teams, and this year’s edition is no exception. The Wildcats are currently 5th-best in the land when it comes to reclaiming their misses, grabbing more than 42% of their opportunities. They also shoot nearly one free throw for every two field goal attempts, a free-throw rate that is 17th-best in Division I.

That success carries over to the defensive side of the ball, where Kansas State has one of the 20 best defensive efficiency marks in Division I, holding opponents to just 0.894 points per possession. Fortunately for the Longhorns, that defensive intensity has let up against the better opponents of the Big 12, as K-State’s conference opponents have scored nearly 1.05 points per possession. It was the suddenly spotty Wildcat defense that had Coach Martin angry enough to dole out that marathon stair session as punishment, so you’d have to think the team made some adjustments leading up to this game.

On paper, the strengths and weaknesses of these two teams match up in an interesting way. The Longhorns reclaim their missed shots with regularity, while K-State doesn’t close out defensive possessions. On the other end of the court, UT struggles to get defensive boards, while K-State is dominant on the offensive glass. With both teams so strong on the offensive boards, this could come down to who makes the most of their second chances.

Both teams also send their opponents to the line quite a bit, with their defensive free-throw rates ranking in the bottom 100 of Division I hoops. Just like the rebounding numbers, that weakness matches up poorly with the opposition’s strength, as both teams also get to the line quite often. While that’s a good sign for a Texas team that typically needs to manufacture points, it also means that on defense the Horns will likely be called for quite a few fouls, something that is problematic with such a short bench.

Meet the Wildcats

Kansas State has a rotation of eight players this season, and although Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelly have exhausted their eligibility, there are still quite a few familiar faces. The Wildcats return three starters from last year’s team, where they were essentially role players supporting the team’s bearded star. This season, the focus is on a pair of those returning starters who have helped K-State exceed all preseason expectations.

The first of those two veterans is Rodney McGruder (No. 22), who Texas fans will remember all-too-well from his three-point barrage in Austin last season. McGruder was not only an excellent long-range shooter for K-State last year, but also actually led the team in rebounds. This season, he’s claimed the team lead in points, as he’s taken over the role of penetrating scorer from Pullen.

As a result of his new role, McGruder is taking far less threes this season and has seen his numbers drop off. This year, he’s only attempting about a third of his shots from behind the arc, and only connecting on 34.4% of them. Instead, the junior is putting the ball on the floor and attacking the paint, where he loves to elevate and put up soft floaters. He has excellent body control to avoid the charge, so there’s little that defenders can do when McGruder pulls up besides stand tall and hope that his touch is off.

Jamar Samuels (No. 32) is another of the returning starters for K-State, and like McGruder, his role with the team has changed. With Kelly on the roster last year, Samuels was able to use his face-up game with more regularity. As a guy who can blow by other big men yet also body up with them in the post, he offers excellent flexibility on the offensive end.

Without Kelly on the team, Samuels has had to take on more of the physical role, and as a result he’s now manufacturing a ton of his points. He’s tops on the team with nearly seven boards per game, and his hard work on the offensive glass leads to a ton of free throws. Jamar’s free-throw rate is just under 90%, meaning he nearly takes one free throw for every field goal attempt.

The third returning starter is guard Will Spradling (No. 55), and as you can probably guess, his role has changed as well. Used more as an off-guard last season, this year he’s taking over the point guard duties. The son of a coach, he’s proven to be an adept facilitator, leading the team in assists while still finding time to show off his deadly three-point shot. Spradling also moves really well without the ball, so Texas cannot afford to lose him after he passes it off.

Joining Spradling in the backcourt is Martavious Irving (No. 3), a good defender who pressures the ball and can create points with his D. Offensively, he’s not much of a threat, but is usually good for a nice feed or two through traffic. At the moment, it appears he’s in Martin’s doghouse, as he was limited to just 15 minutes against Oklahoma. The coach wouldn’t say which five players he put through the stair workout, but did say that the box score could shed some light on the mystery.

Another starter who was probably a part of the punished quintet is 7-footer Jordan Henriquez (No. 21). He played just eight minutes against the Sooners, but will see much more playing time tonight if Coach Martin has finished making a point. Henriquez is an excellent post defender with great shot-blocking skills, and has even started developing a face-up game on the offensive end. He’s shown the ability to knock down short and mid-range jumpers, but still lacks the consistency and confidence to make it a big part of his game.

The other big man for the Wildcats is freshman Thomas Gipson (No. 42), from Cedar Hill, Texas. At 6’7″, 275 pounds, Gipson looks nothing like an 18-year old, and that strong body has allowed him to immediately make an impact at the college level. The freshman doesn’t have much offensive game outside of the paint, but he has a nice jump hook and is a beast on the boards.

Sixth man Shane Southwell (No. 1) is used mostly for his rebounding and defensive work, but he’s also an excellent passer. The 6’6″ guard from Harlem has the vision of a point guard, and often sets up the big men with great feeds from the perimeter. He can also put the ball on the floor and drive from the wings, but prefers to get looks for his teammates.

The other Wildcat seeing significant minutes off the bench is tiny guard Angel Rodriguez (No. 13), yet another talented Miami product brought to the Little Apple thanks to Martin’s past as a high school coach in the Magic City. Rodriguez is another active perimeter defender and penetrates the lane well despite not having blazing speed. He sat the entire Oklahoma game as a result of poor play against Baylor and a lack of effort in practice, so his role tonight could be limited.

With Coach Martin using the bench as a teaching tool, some of the lesser-used Wildcats have seen a recent spike in minutes. Guard Jeremy Jones (No. 24) had a strong first half against OU with 12 points, but hurt his ankle and hardly played in the second. Freshman wing Nino Williams (No. 11) could also see more playing time tonight, and could create match-up problems with his ability to attack off the dribble.

Keys to the game

1) Limit second chance points – Kansas State often needs second and third chances to make their offensive trips count, so the Longhorns will have to work hard to keep the Wildcats off the glass. K-State clearly has the advantage inside, so there’s no doubt that they will still get their share of offensive rebounds. Texas will just have to try to limit those boards, and also prevent K-State from getting easy putbacks when they do reclaim their misses.

2) Avoid foul trouble – The physical Kansas State frontline is a match-up nightmare for Texas, and their ability to draw fouls and get to the line could really expose the thin Texas frontcourt. The Longhorns were decimated inside by Ricardo Ratliffe on Saturday when Clint Chapman was on the bench with foul trouble, so he’ll have to avoid the whistles tonight. Jaylen Bond and Jonathan Holmes will have to do the same, as Texas needs all the rebounding help it can get.

3) Be aggressive with the ball – While Kansas State gets to the line quite often, they also frequently send their opponents there. The Longhorn guards and wings need to be aggressive with the basketball and attack the defense. The Wildcats have been uncharacteristically weak with their perimeter defense of late, so the opportunity is there. Texas finally has a good free-throw shooting team this season, so the Horns can overcome some of their offensive woes by earning their points the hard way.

If you’re not following along on Twitter, you might be completely oblivious to the fact that I’ve spent the last six days on the road, crossing the Midwest on my quest to experience the electricity of even more college hoops havens. Each season, the schedule usually offers an opportunity or two to extend a typical UT-based road trip into an even longer one where I can visit other gyms that I wouldn’t normally get a chance to see. I like to call these super-sized trips “XLRT”, and the map below shows the 2012 edition.

Thursday evening, I set out for Columbia, Missouri, where I was witness to the final Big 12 meeting at Mizzou Arena between the Tigers and Longhorns. Sunday morning, it was back on the road to Terre Haute, Indiana, to see a Missouri Valley clash between Wichita State and Indiana State. After a short night’s rest, it was back to the interstate on Monday as I raced up to Milwaukee in time for a special 2:30 P.M. tip on MLK Day for Louisville and Marquette.

After three straight days packed with travel and hoops, today offered a white-knuckle drive out of snowy Milwaukee and all the way to Kansas City. The trip wraps up tomorrow night at Bramlage Coliseum, when the Longhorns and Kansas State Wildcats square off. Look for Notes from the Road and perhaps even some photos to start making their way to the site after the Iowa State game next week.

TEAM W L LAST WEEK THIS WEEK Baylor 4 0 W at KSU, 75-73; W vs. OSU, 106-65 Mon at KU; Sat vs. Mizzou Kansas 4 0 W at Tech, 81-46; W vs. ISU, 82-73 Mon vs. BU; Sat at UT Missouri 3 1 W at ISU, 76-69; W vs. UT, 84-73 Mon vs A&M; Sat at BU Iowa State 2 2 L vs. Mizzou, 76-69; L at KU, 82-73 Wed vs. OSU; Sat at Tech Texas 2 2 W vs. A&M, 61-51; L at Mizzou, 84-73 Wed at KSU; Sat vs. KU Oklahoma State 2 2 W vs. OU, 72-65; L at BU, 106-65 Wed at ISU; Sat vs. KSU Oklahoma 1 3 L at OSU, 72-65; W vs. KSU, 82-73 Tue vs. Tech; Sat at A&M Kansas State 1 3 L vs. BU, 75-73; L at OU, 82-73 Wed vs. UT; Sat at OSU Texas A&M 1 3 L at UT, 61-51; W vs. Tech, 67-54 Mon at Mizzou; Sat vs. OU Texas Tech 0 4 L vs. KU, 81-46; L at A&M, 67-54 Tue at OU; Sat vs. ISU

The big picture

The league’s top three teams maintained order this week, as Baylor, Kansas, and Missouri pulled away from the pack and handed Iowa State its first two losses. We’ll likely get a little more clarity on the pecking order amongst the league’s elites, as Baylor tackles a tough week that includes a road trip to Lawrence and a home game against fellow top-ten team Missouri. Iowa State has a fairly easy draw this week, while Texas and Oklahoma State could easily both go 0-2. By this time next week, there could be a significant separation between the league’s top four and the middle of the Big 12 pack.

Mid-week games

Texas A&M at Mizzou; Monday, 4:30 P.M. CT (ESPN)

The Aggies have defeated the Tigers in their last eight meetings, a streak dating back to the 2004 season. Missouri actually chalked up two wins against A&M that year, as it was the famous “0-for-conference” season for Melvin Watkins and the Aggies. If there were ever a time for the Tigers to break the streak, this would seem to be it. Missouri is hitting on all cylinders and is currently ranked 9th in the nation, although on the heels of losses by Michigan State and Indiana, they will likely climb a few spots in today’s new batch of polls. The Aggies, meanwhile, have played their way to an inexplicable 1-3 start, with the lone win coming at home against the cellar-dwellers from Texas Tech. Stranger things have happened, but look for Frank Haith to earn his second-straight win over a school he once worked at.

Baylor at Kansas; Monday, 8:30 P.M. CT (ESPN)
The best game of the young conference season caps an awesome quadrupleheader on the Worldwide Leader tonight, as Baylor looks to continue its improbable undefeated run with a win at Phog Allen Fieldhouse. The Bears are coming off of an absolute thrashing of Oklahoma State on Saturday, where the team cracked the century mark and PJ3 posted a double-double in just 27 minutes with a 19/12 line. While the Bears were cruising, Kansas was tested at home by Iowa State, but extended their home win streak over the ‘Clones to seven games.

One interesting subplot to remember is that the last time these teams met in Lawrence, Scott Drew ticked off Jayhawk Nation by electing to coach his team up in the hallway rather than watch KU’s intro video. Kansas City sports radio was inundated with angry calls in the days following the game, presumably because Jayhawk fans felt that Kansas Basketball History 101 should be a part of the Baylor curriculum. It’s probably a safe bet that the Bears will stay on the sideline this time around, although you shouldn’t expect to see Quincy Acy or Pierre Jackson throwing shredded newspaper in the air when Mario’s Miracle goes down.

Texas Tech at Oklahoma; Tuesday, 7:00 P.M. CT (ESPN Full Court/ESPN3.com)
The Sooners played extremely well in non-conference under new coach Lon Kruger, but stumbled when hit with an opening pair of games against Missouri and Kansas. The Sooners finally notched their first league win in a home upset of K-State on Saturday, led by Andrew Fitzgerald, Romero Osby, and Steven Pledger, who all scored at least 18 points. The Sooners likely won’t need such heroics at home against Texas Tech in this one, but could still post the same kind of impressive numbers. If the Sooners can take care of business, they’ll create a little separation from the bottom of the league, with a chance to add even more space with a win at A&M on Saturday.

Texas at Kansas State; Wednesday, 8:00 P.M. CT (ESPN2)
A full preview of the Texas/K-State game will be available on Wednesday.

Oklahoma State at Iowa State; Wednesday, 8:00 P.M. CT (ESPNU)
The Cyclones performed admirably in their games against Missouri and Kansas last week, but came up just short in both of them. The losses indicate that Iowa State isn’t quite in that top tier of teams in the Big 12, but they do show that ISU will certainly be competitive. Fortunately, the schedule-makers had a bit of sympathy for the Cyclones, following up that tough pair of games with two very winnable ones against Oklahoma State and Texas Tech. The Cowboys did knock off the Sooners in a Bedlam match-up last Monday, but completely laid down when they traveled to Waco on Saturday afternoon. There’s no indication that a thin, reeling Oklahoma State is going to suddenly show up, especially on the road, so look for the Cyclones to keep themselves in the upper half of the league standings.

The last time Frank Haith met his mentor Rick Barnes on the hardwood, the Longhorns knocked off the Miami Hurricanes in Little Rock and booked a trip to the Sweet 16. The Hurricanes put up a good fight that afternoon at Alltel Arena, but came up just short in the final minutes.

This time around, the Tigers made absolutely certain that Haith earned the victory against his former boss. Missouri shot 54% from the field, including an incredible 73% mark from behind the arc in the first half, and ultimately defeated the Longhorns by 11 in the final conference meeting at Mizzou Arena between the two schools.

Texas found itself in a deep hole in the first half thanks to Mizzou’s superhuman performance from behind the arc, falling behind by as much as 16 late in the half. The Longhorns clawed back, however, slicing the Tiger lead down to just five with a little over nine minutes left in the game.

Seconds later, J’Covan Brown split his lip while committing a foul and headed to the bench. With the Longhorns missing their leader, Missouri’s Phil Pressey took over, scoring seven points in 50 seconds to end any threat of a comeback by Texas.

What looked good

Despite the final outcome, the performance by J’Covan Brown was one of his best as a Longhorn. At times, he still appeared to be bothered by the ankle injury that has dogged him since the Iowa State game on January 4th. Even with that nuisance, Brown posted 34 points in the loss, drilling 6-of-7 from long range while also knocking down all eight free throws. J’Covan has now made his last 19 free throws, a streak stretching back to the end of the first half against Oklahoma State.

Freshman Myck Kabongo also performed well in the loss, logging the first double-double of his short career. Kabongo finished with 12 points and 10 assists, with a majority of his buckets coming on aggressive drives to the basket. There were still some questionable drives where he put himself in a bad situation, but for the most part he was wise about when to attack. That is something that has been an issue for him all season, so hopefully this is a sign that the light bulb is starting to illuminate for the freshman.

Big man Clint Chapman also continued his recent trend of steady performances, although foul trouble dogged him for much of the game. The senior picked up his second personal less than five minutes into the game, and he was relegated to the bench for the remainder of the half. He certainly had his difficulties in this one, bobbling a pair of passes that cost the team possessions, but he did good work on the glass and knocked down a free-throw line jumper without hesitation. There is no question that the team looked better with Chapman on the floor, so he will have to avoid the whistles if the Longhorns want to win against physical teams in the Big 12.

While Chapman did well on the glass, it was actually Jonathan Holmes who led the team with seven rebounds. Alexis Wangmene also grabbed four offensive boards, as the Horns posted excellent rebounding percentages on both ends of the floor. Texas secured 47.1% of their missed shots, the second-best number put up against the Tigers all season long.

When Missouri actually missed shots, Texas also did a good job limiting their second chances, holding the Tigers to just a 28.6% rebounding percentage. That number might not seem impressive against a team playing a four-guard lineup, but the way that Ricardo Ratliffe and Steve Moore were imposing their will in the paint, it was rather surprising to see.

Although it was overshadowed by how well Missouri played, the Longhorns actually had one of their most efficient outings of the season on offense. That number was buoyed by Brown’s dead-eye marksmanship from behind the arc, but Texas still scored 1.135 points per possession, the best performance by a Missouri opponent this year.

What needed work

That offensive efficiency number could have been even more impressive had the Longhorns avoided frustrating turnovers. Texas coughed it up 14 times on the day, ending nearly 22% of their possessions with turnovers. While many came on errant passes, the most frustrating errors were a shot clock violation and five-count that came on back-to-back possessions as Missouri pulled away late in the first half. Texas is going to face teams that are much more talented than them in the next two-plus weeks, so they simply cannot afford to waste possessions.

While the turnovers were frustrating for Longhorn fans, the defense was downright infuriating. Texas came out in a zone, and the Tigers immediately lit them up behind the arc. Even when the Longhorns switched to a man defense, they still elected to go under screens against Flip Pressey. Coming into the game, the younger Pressey was just a 26% shooter from behind the arc, so that decision is hard to fault. Unfortunately, on Saturday afternoon, Flip was possessed by the spirit of J.J. Redick and he killed Texas with three clutch triples. When the Tigers weren’t drilling threes, constant penetration by the guards drew the defense, leaving Ratliffe alone underneath for countless easy buckets.

On the other end of the floor, Julien Lewis followed up his solid performance against Texas A&M with yet another abysmal day from the floor. Lewis was consistently able to find his way to the paint and had excellent elevation above the defense to pop his jump shot. Of course, space and elevation only go so far when you knock down just 1-of-10 from the floor.

Lewis started hot out of the gate for the Longhorns this season, scoring 18 in his debut against Boston University. He’s shown the ability to score in bunches, but at this point, it’s painfully clear that he is a very streaky player. In games where he has taken at least five shots, Julien has posted a shooting percentage above 35% just five times. Nine times he has been below that mark, including three that were below 15%. If Lewis hits some of his early shots in future games, give him the green light. But when he comes out cold, he has to realize it’s not his night and defer to teammates.

Texas also struggled converting some really easy looks, missing at the rim on multiple occasions in the first half. Sheldon McClellan failed to finish on two different fast-break opportunities, which only fueled the Mizzou Arena crowd and added to the Tiger momentum. Easy points are few and far between in conference play, so the Longhorns have to make those opportunities count.

The big picture

In the grand scheme of things, this loss isn’t a killer. We’ve repeatedly discussed just how brutal this three-week stretch of the schedule will be for Texas. The Longhorns still need to add a few quality wins to the résumé before Selection Sunday, and yesterday’s performance should at least give their fans some hope that perhaps they could spring an upset on the Tigers in the rematch at the Erwin Center on January 30th.

Texas still must beat Iowa State at home on January 24th, and would benefit from stealing another win or two in their upcoming games against K-State, Kansas, Baylor, and Missouri. The sky is not falling yet, but the Longhorns will have to surprise someone in the near future to feel more comfortable about their tournament chances.

Up next: at #18/18 Kansas State (12-4 overall, 1-3 Big 12)