No. 20 Longhorns Face One of Season's Toughest Tests vs. No. 8 Kansas

AUSTIN -- The Texas Longhorns haven't had much success against ranked opponents this season.

The burnt orange had an understandable loss on the road against former No. 1-ranked Gonzaga on Nov. 13 and a tough 64-60 setback against No. 23 Seton Hall on Dec. 9.

And leading into Saturday's home game against No. 20 Iowa State, the Longhorns had accumulated a 1-4 record against ranked opponents. But after a dominant 63-41 win over the Cyclones, exercising these demons might come sooner than expected.

No. 20 Texas (17-6, 6-4) welcomes No. 8 Kansas (19-3, 8-1) to the Erwin Center on Monday night for a battle of two Big 12 heavyweights. Aside from the non-conference road game against Gonzaga, this will be the Horns' toughest challenge up to this point in the campaign.

Both teams are coming off of arguably their biggest wins of the season. Texas held Iowa State to a season-low 41 points, while Kansas routed No. 8 Baylor at home 83-59 on Saturday.

Led by legendary head coach Bill Self, the Jayhawks have the 12th-best scoring offense in the country (80.2 points) and shoot the sixth-best percentage as a team (49.2 percent) in college basketball. Both numbers are also tops in the Big 12.

The Jayhawks are led by the sensational Ochai Agbaji, who has emerged as one of the top players in the country this season. The senior guard, who was a member of the Wooden Award Midseason Watchlist, is the Big 12's leading-scorer at 20.8 points per game, good for 13th in Division 1.

Agbaji has done this while shooting an efficient 51 percent from the field. This mark is even more impressive when considering he averages nearly seven 3-point attempts per game this season and is tied for first in the conference in makes from deep (66) with Kansas State guard Nijel Pack.

Due to their size and length, Texas coach Chris Beard might deploy forwards Dylan Disu or Timmy Allen to guard Agbaji out on the perimeter due to his sturdy frame and gifted athleticism.

Still, Texas will have its hands full with the other versatile Kansas guards. Christian Braun is sixth in the Big 12 in scoring (15.2) and third in blocks (1.1), while Remy Martin (8.2 points) and Dajuan Harris Jr. (5.5 points, four assists) have been consistent contributors all season.

To counter, Texas will need point guard Marcus Carr to continue his recent stellar play. The senior had 14 points and eight assists in Saturday's win and has averaged 13.8 points per game since Jan. 1.

The Longhorns will have their home crowd at their backs, but will need to minimize the turnovers in order to pull off the upset.

Kansas is 35-11 all-time against Texas and 11-8 all-time in Austin. Under former head coach Shaka Smart last season, the Longhorns won both meetings. But Beard is 2-8 in his career against Self.

Monday night's tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. C.T. at the Erwin Center.

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