Takeaways, Final Stats From Texas Basketball's Exhibition Loss to St. John's

The No. 7 Texas Longhorns closed out preseason action with a 87-74 loss to No. 13 St. John's at Madison Square Garden on Sunday afternoon. St. John's forward Keyshawn Hall led the way with a game-high 24 points while Tounde Yessoufou added 23 points.

Texas guard Isaiah Johnson led the Longhorns with 18 points in the exhibition loss.

Texas took the lead on the game's first possession but never led the rest of the way and simply got out-played by Rick Pitino's squad in what was essentially a true road game for the Longhorns.

Despite the disappointing result for Sean Miller and Texas, there was still some positives along with plenty of takeaways about what needs to improve before the Longhorns open up the regular season against Chicago State on Nov. 2.

Takeaways for Texas

Texas Longhorns guard Austin Goosby (10) drives past St. John's Red Storm forward Keyshawn Hall (7) in the first half at Madison Square Garden. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Texas Had No Answer for St. John's in the Paint

The Longhorns clearly still have some defensive issues to work through before the start of the season. Texas routinely allowed St. John's to get easy drives to the rim.

On top of that, even when Texas did get stops or force a miss, St. John's was able to keep things alive on the offensive glass.

Keyshawn Hall looked like a pro. He got whatever he wanted in the paint, finishing with 24 points on 8 of 13 shooting.

The Longhorns need to figure out answers on defense before SEC play or they won't be able to live up to expectations. Fortunately, it's only one exhibition, and there's no real reason for panic.

Freshmen Make an Impact

Much has been made about the Texas freshmen class, and they certainly made some impact plays at MSG.

Austin Goosby got the start and had a few notable moments during the game's first few possessions, which included an assist, steal and corner triple. He finished with seven points but also had five turnovers.

Marcus Spears Jr. did a bit of everything on both ends. He had nine points, five rebounds, two assists and three blocks. His performance on defense was the most noticeable among anybody on the roster. It wouldn't be surprising to see him eventually start at some point this season.

Bo Ogden got some run late in the game, finishing with five points and three rebounds. He had the highest plus/minus (+1) among all Longhorns.

Turnovers Galore

The Longhorns were very sloppy with the ball early. This helped St. John's build a big lead and Texas was never able to recover. Miller's offense finished with 16 turnovers and the Johnnies turned those into 20 points off takeaways.

The Red Storm deserve credit for some suffocating defense -- which included the occasional full-court press -- but Texas also made thing easy for them with some careless passess. Goosby led the team with five turnovers while Johnson had three of his own.

Final Player Stats for Texas

Texas Longhorns forward David Punch (13) is double teamed by St. John's Red Storm guard Ian Jackson (11) and forward Keyshawn Hall (7) in the first half at Madison Square Garden. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Here's a look at the most notable player stats for Texas

Isaiah Johnson - 18 points, 4 assists

Matas Vokietaitis - 14 points, 4 rebounds

David Punch - 11 points, 7 rebounds

Marcus Spears Jr. - 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks

Austin Goosby - 7 points, five turnovers

Elyjah Freeman - 6 points, 1 rebound

Amari Evans - 4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists

Bo Ogden - 5 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist

Here are the most notable team stats for Texas:

FG - 48%

FG attempts - 23 of 48

3PT - 38%

3PT attempts - 6 of 16

Total rebounds - 28

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google