The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Iowa State
Men's Basketball topples Iowa State, 75-67, in the conference opener
01.10.2009 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 10, 2009
Box Score 
| Box Score | 
| Notes | Quotes
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- The shots still aren't falling for Texas' A.J. Abrams. The Longhorns still found a way to win.
Instead of the 3-pointers the senior guard usually rains on opponents, it was the mid-range shooting of forwards Damion James and Gary Johnson that carried No. 7 Texas to 75-67 win over Iowa State on Saturday in the Big 12 opener for both teams.
Iowa State purposely dropped off James and Johnson while keeping pressure on Abrams at all times, and they picked apart the Cyclones by knocking down the open looks. James finished with 19 points and Johnson scored 17.
"The team needs an extra boost when A.J.'s getting the toughest defense every night," Johnson said. "That's what I'm trying to do."
Texas' leading scorer this season, Abrams finished with eight points, the fourth time in five games he's been held under 10. He was 2-of-10 shooting, making just one from long range.
"A.J. has struggled. Today was the first day I thought he was really pressing," Texas coach Rick Barnes said.
The Longhorns (12-3) are undefeated in 11 conference home openers under Barnes and have also won a school record 13 in a row at home in the Big 12, dating back to 2007 when Kevin Durant was a Texas freshman.
The Cyclones have been just the opposite, losing their ninth straight Big 12 road game. Craig Brackins scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for Iowa State (11-5) on Saturday, his sixth double-double of the season.
"We had to come in here and play a pretty perfect game to beat Texas," Iowa State coach Greg McDermott said.
McDermott's plan was not only to stop Abrams on the perimeter, but for his big players to stay close to the basket to keep the Longhorns from crashing in for offensive rebounds. The Cyclones outrebounded Texas 42-38 but the strategy backfired when it gave the Longhorns the open looks to shoot 55 percent from the field in the second half.
"I'll take 55 percent shooting any time," Barnes said.
Johnson was 6-of-9 from the field and James was 8-of-16.
"That's cool with me," James said. "We work so hard on our individual game. It was hard to get rebounds."
Johnson used a variety of moves to score 13 in the first half. He had eight points in a 17-5 Texas run that opened up a 29-16 lead before Iowa State closed to 33-27 by halftime.
The Cyclones quickly cut the lead to one after the break when Justin Hamilton hit a 3-pointer on the first shot of the half and Brackins converted a three-point play. Two dunks by James and a third by Dexter Pittman allowed Texas to hold onto the slim lead.
The Longhorns pushed the lead to 58-47 when Pittman dunked over Hamilton and Johnson blocked a shot and grabbed it to set up Justin Mason's layup.
The Cyclones wouldn't let Texas get comfortable. Lucca Staiger twice got lost in the corner for wide open shots before the Longhorns finally put the game away. Two nifty passes under the basket from Varez Ward to Pittman and Connor Atchley led to easy baskets that put Texas up 67-57 with four minutes to play.
Staiger finished with 15 points.
POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM
- Held an opponent under 40% from the field for the 10th time this season, improving to 9-1 on the season and 160-15 in the Rick Barnes era when accomplishing the feat
- Improved to 11-0 in Big 12 Conference home openers during the Rick Barnes era
- Improved to 10-1 in Big 12 Conference openers during the Rick Barnes era
- Improved to 10-8 all-time against Iowa State
- Improved to 120-10 (.923) in home games against unranked (AP) opponents during the Rick Barnes era, including winning 81 of their last 85
- Won their 18th straight home game and posted their 100th win in their last 106 games at the Erwin Center
- Set a school record by winning their 13th consecutive Big 12 home game, topping a 12-game Big 12 home win streak they logged from 2000-01
- Owned a 23-5 advantage in bench scoring
A.J. Abrams
- Moved into 19th place on the list for most career points in Big 12 history with 1,651, tying Iowa State's Curtis Stinson (1,651 - 2004-06) and passing Oklahoma's Eduardo Najera (1,646 - 1998-2000)
Connor Atchley
- Moved into third place on the list for most career blocks in UT history with 169, passing Brad Buckman (168 - 2003-06)
- Moved into ninth place on the list for most career blocks in Big 12 history with 169, passing Brad Buckman (168 - 2003-06)
Damion James
- Scored 10 or more points for the 14th time this season and the 52nd time in 88 career games
- Averaged 16.6 points and 10.4 rebounds over the last five games
Gary Johnson
- Scored 10 or more points for the 10th time this season and the 14th time in 37 career games
- Averaged 16.8 points and 8.4 rebounds over the last five games
Justin Mason
- In the last seven games, Mason has logged 39 assists against just seven turnovers
- In the last nine games, Mason has logged 52 assists against just 10 turnovers
Dexter Pittman
- Scored 10 or more points for the seventh time this season and the 10th time in 80 career games
TEXAS QUOTES
HEAD COACH Rick Barnes On improving after tonight's game: We need to make the shot. They were giving us the shot from seven feet but we couldn't hit them. There is no doubt that I felt that Iowa State had made a real conscious effort to rebound the ball. The last couple of games we have rebounded well and Iowa State did a good job of packing the guys in tight and making it hard for us to grab offensive boards.
On his players' performance: A.J. (Abrams) struggled and I thought today was the first time he was pressing a little bit. We have some things that are sorting out. Gary Johnson is starting to be consistent. Damion (James) came in and played right where we wanted to play in terms of minutes. Varez [Ward] came in and played an excellent part defensively. We challenged the guys to play today with no turnover and I think this is the fewest we've had this year.
On Damion James' mid-range jumper: That should be his shot. He's really good right there, he's really good at that. That's a great range for him, Gary is really good as well, but for Damion, he could take that shot all night long.
SENIOR GUARD A.J. Abrams On his teammates: They are doing a good job of picking up when I'm not scoring. Gary (Johnson) and Dexter [Pittman] did a good job inside today and at times it can be frustrating but I can't let it get to me because it's opened up so many opportunities for my teammates.
On getting the ball to the inside: That's what we've been working on. People have been focusing on me coming off screens and when I have the ball so if our big guys can slip to the basket, we'll have some easy layups or dunks.
On the game at Oklahoma: I think we're ready. We've gotten a lot better in practice; we've been working on things that we need to get better on. We're doing a good job on improving and if we can play good defense and rebound the ball, the offense will tend to take care of itself.
JUNIOR FORWARD Damion James On closing out the game: We really got stops when it was time to get stops. We needed those stops to win this ball game and we got them. A.J. had a big shot and then we got stops and that allowed us to build that lead and close the game out.
On being challenged to take the shot: It's cool with me. We work so hard on our individual game and if they don't play us like that, then we have to do what we have to do. it was hard to get rebounds, and they out rebounded us by six so we're a little disappointed with that.
On the game at Oklahoma: It's going to be great. It is what you play college ball for these types of games. Oklahoma maybe has the best player in the country with Blake Griffin. He's a great player and that's a great program. It's going to be a great crowd, it's going to be so much fun. I'm looking forward to play against Blake because he might be the best player in the country.
SOPHOMORE FORWARD Gary Johnson On Iowa State backing off the jump shot: I just tried to capitalize on that, I felt like that we did a really good job.
On becoming a reliable scorer: I feel like the team needs an extra boost. A.J. (Abrams) is getting tougher defenders and Damion (James) is also getting tougher defense every night so I feel like somebody has to step up and take on the challenge for us. That is what I'm trying to do for the team right now.
IOWA STATE QUOTES
HEAD COACH GREG McDERMOTT
General statement: I'm proud of the way my team competed, especially being down 12 in the first half and having (Craig) Brackins on the bench with a couple fouls. I was pleased with the way we battled back and kept ourselves in the game at halftime. We actually started the second half exactly how we needed to start it. We got three stops and got it to a one-point game, had the ball in our hands on a rebound with a chance to take the lead, but it gets tipped out and they dunk it. Those are the kind of plays, we're not at the point where we can afford to have that happen right now. We would have to come in here and play a pretty perfect game to beat Texas. As Lucca (Staiger) mentioned, they followed our defensive plan pretty well. Obviously we were going to pack in there and make it tough on their inside guys, and also make it tough on Abrams. I really felt like Bryan Petersen and Sean Haluska did a good job making his looks difficult. They just beat us to a few balls down the stretch.
On the mid-range success of Damion James and Gary Johnson: That was a chance we had to take. We're relatively young and inexperienced inside at a couple spots, and to provide some help on the block, we chose to see how well those guys could shoot it from the mid-range level. To their credit, especially Gary Johnson in the first half, they made us pay for it.
On the performance of Craig Brackins with two fouls: Well we were able to get back in the game. We hung in there and I told myself, if we could keep it under 10, I'd leave him on the bench. They got it to 12 so we put him back in. He wasn't the one scored, but he was certainly part of the defense that allowed us to get back into the game.
On the driving ability and health of Lucca Staiger: It's coming with time. He needs to be put in those situations more. I was pleased with his decision making for the most part when he put it on the floor, because when he's done that in the past, sometimes his decisions haven't been quite as good. But he created some opportunities for his teammates this afternoon and that was encouraging.
SOPHOMORE FORWARD CRAIG BRACKINS
On facing the front line of Texas: It was tough. They kept throwing different players at me, trying to disrupt what I was trying to do. But in the second half, I felt like I played a little better. It's something that I definitely have to work on.
On the current and future state of the team: I think we're doing pretty well. I think we're going to learn from this game a lot. We found out where we are and we need to progress with that, and get better.
SOPHOMORE GUARD LUCCA STAIGER
On driving to the basket more today: I'm playing like I've practiced lately. I need to do that more and I know that. I just had the opportunity today and took advantage of it.
On whether his knee is feeling better after an injury earlier in the season: It's feeling better. It's getting better every day and I'm glad.
