3 Takeaways from Texas Longhorns' Grinded Out Win over South Carolina

The Texas Longhorns manage to keep their momentum rolling after picking up a win over the weekend against the Oklahoma Sooners. The Longhorns made it back-to-back wins after taking down the South Carolina Gamecocks 84-75.

The Longhorns once again had trouble kicking into gear in the first half, but they were able to get moving, closing out the first half with a slight lead. And throughout a competitive second half, the Longhorns managed to pull away to improve to a 14-9 overall record and an even 5-5 record in conference play.

Texas will look to defend its home court once again as the Ole Miss Rebels come to town on Saturday, Feb. 7. Taking a closer look at the midweek win, here are three takeaways from the Longhorns' win over the Gamecocks.

Cold Start Déjà Vu

Texas Longhorns center Matas Vokietaitis shoots a layup. | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

The Longhorns looked for a much better start to the ballgame on Tuesday night after what was a frozen start against the Oklahoma Sooners. In Norman over the weekend, the Longhorns began 2 of 12 from the field, falling behind quickly by as many as 14 points.

And against the Gamecocks, the Longhorns once again struggled to get out of the blocks, starting the ballgame a poor 2 of 14 from the field. The rough start led to the Longhorns falling behind by as many as nine points in the first half. Despite the struggles, Texas was able to gain a slight lead by halftime.

Free-Throws Anchor Win

Texas Longhorns guard Dailyn Swain celebrates a basket. | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

While the Longhorns were unable to get much going from the field in the first half, where they did find success was from the free-throw line. Texas got to the line a total of 21 times in the opening 20 minutes of the ballgame, cashing in on 15 attempts for points.

In the second half, it was much of the same as the Longhorns were able to make 15 trips to the free-throw line and made 14 of them. For the game, the Longhorns shot 81 percent from the charity stripe, converting on 29 of their 36 attempts.

Tramon Mark Showed Up Big Down the Stretch

South Carolina Gamecocks guard Meechie Johnson drives the ball to the basket against Texas Longhorns guard Tramon Mark. | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

The last few games have not been the best for guard Tramon Mark, as against Auburn and Oklahoma, Mark scored a combined eight points in those two games. The guard was also extremely inefficient from the field, shooting a rough 13 percent.

On Tuesday, however, Mark was able to flip a switch as the guard ended the night with 18 points, while shooting 37 percent from the field, along with six rebounds and an assist. In the second half, Mark was at his best with 15 of his 18 points coming in the final 20 minutes of the ballgame.