The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
16-10,5-8SEC
Kentucky
17-8,6-6SEC
Men's Basketball defeats No. 15/18 Kentucky, 82-78
02.16.2025 | Men's Basketball
Johnson posted a career-high 32 points, while Mark added a season-high 26 points in Saturday night’s home victory.
AUSTIN, Texas — Freshman Tre Johnson recorded a career-high 32 points, while graduate guard Tramon Mark added a season-high 26 points to lead Texas (16-10, 5-8 SEC) to an 82-78 win over No. 15/18 Kentucky (17-8, 6-6 SEC) on Saturday evening before a sellout crowd inside Moody Center. This marked UT's third victory over an AP Top 25 opponent this season, as the Longhorns previously defeated No. 22 Missouri and No. 13 Texas A&M.
Johnson converted 11-of-26 field goals and 9-of-10 free throws while adding a career-best nine rebounds (five offensive) and three assists in 36 minutes. Mark hit a season-best 9-of-14 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from three-point range, and 5-of-6 free throws while posting two assists, two steals and two blocked shots in 33 minutes.
The back-and-forth contest featured nine ties and seven lead changes, and neither team led by more than eight points during the game. Texas limited Kentucky to 41.9-percent (26-62) from the floor, including a 25.0-percent mark (6-24) from three-point range. The Longhorns converted 19-of-23 (.826) from the free throw line and posted a 21-12 advantage in points off turnovers.
Kentucky jumped out to a 9-2 cushion after a Travis Perry three-pointer at the 16:34 mark. The Longhorns answered with six straight points to cut the margin to a 9-8 after a Jordan Pope jumper with 15:10 left. After an Otega Oweh dunk gave the Wildcats a 15-12 advantage at the 12:27 mark, Texas went on a 12-4 run over the next three-and-a-half minutes to grab a 24-19 lead following a Johnson layup with 8:50 remaining.
A Johnson dunk provided the Longhorns with a 30-26 cushion at the 5:33 mark, but Kentucky responded with an 11-2 spurt over the next three minutes to take a 37-32 advantage after an Oweh layup with 2:26 left. Texas tallied five straight points to even the score at 37-37 following a Mark layup at the 1:41 mark, before the Wildcats scored the final four points of the half to take a 41-37 cushion into the break.
Kentucky increased its lead to 48-41 after an Ansley Almanor three-pointer at the 16:58 mark. The Longhorns answered with a 13-3 run over the next four-plus minutes to grab a 54-51 advantage following a Mark three-point play with 12:39 remaining. A Jayson Kent dunk gave Texas a 58-55 lead at the 10:26 mark, but the Wildcats used a 10-2 spurt to take a 65-60 advantage after an Andrew Carr layup with 5:43 left.
An Amari Williams put-back gave Kentucky a 69-64 lead at the 3:51 mark, before the Longhorns went on a game-sealing 14-1 run over the next 3:17 to build a 78-70 cushion after a pair of Johnson free throws with 34 seconds left.
Texas Basketball Postgame Notes
Texas 82, #15/18 Kentucky 78
February 15, 2025
Moody Center (Austin, Texas)
Attendance: 11,060
Team Notes
- This marked just the third all-time meeting between Texas and Kentucky and the first time the Longhorns have played host to the Wildcats in Austin. UT improved to 1-2 against Kentucky in the all-time series.
- UT recorded its third victory against an AP Top 25 opponent this season (No. 22 Missouri, No. 13 Texas A&M and No. 15 Kentucky). The Longhorns also earned their fourth Quad 1 win of the season.
- UT is now 41-10 all-time in games played in Moody Center. The Longhorns improved to 10-6 against AP Top 25 opponents.
- Head Coach Rodney Terry has now registered 14 victories against AP Top 25 opponents during his time at Texas. The Longhorns are 16-9 under Terry in games decided by five points or less OR in overtime.
- Tonight's starting lineup marked the fourth different combination of players for the Longhorns in the last four games.
- The Longhorns limited the Wildcats to 41.9-percent (26-62) shooting from the floor, including a 25.0-percent mark (6-24) from three-point range, on the night.
- Texas recorded a 21-12 advantage in points off turnovers. The Longhorns allowed just 10 assists while forcing 15 turnovers.
- The contest featured seven lead changes and nine ties. Neither team led by more than eight points during the game.
- Texas converted 82.6-percent (19-23) from the free throw line, including a 17-of-21 (.810) mark in the second half.
- Set his career high in scoring (32 points) and rebounds (9)
- Five of his nine rebounds came off the offensive glass
- Tied his career high in field goals made (11-26)
- Reached the 30-point mark for the second time in his career (24 games)
- Topped the 20-point mark for the 10th time in his career
- Reached double figures in scoring for the 23rd time in his career
- Did not play (left knee injury)
- Set his season highs in rebounds (8) and minutes (29)
- Set his season highs in scoring (26 points), field goals made (9-14) and free throws made (5-6)
- Reached the 20-point mark for the first time this year (21 games) and 17th time in his career (128 games)
- Tied his season highs in three-point field goals made (3-5) and blocked shots (2)
- Reached double figures in scoring for the 11th time this season and 69th time in his career
- Registered a team-best plus-minus total of plus-19 in 25 minutes
- Posted two blocked shots in 31 minutes
- Has recorded multiple blocked shots in 16 of his first 26 contests this season
