The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
17-14,6-12SEC
Oklahoma
19-12,6-12SEC
Men's Basketball falls against Oklahoma, 76-72
03.09.2025 | Men's Basketball
Pope registered a game-high 21 points to pace the Longhorns on Saturday night.
AUSTIN, Texas — Junior guard Jordan Pope posted a game-high 21 points, but Texas (17-14, 6-12 SEC) dropped a hard-fought 76-72 decision against Oklahoma (19-12, 6-12 SEC) in Moody Center on Saturday night. The Longhorns had won eight straight and nine of the last 10 meetings against the Sooners entering the contest.
The defeat spoiled UT's Senior Night, as the program honored a group of seven senior players in Cole Bott, Arthur Kaluma, Jayson Kent, Julian Larry, Tramon Mark, Ze'Rik Onyema and Kadin Shedrick in a brief pre-game ceremony.
Pope paced four Longhorns in double-figure scoring and converted 7-of-10 field goals, including 4-of-6 from three-point range, and 3-of-3 free throws to go along with four rebounds in 26 minutes. Graduate Tramon Mark registered 12 points (4-10 FG, 3-4 FT), a season-high eight rebounds and two steals in 32 minutes. Senior Arthur Kaluma posted 12 points (5-8 FG) and four rebounds in 20 minutes, while graduate Julian Larry added 10 points (3-5 FG, 2-3 threes, 2-2 FT) in 19 minutes. Freshman Tre Johnson tallied a career-high six assists and seven rebounds while scoring seven points (7-7 FT) in 34 minutes.
A back-and-forth opening half saw nine lead changes and six ties. The Sooners took an early 7-3 advantage following a pair of Jalon Moore free throws at the 17:56 mark. Texas responded with a 6-0 run over the next 80 seconds to grab a 9-7 lead after a Pope three-point play with 16:34 remaining. After a Glenn Taylor Jr. three-pointer trimmed the deficit to 16-15 at the 11:11 mark, the Longhorns scored five-straight points to build a 21-15 cushion following a pair of Larry free throws with 10:34 left.
A Larry layup gave the Longhorns a 23-18 advantage at the 9:20 mark, but the Sooners answered with a 6-0 spurt over the next two minutes to grab a 24-23 lead following a Taylor Jr. dunk with 7:27 left. Neither team led by more than three points during the remainder of the first half, and the squads went to the break tied at 37-37.
A Mark three-pointer evened the contest at 47-47 at the 14:29 mark, but Oklahoma scored five-straight points to build a 52-47 cushion following a Jeremiah Fears dunk with 13:01 remaining. A pair of Duke Miles free throws gave the Sooners a 65-62 advantage at the 5:14 mark, before Texas used a pair of Pope free throws and a layup by Pope to take a 66-65 lead with 3:47 left.
Oklahoma went on an 8-1 run over the next 90 seconds to build a 73-67 cushion after a Brycen Goodine three-pointer at the 2:11 mark. The Longhorns trimmed the margin to 75-72 following a Pope three-pointer with six seconds remaining, but Goodine hit 1-of-2 free throws with 1.9 seconds left to seal the victory.
Texas is back in action when it travels to Nashville, Tenn., to compete in the 2025 SEC Tournament. The Longhorns claimed the No. 13 seed and will face No. 12 seed Vanderbilt in the First Round on Wednesday, March 12. Tip is set for approximately 2:30 p.m. Central at Bridgestone Arena, and the contest will be televised nationally by SEC Network.
Texas Basketball Postgame Notes
Oklahoma 76, Texas 72
March 8, 2025
Moody Center (Austin, Texas)
Attendance: 11,121
Team Notes
- The victory by Oklahoma snapped an eight-game winning streak by Texas against the Sooners. The Longhorns had won nine of the last 10 meetings entering tonight's contest.
- Texas dropped to 41-12 all-time in games played in Moody Center, including an 11-7 mark in the 2024-25 season.
- The Longhorns recognized seven 'seniors' on Senior Night prior to the game, including Cole Bott, Arthur Kaluma, Jayson Kent, Julian Larry, Tramon Mark, Ze'Rik Onyema and Kadin Shedrick.
- Texas registered a plus-12 (44-32) rebound margin, including a 13-7 edge on the offensive glass.
- The contest featured 13 lead changes and 12 ties.
- Set his career high in assists (6), previous: 5, twice
- Reached double figures in scoring (12 points) for the 23rd time this season (29 games) and 91st time in his career (130 games)
- Reached double figures in scoring (10 points) for the eighth time this season (31 games) and 52nd time in his career (161 games)
- Reached double figures in scoring (12 points) for the 13th time this year (25 games) and 71st time in his career (132 games)
- Set his season high in rebounds (8)
- Topped the 20-point mark (game-high 21 points) for the third time this season (31 games) and 16th time in his career (95 games)
- Reached double figures in scoring for the 14th time this season and 68th time in his career
- Posted a game-high three blocks in 33 minutes
- Has recorded multiple blocked shots in 19 of his 31 games played this year
- Checked into the game at the 15:53 mark of the first half, making his first appearance since Jan. 7 vs. Auburn, and saw 4:42 of game action
