The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
11-3,0-1Big 12
Texas Tech
12-2,1-0Big 12
No. 20/22 Men's Basketball falls to Texas Tech, 78-67
01.06.2024 | Men's Basketball
Hunter posts a team-high 20 points, and Mitchell adds his sixth double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
AUSTIN, Texas — Junior guard Tyrese Hunter registered a team-high 20 points, but No. 20/22 Texas (11-3, 0-1 Big 12) dropped a 78-67 decision to Texas Tech (12-2, 1-0 Big 12) on Saturday night in Moody Center. The Longhorns fell for just the second time in 27 contests inside Moody Center, and both losses have come in UT's Big 12 home opener in each of the last two seasons.
Hunter converted 8-of-16 field goals and added three assists, two rebounds and one steal in 34 minutes. Sophomore forward Dillon Mitchell recorded his sixth double-double in his first 14 games with 16 points (7-14 FG) and 11 rebounds and tied his career high with four assists in 34 minutes.
Graduate guard Max Abmas tallied 18 points (6-12 FG, 4-7 threes, 2-2 FT), five assists and four rebounds in 37 minutes. Abmas moved into fifth place in the all-time NCAA Division I career three-point field goals made chart (460), surpassing J.J. Redick of Duke (457). Abmas also climbed to No. 20 on the all-time NCAA career points list (2,803), passing Allan Houston of Tennessee (2,801).
The Longhorns jumped out to a 12-6 advantage following a pair of Abmas free throws at the 13:51 mark. Texas Tech trimmed the margin to 12-10 after a Warren Washington jumper with 13:02 remaining, before Texas scored five-straight points to build a 17-10 cushion following a Hunter layup at the 11:59 mark.
Texas Tech responded with a 13-2 run over the next four-plus minutes to grab a 23-19 lead after a Joe Toussaint three-pointer with 7:40 left. The Longhorns tied the contest at 28-28 following a Hunter three-pointer at the 4:06 mark, but the Red Raiders closed the half on a 9-5 run to take a 37-33 advantage into the break. Hunter paced the Longhorns with 14 points (6-10 FG) in the opening 20 minutes.
Texas opened the second half with a 6-0 run over the first 1:34 to grab a 39-37 lead after a Mitchell put-back at the 18:17 mark. An Abmas three-pointer evened the contest at 42-42 with 17:26 remaining, but Texas Tech responded by scoring four-straight points to build a 46-42 cushion after a pair of Pop Isaacs free throws at the 14:29 mark.
The Longhorns trimmed the deficit to a single point (52-51) following a Dylan Disu layup with 12:06 left, before the Red Raiders used a 9-1 spurt over the next three-plus minutes to increase their cushion to 61-52 after a Darrion Williams layup at the 8:55 mark. Texas cut the gap to 66-61 following a pair of Hunter free throws with 4:53 remaining, but that was as close as the Longhorns would get for the rest of the contest.
Texas returns to action when it travels to face Cincinnati on Tuesday, Jan. 9. Tip is scheduled for 6 p.m. Central (7 p.m. Eastern) at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, and the game will be streamed nationally by Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
Texas Basketball Postgame Notes
Texas Tech 78, #20/22 Texas 67
January 6, 2024
Moody Center (Austin, Texas)
Attendance: 10,641
Team Notes
- Texas dropped to 25-2 all-time in games played at Moody Center, including a 9-1 mark this season.
- The Longhorns also lost their Big 12 Conference home opener last year (116-103 defeat to Kansas State on Jan. 3).
- Texas fell to 18-10 all-time in Big 12 Conference openers and 20-8 in Big 12 Conference home-opening contests.
- UT posted a plus-11 (38-27) rebound margin, including a 15-4 margin on the offensive glass.
- Texas recorded a 21-5 advantage in second-chance points.
- The Longhorns allowed an opponent team season high in field goal percentage (.528, 28-53) and Texas Tech's 46.7-percent (7-15) mark from three-point range tied UT's opponent team season high (Marquette, 14-30).
- UT posted a team season low in field goal percentage (.413, 26-63) and tied its team season low in assists (12).
- Reached double figures in scoring (18 points) for the 14th time this year (14 games) and 126th time in his career (137 games)
- Has now reached double figures in scoring in 36 consecutive games
- Moved into No. 20 on the NCAA all-time Division I career scoring list and now has 2,803 points in 137 games (passed Allan Houston of Tennessee at 2,801). Next up at No. 19 is Kevin Bradshaw (Bethune-Cookman) at 2,804.
- Moved into No. 5 on the NCAA all-time Division I career three-point field goals made list and now has 460 in 137 games (passed J.J. Redick of Duke at 457). Next up at No. 4 is Travis Bader (Oakland) at 504.
- Set his season high in steals (2)
- Topped the 20-point mark (team-high 20 points) for the second time this year (13 games) and eighth time in his career (86 games)
- Reached double figures in scoring for the 11th time this year and 51st time in his career
- Recorded a double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds) for the sixth time this year (14 games) and seventh time in his career (52 games)
- Tied his career high in assists (4)
- Reached double figures in scoring for the eighth time this year and 14th time in his career
- Reached double digits in rebounds for the eighth time this season and 10th time in his career
- Four of his 11 rebounds came off the offensive glass
