The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
20-16
TCU
23-14
Men's Basketball defeats TCU, 58-44, in NIT Semifinals
04.03.2019 | Men's Basketball
Senior guard Kerwin Roach II posts a game-high 22 points, and the Longhorns hold TCU to 28.3-percent field goal shooting.
Shaka Smart post-game press conference transcript
NEW YORK, N.Y. — Senior guard Kerwin Roach II scored a game-high 22 points to lead The University of Texas Men's Basketball team (20-16) to a 58-44 win against TCU (23-14) in the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. With the win, the Longhorns advance to the NIT Championship Game and face Lipscomb (29-7) on Thursday, April 4 (6 p.m. Central, ESPN).
The Texas defense proved to be the main catalyst in the victory. The Longhorns held TCU to 44 points on 28.3-percent field goal shooting (17-60), including a 19.0-percent mark (4-21) from three-point range. UT limited TCU to just seven assists while forcing 11 turnovers.
Roach converted 9-of-14 field goals while adding 3 assists in 28 minutes. Senior forward Dylan Osetkowski added 13 points and 9 rebounds in 31 minutes.
Roach accounted for seven straight points as Texas built a 12-8 lead at the 14:02 mark. Sophomore guard Jase Febres connected on his second 3-pointer of the half to cap a 7-0 run that pushed the lead to nine (23-14) with 5:59 remaining.
The Longhorns held TCU to just one point over the final 5:13 of the first half, sending Texas into the locker room with a 14-point cushion (31-17) at the break. UT held the Horned Frogs to their lowest scoring half (17 points) of the season.
TCU used a 10-2 spurt to trim the deficit to five points (38-33) at the 11:24 mark after a Kouat Noi layup. Texas answered with a 6-0 run to stretch the lead back to 11 (44-33) on an Osetkowski basket with 7:19 left. The lead did not dip below eight points for the remainder of the contest and remained in double figures for the final 5:38.
Texas Basketball Postgame Notes
Texas 58, TCU 44
NIT Semifinals
April 2, 2019
Madison Square Garden (New York, N.Y.)
Attendance: 4,599
Team Notes
- With the victory, Texas advances to the NIT Championship Game. The Longhorns will play Lipscomb (29-7) on Thursday, April 4 in Madison Square Garden. Tip is set for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.
- The Longhorns improved to 10-3 all-time in five NIT appearances, including a perfect 3-0 mark in NIT contests played at Madison Square Garden (2-0 in 1978, 1-0 this year).
- UT improved to 109-68 in the all-time series against TCU. Texas has won 18 of the last 25 meetings against the Horned Frogs.
- Texas limited TCU to just 44 points on 28.3-percent FG shooting (17-60), including a 19.0-percent mark (4-21) from three-point range.
- The 44 points allowed marked an opponent team season low.
- The Longhorns recorded a 34-22 advantage in points in the paint and a 22-10 edge in bench scoring.
- UT had 15 assists (on 23 field goals made) against 10 turnovers. TCU posted 7 assists against 11 turnovers.
- Texas limited TCU to 17 points on 28.0-percent FG shooting (7-25), including an 0-of-6 mark from three-point range, in the first half. The Horned Frogs had 1 assist against 6 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.
- The 17 points scored by TCU marked the fewest first-half total allowed by Texas this season (previous: 19 by Colorado in previous game, March 27).
- Reached double figures in scoring (13 points) for the 19th time this year (35 games) and 44th time in his UT career (69 games)
- His 8 assists were two shy of his career high (10 at Baylor on Feb. 27)
- Topped the 20-point mark (game-high 22 points) for the second time in three games, fifth time this year (29 games) and 12th time in his career (126 games)
- Reached double figures in scoring for the 25th time this year and 71st time in his career
- Moved past J'Covan Brown (1,376) and Larry Robinson (1,377) on UT's all-time career scoring list and now ranks 17th in career scoring with 1,395 points (Chris Mihm is 16th with 1,404 points)
