The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
17-4, 6-2
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Kansas
16-5, 7-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas | 23 | 46 | 69 |
| Texas | 38 | 43 | 81 |
No. 25 Men's Basketball earns sixth straight win after downing No. 6 Kansas
02.01.2014 | Men's Basketball
Isaiah Taylor scored 23 points, Jonathan Holmes had 22 as the Longhorns beat the Jayhawks 81-69 on Saturday.
Box Score | Postgame Notes | Postgame Quotes | Photo Gallery
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Don't crown sixth-ranked Kansas as Big 12 champions just yet. There's another team with serious designs on winning the title.
And surprise, surprise: It's the surging Texas Longhorns.
Isaiah Taylor scored 23 points, Jonathan Holmes had 22 and No. 25 Texas beat the Jayhawks 81-69 on Saturday for its sixth consecutive victory.
Texas, which lost its top four scorers from last year's 16-18 squad, has been the surprise of the Big 12. The Longhorns have four consecutive wins over Top 25 opponents and now sit in second place after dominating a team that had been playing as well as anyone in the country in recent weeks.
"We've got pretty good momentum," Holmes said. "We've got to keep it going."
The Longhorns (17-4, 6-2) thumped the Jayhawks with suffocating defense that held the Big 12's best shooting team to 39 percent from the floor. Kansas freshman Andrew Wiggins, who averaged 24 points over the previous three games, scored seven before fouling out late.
Texas put together one of its most impressive wins in years. The Longhorns outshot and outrebounded the Jayhawks, had 12 blocks, and once they built a double-digit lead, never left Kansas an opening to rally.
"I thought our big guys played pretty soft. We didn't do a good job attacking the rim like we should," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "Their speed offset our length."
Wayne Selden Jr., scored 21 for the Jayhawks (16-5, 7-1).
Taylor, a freshman guard who scored 27 a week earlier against Baylor, continued to slash his way through the lane for layups and floating jumpers. Holmes hit from inside and outside and also went 9 for 10 from the free-throw line.
Cameron Ridley added nine points, 10 rebounds and four blocks for Texas, winning his battle under the basket with Joel Embiid, Kansas' 7-foot center. Prince Ibeh also had four blocks for Texas.
The first half was pure frustration for the Jayhawks, who came in shooting 51 percent as a team. Nothing, not even the open shots, seemed to find their way in the basket.
Texas' zone defense held the Jayhawks to 8-of-31 shooting in the half. Taylor and Holmes each scored 11 points and Ridley used his powerful body to push around the slender Embiid.
When Holmes blocked a shot, grabbed the loose ball and raced up the court for a layup, the Jayhawks' Frank Mason met him at the basket with a hard foul and the two players had to be separated. Kansas' Brannen Greene was then whistled for a technical foul. Holmes made three of four free throws and Texas led 38-23 at halftime.
Taylor said Longhorns coach Rick Barnes' halftime speech urged them to keep up the pressure.
"He told us to keep our foot on their throat and don't let up," Taylor said.
Texas blew it open early in the second half with an emphatic basket by Ridley: a one-step, two-handed dunk over Embiid. Ridley converted the three-point play and Texas led 47-27.
Kansas finally answered with consecutive 3-pointers but the Jayhawks couldn't piece together a run that could pull them close. Texas wouldn't let them. Holmes had a key 3-pointer and followed it with another tough layup.
Demarcus Holland had the task of guarding Wiggins most of the game and despite giving up six inches, did a masterful job of frustrating the freshman into a rough shooting night. Wiggins fouled out with just over two minutes left, ending a 2-for-12 performance from the field.
"I tried to box him out every opportunity," Holland said. "Cam and Prince were scaring him and he was settling for jump shots."
After four straight games against ranked opponents, Texas next plays TCU, which is winless in the Big 12, before starting the second part of the conference schedule.
"We're a good team," Barnes said. "But it's such a fine line between winning and losing. If you start drinking the poison, it will all get away from you."
Postgame Notes
Team Notes
• With today's win over No. 6/7 Kansas, UT has now defeated four consecutive AP Top 25 opponents in four consecutive games for the first time in school history (No. 8 Iowa State – Jan. 18, No. 22 Kansas State – Jan. 21, at No. 24/23 Baylor – Jan. 25).
• UT tied a school record by winning its fourth consecutive game against an AP Top 25 opponent. The Longhorns won four straight (in a five-game span) against AP Top 25 opponents during the 2010-11 season (No. 11 Texas A&M on Jan. 19, at No. 2 Kansas on Jan. 22, No. 11 Missouri on Jan. 29, at No. 16 Texas A&M on Jan. 31).
• The Longhorns improved to 5-2 against AP Top 25 teams this season.
• This marks the first time Texas has defeated two AP Top 10 opponents at home in a season since the 2002-03 Final Four year. UT defeated No. 9 Oklahoma State (78-65) on Feb. 1, 2003. Texas also defeated No. 5 Oklahoma (67-61) on Feb. 10, 2003.
• UT now owns a 14-9 (.609) mark against AP Top 10 opponents under Rick Barnes at the Erwin Center.
• UT now owns a 33-18 (.647) mark against AP Top 10 opponents under Rick Barnes at the Erwin Center.
• The 12-point margin of victory by UT over Kansas was the largest since Feb. 25, 2006 when the No. 7 Longhorns defeated the No. 16 Jayhawks 80-55… a span of 14 games.
• UT is off to its best 21-game start (17-4) to a season since 2010-11 (started 18-3). It marks the seventh time in the Rick Barnes era (last 16 years) that the Horns have opened the year with at least 17 wins in their first 21 contests (18-3 in 2005-06, 2009-10, 2010-11; 17-4 in 2002-03, 2003-04, 2007-08).
• Through 21 games last year, the Longhorns had posted a 10-11 overall record, including a 2-6 mark in Big 12 Conference play. This season, the Horns are off to a 17-4 start, including a 6-2 mark in league play.
• Texas held Kansas to only 69 points, which were the fewest in Big 12 action for the Jayhawks this season.
• The Longhorns held the Jayhawks to just 25.8 percent from the field (8-of-31) in the first half, including a 1-for-6 mark (.167) from three-point range. Kansas opened up shooting 4-of-4, and then shot 4-of-27 (.148) to finish the rest of the half.
• UT held Kansas to 38.5% FG shooting for the game (25-of-65). Texas has held 13 of its first 21 opponents to under 40% FG shooting (13-0 record in those games).
• Texas outshot its opponent from the field (42.9 percent to 38.5 percent) for the 16th time this season (15-1 in those games).
• Texas' 12 blocks matched a season high and were one shy of the school single-game record (13, twice). It also tied the UT record for most blocks in a Big 12 game (fifth time in Big 12 play, last was Feb. 8, 2010 vs. No. 1 Kansas). Texas has had 10+ blocks three times this season.
• UT posted a 44-37 advantage on the glass. Texas has outrebounded 16 of its first 21 opponents and is 14-2 in those games.
• Texas held Kansas to just 23 first-half points. Texas' last Big 12 opponent to score fewer points in a half was on Feb. 2, 2013 when TCU scored 20 points in the first half.
• Texas had two players score 20+ points (Taylor with 23, Holmes with 22) for the first time since Jan. 5, 2013 at Baylor when Javan Felix and Sheldon McClellan scored 26 and 21 points, respectively.
• The Longhorns are averaging only 9.75 turnovers per game over the last four contests, while forcing 13.5 turnovers per game in that span.
• The attendance of 16,540 was the first sellout since Jan. 21, 2012 when Texas faced No.7/7 Kansas (16,540).
Individual Notes
• Matched a career high in rebounds with 11
• Recorded his third double-figure rebounding game this season and third in his career (55 games)
• Served as primary defender on KU's Andrew Wiggins, and limited Wiggins to seven points (2-of-12 FG).
• Reached the 20-point mark (22 points, one shy of career high) for the third time this season and in his career (83 games).
• Reached double figures in scoring for the 16th time this year and 34th time in his career.
• Set a career high in FT made (9-of-10)
• Tied his career high in steals (three) and blocked shots (three)
• Recorded four blocks in 17 minutes (one shy of his career high). This marked the third game this year that Ibeh has recorded at least four blocks.
• Recorded his eighth double-figure rebounding game (10 rebounds) this season and 11th in his career (54 games).
• Added four blocks in 23 minutes. This marked the sixth game this year that Ridley has recorded at least four blocks.
• Reached the 20-point mark (23) for the second straight game and second time this year (21 games).
• Reached double figures in scoring for the 17th time this season.
• Over the last two games, Taylor is averaging 25.0 ppg (17-of-32 FG, 15-of-16 FT) in 31.5 mpg.
Postgame Quotes
Texas Head Coach Rick Barnes
On Demarcus Holland: He was outstanding. All year long I am not sure if people have appreciated what he does. I'm telling you though, his teammates and our staff appreciate him. What he does and what you see him do, and I've said it before, he does it every day in practice. He understood what he needed to do. He's a competitor.
On defending Kansas: Bill Self does a terrific job getting the ball into high percentage shots. Half of their points come from in the lane, and we wanted to really take that away first as a team. You can't do that one-on-one or two-on-two, you have to do it as a group. The effort is what it comes down to.
On how big this win was: I am very happy and excited for our guys, because they went and earned it. They worked hard and deserve this kind of atmosphere. I told them before the game that they deserve it, but are going to have to earn it. They did that, but the fact is that we are not even half through conference play. We are a good team. But it is such a fine line between winning and losing, that if you start drinking the poison and think that you are there, it all gets away. This is one game, and I want them to enjoy it because they should, but we have a long way to go.
Texas Player Quotes
Freshman G Isaiah Taylor
On his growth during a short period of time: It started this summer. It was a big learning process for me taking on a leadership role in the team, and just having my teammates around. I had a tough stretch at the beginning of the Big 12. They've just been encouraging me on and off the court, just keep it going just keep attacking the basket
On Coach Barnes' message at halftime: He told us that we were good defensively and just to keep the pressure up, he really didn't care about the offense. Offense is always going to come for a team like us, but we always need to keep our defensive pressure up and keep competing throughout the whole 40 minutes. We knew we were up double digits at half time, and he just told us to keep our foot on their throat and not to let up defensively.
Sophomore G Demarcus Holland
On holding Kansas' Andrew Wiggins below his average points per game: I had confidence that my teammates were going to have my back. I knew he would try to be aggressive and put fouls on me to get me out of the game. I knew he liked to crash the boards, so I tried to box him out every opportunity I got. Cam and Prince Ibeh were scaring him so he started settling for jump shots
On if he measures his success by his defensive play: I always like to be involved in the impact plays that are not on the box scores all the time. I think on good teams you've got to have that one guy that's always in the right spot, always trying to get an offensive rebound, and trying to box out a key player, and trying to contain a key player on another team. I think that's what I do every game.
Junior F Jonathan Holmes
On where the team is now: I think we're in a pretty good place. We've won six in a row, including four against Top 25 teams, so we're in a pretty good place. We've got some pretty good momentum, we just got to keep getting better and get ready for TCU on Tuesday.
On the effect of the crowd on the game: Our fans were great today. They got us up from the beginning all the way to the end. It can have a good effect on you. If you're the other team and you're coming into a place that's loud, it can kind of mess with you calling plays and mess with your mental focus a lot of times for young teams. Our crowd was really big today, and we'll look to build on that turnout for the rest of the year.
Kansas Quotes
Head Coach Bill Self
On loss to Texas: They had us on our heels the whole game. They were more prepared to play than we were. They looked fresher and a lot faster than us to start with. The whole deal is that their speed offset our length, but they played really well. I thought [Texas freshman guard Isaiah [Taylor] was the best player in the game. They protected the rim and their big guys played much better than our big guys. It was pretty much a dominating performance by the Longhorns over us today. We never put real pressure on them.
On surprises during the game: Yeah, I thought we would play better. I certainly knew Texas would play good. We can come down here and play well and lose, that's our league and that's every time you play. We didn't give ourselves the best chance and certainly Texas had a ton to do with that.
On Texas' speed: When you play [Texas sophomore guard Demarcus] Holland and you play Taylor and whether you play [Texas sophomore guard Javan] Felix or [Texas freshman guard Kendal] Yancy or [Texas freshman guard Damarcus] Croaker or whatever, you are playing five little guys that all are first, second step quick. That is not who we are, so I thought we had a really hard time getting the ball out of the paint. I thought they really exposed us.
Sophomore F Perry Ellis
On the difficulty of going inside against the Texas: They definitely had a big line up. I tried to continue to attack.
On the number of his shots that were blocked: It happens. We did not come with a lot of energy tonight, a loss is the result of that.
Freshman G Wayne Selden Jr.
On the game: As a team we did not play good as a whole. We did not play with energy. We came out really flat, it was a mindset thing. We were dull. We did not play Kansas basketball. We were not focused. We did not play defense. We were not executing.
On the loss of energy in the game: It is a long season, we may have gotten caught up. We have to take it one game at time.
