Texas Longhorns Center Matas Vokietaitis In The Midst Of An Extremely Odd Trend

If there’s a whistle blown on the court and Texas men’s basketball is playing on it, chances are big man Matas Vokietaitis will be one of the players involved.

Off the court, the 7-foot big man from Lithuania is soft-spoken. Once he’s in the game, the FAU transfer is dynamic, averaging just over 15 points and 6.7 a game in his first year under head coach Sean Miller.

But for as effective as he is on the court, Vokietaitis comes at a costly price. So far this season, he’s averaged over three fouls per game and sent plenty of the Longhorns’ opponents to the free-throw line for extra points — and sometimes those points win a basketball game.

For Vokietaitis, It's Foul Or Be Fouled

Texas center Matas Vokietaitis (8) rebounds against Georgia forward Justin Abson (25). — Jan 24, 2026; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns center Matas Vokietaitis (8) rebounds against Georgia Bulldogs forward Justin Abson (25) during the second half at Moody Center. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

Texas was just a matter of one bucket away from beating Kentucky. Looking for a defensive stop within the last 26 seconds of the second half, Vokietaitis met Wildcats guard Denzel Aberdeen to block his shot.

Instead, he bumped into Aberdeen and gave Kentucky two free shots before a chain reaction of consequent fouls occurred, with calls on both teams. The Longhorns ended up on the losing side, causing Miller to give another chastising, embellished speech in his postgame press conference.

However, Miller’s reprimand wasn’t just for Vokietaitis, or even the entire Texas squad. He called out Kentucky, too — specifically the fans, who booed every single time a whistle was called and Vokietaitis’ number was called for his turn at the free-throw line.

"Matas, on our end, I know the fans here love to boo every time a foul is called. He gets fouled as much as any player in the country and he does a good job," Miller said after the 85-80 loss. "He was 5/14 tonight."

As much as Vokietaitis fouls his opponents, he gets almost the same in return. That’s the life of the guy playing five — foul or get fouled. In Lexington, Vokietaitis found himself on the other side of the call three times and hit five of six shots to capitalize on those opportunities.

Vokietaitis draws almost an equal amount of calls per game as he commits them, averaging 3.2 trips to the foul line during this season. Vokietaitis doesn’t mind, though — he’s a physical player, and being fouled just means he gets free points. This year, he’s shooting at a 69.1 free throw rate with 165 total attempts, with a perfect, season-best performance of 14/14 in a Dec. 8 pre-conference game against Southern.

Three days later, after the Kentucky game, as Texas tipped off against the Georgia Bulldogs (who have the best offense in the country), Vokietaitis once again rose off the ground, hoping to turn the ball toward the Longhorns’ favor.

Instead, he fouled right on tip-off. Vokietaitis collected two fouls in the opening three minutes of the game, which ended in Texas’ favor 87-67 thanks to the collective defensive effort.

Vokietaitis ended the night against the Bulldogs with 14 points, eight rebounds — and four personal fouls, with three trips of his own to the line.