3 Takeaways from Texas Longhorns' Blown Lead Loss Against Auburn

The Texas Longhorns put together a resounding performance the last time they hit the court, scoring an upset 87-67 win over the then No. 21-ranked Georgia Bulldogs over the weekend. And the Longhorns looked to keep that momentum rolling when they visited the Auburn Tigers on Wednesday night.

However, the Longhorns' fire was put out after the Tigers erased a 14-point deficit and came away with an 88-82 victory, extending their win streak to four games while the Longhorns dropped their fifth conference game of the season.

The Longhorns will have to reset and look to bounce back quickly as they'll head back out on the road for the first Red River Rivalry matchup of the season, taking on the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday, Jan. 31. Taking a closer look at the Longhorns' loss to the Tigers, here are three takeaways from the ballgame.

First Half Shooting Wanes in the Second Half

Texas Longhorns forward Dailyn Swain (3) takes a shot over Auburn Tigers forward Sebastian Williams-Adams (33) during the first half at Neville Arena. | John Reed-Imagn Images

The Longhorns were lighting it up in the first half, starting on fire, especially from three-point range, as Texas began 7 of 10 from beyond the arc. The Longhorns ended the first half with a slight eight-point lead after shooting 13 of 23 from the field and 8 of 14 from beyond the arc.

In the second half, it was a completely different story as the Longhorns were unable to find the same shooting success from the field and, most importantly, from three. In the final 20 minutes of the ballgame, the Longhorns matched their made field goal attempts, shooting 13 of 27; however, they made just 4 of their 12 three-point shots in the second half.

Tramon Mark has a Rough Night

Texas Longhorns guard Tramon Mark (12) runs a play as Auburn Tigers guard Tahaad Pettiford (0) defends during the first half at Neville Arena. | John Reed-Imagn Images

One of the biggest pieces of the Longhorns' win against the Bulldogs was guard Tramon Mark, who posted a season-high 23 points while hitting 10 of his 16 field goal attempts. Mark has been catching fire in conference play, averaging 18.1 points per game, 4.1 rebounds, and 2 assists heading into Wednesday's matchup.

However, against Auburn, Mark did not have his best performance, ending the night with just four points while shooting very poorly from the field, making just 2 of his 13 shot attempts while coming up empty from three, missing the mark on all six of his attempts from beyond the arc.

Fouls Pile Up Once Again

Auburn Tigers guard Tahaad Pettiford (0) sets up a play as Texas Longhorns guard Jordan Pope (0) defends during the second half at Neville Arena. | John Reed-Imagn Images

The biggest story for the Longhorns all season has been their fouling issues, and those struggles once again reared their ugly head against the Tigers. While there was some end-of-game intentional fouling as the Longhorns looked to get back into the game, Texas racked up 26 fouls, and the Tigers shot 39 free-throws cashing in on 29 of those for points.

Jordan Pope ended the game from the bench after he fouled, while three other Longhorns were close to fouling out, finishing the game with four fouls, and three others wrapped up the game with three fouls.