The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Rice
No. 2 Men's Basketball defeats Rice, 85-58
12.05.2005 | Men's Basketball
HOUSTON (AP) -- Second-ranked Texas chalked up another easy win and now can focus on its weekend showdown with No. 1 Duke.
Brad Buckman had 17 points and 11 rebounds and LaMarcus Aldridge had 17 points and 10 boards on Monday night as the Longhorns beat Rice 85-58 at the Toyota Center.
Daniel Gibson, Houston's all-time prep scorer at Jones High School, had 15 points, four rebounds and three assists for the Longhorns (8-0), who meet the Blue Devils at East Rutherford, N.J. on Saturday.
Texas, off to its best start since the 1981-82 team won its first 14 games, has averaged a 32-point victory margin in its last four victories.
The bigger, faster Longhorns got little more than a light workout from the Owls (3-4), who were coming off a 96-94 triple-overtime win over Utah.
Texas committed three early turnovers, then launched a 14-0 run to build a 23-4 lead 8 minutes into the game.
The Owls missed their first nine shots and 10 of their first 12, while the Longhorns hit five of six shots after starting 4-for-10.
The 6-foot-10, 237-pound Aldridge had a putback and two free throws early in the run, overpowering Rice's less beefy big men. He quickly got three fouls on J.R. Harrison, and Rice's leading scorer went to the bench with 13:20 left in the half.
Gibson, with his parents watching from the stands, got off to a shaky start, missing his first three shots. If he was nervous, he quickly settled down, making a 3-pointer and a pull-up jumper near the end of the scoring spurt.
Aleks Perka ended the Owls' 4-minute drought with a layup, but J.D. Lewis swished a 3-pointer 90 seconds later to keep the Longhorns in control.
Aldridge and Gibson each had 13 points at halftime as Texas took a 46-26 lead.
The lead swelled past 30 in the second half as the Longhorns continued to overwhelm the Owls with swarming defense, sharp shooting and superior speed.
Morris Almond had 17 points for Rice, which shot 35 percent (21-of-60) and was outrebounded 50-39.
The former Southwest Conference rivals were meeting for the first time since the 1995-96 season. Texas has won nine of the last 10 meetings.
Gibson left the game to mild applause with 3:18 remaining. He turned from the bench, smiled and nodded at friends as the final minutes ticked away.
Gibson was coming off a career-high 29 points in the Longhorns' 93-55 win over Texas-Arlington on Saturday.
Team Game Notes
- Texas now leads the all-time series with Rice 130-59. UT has now won nine of the last 10 and 24 of the last 29 in the series.
- The Longhorns are now 58-5 (.921) against in-state foes during head coach Rick Barnes' tenure in Austin.
- The 8-0 start is UT's first since the 1981-82 season, when the Longhorns won 14 straight games to start the year.
- The 20-point lead, 46-26, at halftime was the largest lead by Texas over an opponent this season.
- Texas finished with a 50 to 39 lead in rebounding; marking the sixth time in eight games Texas recorded at least a +10 rebounding margin.
- The Longhorns have limited their first seven opponents to 55.6 points per contest.
Individual Game Notes
LaMarcus Aldridge
- Aldridge finished the first half one rebound short of a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds.
- He finished the game with his seventh double-double (17p/10r) in eight games this season. He began the season with a string of six consecutive games with double-digit totals in both points and rebounds.
- Aldridge made his first four attempts in the game and is 13-of-18 in the past two games for .722 percent from the floor after going 7-of-11 tonight and 6-of-7 against UT-Arlington.
Daniel Gibson
- Gibson finished the night with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor, 3-of-5 from three-point range and three assists.
- In the last two games, Gibson has totaled 44 points on 18-of-31 FG shooting (.581), 7-of-15 (.467) from beyond the arch and nine assists.
Brad Buckman
- Buckman finished the game with a season-high 17 points (7-of-15 FG) and tied a season-high with 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season, 13th of his career.
Kenton Paulino
- With four assists in the game, Paulino now has 28 on the season. He currently has a 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio (28-to-13) after eight games.
- He finished with a season-high 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting.
UT Starters: Daniel Gibson, LaMarcus Aldridge, Brad Buckman, Kenton Paulino, P.J. Tucker
Tip: Rice won the tip.
