The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Arkansas
No. 12 Men's Basketball tops Arkansas, 79-46
01.04.2011 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 4, 2011
Game Stats
| Box Score |
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Jai Lucas thought his performance against Arkansas last season earned him some minutes on Tuesday. He may just get to play all 40 next time Texas sees the Razorbacks.
Lucas, who played a season-high 23 minutes in the 79-46 victory, defended Arkansas' leading scorer Rotnei Clarke and limited him to six points until the final 48 seconds of the game. Clarke and Jeff Peterson both finished with 11 points for Arkansas (10-3).
"I had the feeling from practice that I might get more playing time tonight and I played Clarke pretty well last year, so I was ready tonight," Lucas said.
The 33 points were the greatest margin of victory by Texas in the 153 meetings of the schools, eclipsing the previous high of 24 points during 1971-72.
"It's a big game against Arkansas and we were ready to play, when we play the way we are supposed to, we will be able to put anyone we play away," Lucas said.
Jordan Hamilton scored 16 points to lead four Longhorns (12-2) in double figures as freshman Tristan Thompson added 14 points and both Gary Johnson and Lucas had 13 each. Johnson had a team-high nine rebounds while Lucas' scoring matched his career-high at Texas.
"We had a good night protecting the ball and played really good defense, Gary Johnson set a great tone for us early, he showed tremendous energy and showed the kind of leadership on the court that we have come to expect," Longhorns coach Rick Barnes said.
Jeff Peterson led the Razorbacks (10-3) with 12 points while Delvon Johnson grabbed nine rebounds and Kikko Haydar had 11 points.
Texas outrebounded Arkansas 42-32 and forced 23 turnovers while committing only 10. The biggest number was the 34 percent shooting the Longhorns held the Razorbacks to.
"Texas has a real chance to be one of those special teams, they are playing well, have a lot of offensive talent and play together real well, they are very long and really defended us well," Arkansas coach John Pelphrey.
POST-GAME NOTES
TEAM
- Texas won its 400th game at the Frank Erwin Center, improving to 400-93 (.811)
- Texas recorded its 27th consecutive non-conference home win and improved to 72-2 in non-conference home games since the start of the 2002-03 season
- Texas improved to 85-7 (.924) at the Erwin Center in the last six seasons [dating back to the start of the 2005-06 season] and 175-22 (.888) at the Erwin Center under Rick Barnes
- Texas' 33-point margin of victory was its highest ever against Arkansas. Texas defeated the Razorbacks by 24 points (117-92) on Jan. 29, 1972 in Austin
- Texas' 33-point margin of victory was its second-highest ever against a current member of the SEC. The only larger margin of victory was a 36-point win over LSU on Dec. 6, 1966 in Baton Rouge (114-78)
- Texas recorded season highs with 23 forced turnovers and 13 steals. The previous bests were 22 forced turnovers against Louisiana Tech and 12 steals against Lamar
- The 46 points by Arkansas was a season low for an opponent. The previous low was 48 points by North Florida
- Recorded a career high with five steals, topping the four he recorded against Gardner-Webb on Dec. 29, 2009
- Reached double digits in scoring (16 points) for the 13th time this season and the 31st time in his career (48 games)
- Matched a career high with two blocked shots, tying the total he recorded on two separate occasions
- Reached double digits in scoring (13 points) for the 10th time this season and the 46th time in his career (102 games)
- Reached double digits in scoring (13 points) for the first time this season, the second time in his career at Texas (37 games) and the 17th time in his collegiate career (73 games)
- Recorded a career high with six rebounds, topping the four he registered on two occasions while playing at Florida. His career high at Texas was two on seven occasions
- Reached double digits in scoring (14 points) for the 10th time this season
- Equaled a career high with three steals, matching the total he set on three prior occasions
POST-GAME QUOTES
Head coach Rick Barnes
On tonight's performance: I think we played very well. Tonight wasn't just a win because of our execution but because of our chemistry. Matt Hill really stepped it up for us. Dogus [Balbay] did an excellent job from start to finish. Gary [Johnson] also did an excellent job of setting an example on the court. He played two positions tonight, and he did so very well. I think when you have your older guys playing well the rest of the team follows.
On the benefit of the week's practice: If you watch us practice this type of performance is exactly what you would see. We practice that hard and go at each other with that intensity. We know that every day we want to get better, and tonight we looked better than we have so far.
On Arkansas' defense: You have to give them credit. They were blocking around four shots around the rim. But at halftime we looked at the stats, and I think we knew that we were better than a 40 percent team when it came to shooting. So we went out and made the necessary improvements. Ultimately, they played much better.
TEXAS PLAYER QUOTES
Freshman guard Cory Joseph
On success from three-point range against the zone: That is not our goal. Our goal is to work inside-out and when there are open shots we just take them and try and knock them down. When there are gaps in the zone you definitely want to be able to penetrate and dish. It opens up a lot of stuff when you are able to penetrate through those gaps.
On bouncing back from the loss versus USC: We definitely wanted to get the win tonight and we definitely had to come out stronger. In the last three games we let the other team create the tempo, and we definitely wanted to come out from the jump, play hard and execute.
Senior forward Gary Johnson
On his stepping up on offense today: It was definitely not by intent I guess it was just one of those games. The guys were looking for me and I was able to capitalize.
On success in a different position: They have started playing me at the small forward as well, so I don't think teams were ready for that. If we can use that down the stretch, I think it is going to be key for us to win big games.
Sophomore Guard J'Covan Brown
On success from three-point range: Cory [Joseph] did a good job finding me. Like I said, we play inside-out, I kept getting open, and if I have the chance to knock them down, I have to knock them down.
On having fun on the court: Today is one of those days where I tried to go into the game just to be happy and be helping my teammates. I've been worrying about finals too much, and now that school is over I can get back to what I love to do, and that's having fun on the court with my teammates.
ARKANSAS QUOTES
Head coach John Pelphrey
On tonight's performance: We didn't anticipate ourselves playing this poorly. But we have to Texas credit for how well they played. They did an excellent job out on the court and unfortunately we did not play well at all.
On Texas' performance overall: I studied Texas on film and there is a big difference from their play last year. I think this team is going to continue to grow and have potential to do very well. They play very well together. Every time we tried to mix up our play by going man to man or zone, they still hurt us.
On Texas' defense: They are very good. They are very focused. We did not do a very good job responding to the pressure. Their defense was impressive tonight both on the perimeter and the interior.
