Texas Basketball: Hot Shooting and Unexpected Contributions Led Horns to Win
Texas' four-game losing streak came to an end tonight with a big 70-56 win over the Horned Frogs in Austin, Texas.
Things didn't look good early on as Texas stumbled out of the gate, falling to a 9-2 deficit in the early minutes. Things quickly changed for Shaka Smart and his team due to an unexpected spark from freshman Center Will Baker. The 6-foot-11 true freshman finished the first half with 15 points en route to a 20-point career high.
“My time came,” Longhorns center Will Baker said after the game.
“Some people questioned how good of a player he was early on,” Smart added. “Will has come a long way with getting in shape... He hung in there and played through it”.
Missing junior forward Jericho Sims, Texas struggled in the paint at times during the win, but were able to overcome the hurdle with a 51 percent shooting night from the field and an impressive 60 percent from three-point range.
Sophomore Andrew Jones showed up when it mattered, yet again, with a dagger three to put the Longhorns up Seven with less than a minute remaining. Jones led the team in scoring with a career-high of his own, racking up 21 points in an impressive performance.
Texas climbs to sixth place in the Big 12 standings and completes a season sweep of the Horned Frogs. They will look to build on its recent momentum on Saturday when the Longhorns travel north to Manhattan, Kan., take on Kansas State. The game is scheduled for a 1:00 PM tip-off on CBS.