The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
12-6,1-4SEC
Florida
16-2,3-2SEC
Men's Basketball falls 84-60 at No. 5/4 Florida
01.18.2025 | Men's Basketball
Kaluma and Onyema each register double-doubles to pace the Longhorns on Saturday in Gainesville.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Senior forwards Arthur Kaluma and Ze'Rik Onyema each recorded double-doubles, but Texas (12-6, 1-4 SEC) dropped an 84-60 decision at No. 5/4 Florida (16-2, 3-2 SEC) on Saturday inside Exactech Arena. This marked the first meeting on the hardcourt between the Longhorns and Gators since the 1997-98 season.
Texas played an AP Top-5 opponent for the third time in its last four contests, as the Longhorns previously faced No. 2 Auburn and No. 1 Tennessee during the stretch. All four of UT's losses in Southeastern Conference play have come against opponents ranked in the top-13 of The AP poll at the time of the matchup, as Texas also played at No. 13 Texas A&M to open league play.
Onyema recorded 12 points (4-7 FG, 4-4 FT) and a season-high 10 rebounds to go along with a career-high three assists and two steals in a season-best 25 minutes off the bench. Kaluma registered 10 points (4-9 FG) and 10 rebounds in 32 minutes. Freshman Tre Johnson tallied 16 points in 35 minutes, while graduate Tramon Mark added 12 points (4-9 FG, 2-3 threes, 2-2 FT) and three boards in 29 minutes.
After a Rueben Chinyelu jumper gave the Gators an early 3-2 lead at the 18:10 mark, the Longhorns answered with a 10-3 run over the next four minutes to take a 12-6 advantage following a Johnson jumper with 14:17 left. An Onyema layup built an 18-13 cushion at the 12:10 mark, but Florida responded with a 15-0 spurt over the next six minutes to grab a 28-18 advantage after a Denzel Aberdeen layup with 6:18 remaining.
Texas trimmed the margin to 30-26 following a pair of Mark free throws at the 2:36 mark, but the Gators scored five straight points to increase their cushion to 35-26 after a pair of Walter Clayton Jr. free throws with 1:45 left. The Longhorns scored four of the final six points of the half to cut the deficit to 37-30 at the break.
Florida pushed the lead to 49-38 following a Will Richard three-pointer at the 14:36 mark, before Texas scored four straight points to close to within 49-42 after a Kaluma dunk with 13:36 remaining. The Gators increased their advantage to 57-45 following a pair of Clayton Jr. free throws at the 10:54 mark, before the Longhorns scored five straight points to trim the margin to 57-50 after a pair of Onyema free throws with 10:06 left.
A Johnson jumper brought Texas to within 59-52 at the 9:17 mark. Mark recorded a steal on Florida's ensuing possession, and the Longhorns had a chance to cut into the deficit but could not convert. A Kaluma layup trimmed the lead to 61-54 with 8:24 remaining, but that was as close as Texas could get the rest of the way. Clayton Jr. knocked down a three-pointer to give Florida a 64-54 cushion at the 7:59 mark, and beginning with that basket, the Gators closed out the game on a 23-6 run.
Texas returns to action when it hosts Missouri on Tuesday, Jan. 21. Tip is scheduled for 8 p.m. Central at Moody Center, and the contest will be televised nationally by SEC Network.
Texas Basketball Postgame Notes
#5/4 Florida 84, Texas 60
January 18, 2025
Exactech Arena (Gainesville, Fla.)
Attendance: 11,107
Team Notes
- This marked the first meeting between Texas and Florida on the hardcourt since the 1997-98 season.
- UT faced an AP Top-5 opponent for the third time in its last four contests (No. 2 Auburn, No. 1 Tennessee and No. 5 Florida).
- The Longhorns dropped to 2-2 in true road games and 4-3 in games played away from Austin (2-1 in neutral-site contests) this season.
- Texas trailed by seven points (61-54) with 8:24 remaining, but Florida closed out the contest with a 23-6 run.
- The Longhorns converted 84.2-percent (16-19) from the free throw line during the game, including a perfect 8-of-8 mark in the first half.
- Reached double figures in scoring (16 points) for the 15th time in his career (17 games)
- Recorded a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) for the fourth time this year (18 games) and 12th time in his career (119 games)
- Reached double figures in scoring for the 14th time this season and 82nd time in his career
- Reached double digits in rebounds for the sixth time this year and 15th time in his career
- Reached double figures in scoring (12 points) for the eighth time this season (14 games) and 66th time in his career (120 games)
- Recorded a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds) for the first time this season (18 games) and third time in his career (103 games)
- Set his career high in assists (3)
- Reached double figures in scoring for the third time this season and 16th time in his career
- Reached double digits in rebounds for the first time this year and third time in his career
- Set his season highs in rebounds and minutes (25)
