The Good, the Bad and the Ugly From the Texas Longhorns' Loss to Duke

Texas men's basketball tipped off its season on Tuesday facing off against No. 6 ranked Duke in a SEC/ACC showdown in Charlottesville. Losing to the Blue Devils 75-60, its not the start to the season the Longhorns envisioned, but it was a closer contest than anticipated, for the most part. With that in mind, here's the good, bad and ugly from Tuesday's game.

The First Half (The Good)

Texas Center Matas Vokietaitis — Nov 4, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Texas Longhorns center Matas Vokietaitis (8) makes a free throw against the Duke Blue Devils during the second half of the Dick Vitale’s Invitational game at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images | Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images

Texas and Duke were exchanging punches in the first half of the game, with the Longhorns heading into halftime ahead 33-32. The team out rebounded Duke on the offensive side of the court, reeling in 12 compared to their opponents six. This lead to the Longhorns many second chance opportunities, scoring 11 points off of rebounds. Duke, meanwhile, had only a single second chance point in the first half.

The free throw line was also the friend of Texas in the first half, shooting 11-12. As a whole, the shooting looked relatively the same for both sides, with Texas going 10-30 and Duke finishing the first half 11-29. Though Duke scored four more threes than Texas did, it was the paint that Texas found more success.

The Longhorns outscored Duke 14-10 in the paint, with the team's center Matas Vokietaitis tying the second most points on the team with 15 on the night.

It wasn't just the offense that stood out, but the defense as well. Texas was able to hold Cameron Boozer, one of the nation's top recruits coming into this season, to zero points in the first half.

The Second Half (The Bad)

Texas guard Jordan Pop — Nov 4, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Texas Longhorns guard Jordan Pope (0) drives the ball around Duke Blue Devils guard Caleb Foster (1) during the second half of the Dick Vitale’s Invitational game at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images | Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images

While the team was cruising in the first half, they came to a halt in the second. The scoring comparison between the two teams became lopsided in the back half of Tuesday's game, with Duke out scoring Texas 43-27 to take the win.

The Blue Devils were able to even things out in the offensive rebounding, with both teams finding six in the second half. Duke, though, converted on these opportunities with seven second chance points compared to Texas's three.

When comparing the team's numbers, the difference isn't too drastic. The Longhorns outscored Duke in Bench points 13-6. They were only a basket shy of matching the ACC opponent in points in the paint and field goal comparison's were relatively close.

While Duke had eight fast break points compared to Texas's four, it was the ugly part of the game that sealed the victory for the Blue Devlis.

Duke's Second Half Free Throw Shooting (The Ugly)

Duke guard Isaiah Evans — Nov 4, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Isaiah Evans (3) shoots a free throw against the Texas Longhorns during the first half of the Dick Vitale’s Invitational game at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images | Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images

In the first half of the game, Duke had eight attempts at the line, making four of them. In the second half, the Blue Devils had 22 attempts at the line, sinking 18. Winning by 15 points, the free throw line seemed to be the difference maker on Tuesday.

In comparison, Texas had 11 shots at the line, making six of them. Star recruit Cameron Boozer, after going scoreless in the first half, recorded 15 points in the second half, nine of which came off of free throws.