3 Takeaways from Texas Longhorns' Loss to Tennessee

The Longhorns fell to 0-2 in SEC play with their 85-71 loss to Tennessee.

Texas Longhorns head coach Sean Miller reacts during the second half against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Moody Center. | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

On Tuesday night, the Texas Longhorns fell to 9-6 with a 85-71 loss to the No. 21-ranked Tennessee Volunteers. Head coach Sean Miller's squad also moved to 0-2 in SEC conference play after losing to Mississippi State this past Saturday.

Ja'Kobi Gillespie was the main culprit in handing the Longhorns their second straight conference loss. With 34 points, four rebounds, five assists, and three steals, the guard was all over the court for Rick Barnes' Volunteers. The senior also played nearly the entire game with 38 total minutes.

The Longhorns faced the same issues that they've faced before this season. Taking care of, and rebounding, the basketball have been glaring issues for Miller's squad so far in the 2025-26 season, and those issues continued to resurface throughout their matchup against Tennessee.

The Longhorns Have to Figure Out the Rebound Game

Jan 6, 2026; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Ja'kobi Gillespie (0) goes to the basket against Texas Longhorns guard Tramon Mark (12) during the first half at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

The Longhorns were outrebounded in their second straight conference game on Tuesday night. In their loss to the Bulldogs over the weekend, the Longhorns had eight less rebounds than their opponent.

While the problem isn't necessarily an easy fix, it's clear that Texas needs to change the way they think about rebounding. It's been the defensive rebounding that has really hurt the Longhorns so far this season. While the Longhorns are in the top half of the conference in rebound differential, that could change rather quickly if they don't get a little more aggressive in the battle of the boards.

Things Aren't Going to Get Easier for Texas

Dec 29, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide forward Amari Allen (5) dribbles against Yale Bulldogs forward Riley Fox (9) during the first half at Coleman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: David Leong-Imagn Images | David Leong-Imagn Images

The resilience of this team will be tested in the next week. Not only do the Longhorns travel to Tuscaloosa to take on the No. 13-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide this Saturday, but it will be followed by a home matchup against the No. 11-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores.

If the Longhorns can knock off a top-15 team in their next couple of matchups, it could give the program some momentum heading into the middle of SEC play. One things for sure, their next two games will take some special performances from Texas' main point scorers.

Tramon Mark Seems to be Heating Up

Jan 6, 2026; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Texas Longhorns guard Tramon Mark (12) moves the ball against the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

In the past five games, Tramon Mark has averaged 18 points per game for the Longhorns offense. After an up-and-down beginning of the season, the guard has started to turn up the heat. Mark seeing shots go down early in conference play means good things for Texas.

Against the Volunteers, Mark put up 20 points, five rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal in 30 minutes on the court. The senior has also shot a career-high 49.6 percent from the field. With prime opportunities to get back on the right track coming up, Coach Miller will likely be expecting similar performances from the guard against Alabama and Vanderbilt.