3 Takeaways from Texas Longhorns' Loss to Duke in Season Opener

Texas Longhorns men's basketball opened its season against the No. 6 Duke Blue Devils at the Dick Vitale Invitational in Charlotte, North Carolina on Tuesday night, and despite winning the rebound battle, the Longhorns dropped their season opener 75-60.

Duke guard Isaiah Evans proved why he's one of the best scorers in college basketball by dropping 23 points shooting 7 for 13 from the floor. Evans was a Preseason Second Team All-ACC selection and reached the 20-point mark in Duke's exhibition against Tennessee only around a week ago.

For the Longhorns, the majority of the scoring came from Dailyn Swain, Matas Vokietaitis, and Jordan Pope. Swain led the Horns with 16 points shooting 7 for 18 on the night.

Resilience Despite a Slow Start

Both the Longhorns and Blue Devils got off to a slow start in their season opener. It wasn't until there was 12:51 left in the first half that either team reached double digit points. After the first half hit the 12-minute mark, Duke began to show why they're the No. 6 team in the country. With a 17-4 run that spanned around four minutes, the Blue Devils took a commanding 23-14 lead.

Despite being down nearly 10 points at one point, the Longhorns stormed back to take a 33-32 lead heading into halftime. The comeback was fueled by a stellar performance from Vokietaitis, a transfer sophomore from FAU, who tallied seven points in the final five minutes of the first half.

The fact that Texas was able to take a lead into halftime shows that there's room to grow. In the second half, the Longhorns shot a devastating 9 for 29 from the floor resulting in the Blue Devils running away with the game late.

Turnover Problems for Texas

Nov 4, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Texas Longhorns guard Jordan Pope (0) loses control of the ball against the Duke Blue Devils during the first half of the Dick Vitale’s Invitational game at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images | Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images

Ball security was one of the biggest factors in Duke taking control of the game. Texas turned the ball over 16 times on the night compared to Duke turning the ball over only 10 times.

While Vokietaitis ended the game with 15 points, the center also had five turnovers. Texas forward Lassina Traore turned the ball over four times as well.

While the turnover margin may seem thin, giving the Blue Devils free chances to score was detrimental to the short periods of momentum that Texas found throughout the first half.

The Loss Could Pay Benefits Later in the Year

For newly hired head coach Sean Miller and the Longhorns, gaining this type of experience against top teams in the sport could prove to be something that pays dividends later in the year.

With an SEC schedule that could prove to be extremely difficult, facing top teams could give the Horns an edge that they'll need later in the year.

On Dec. 12, the Longhorns will get to take on another top 10 opponent when they travel to Hartford, Connecticut to take on the No.4 UConn Huskies.

Resilience Despite a Slow Start

Turnover Problems for Texas

The Loss Could Pay Benefits Later in the Year

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