Longhorns' Jabari Rice 'Unheralded' No More After Coming Up Clutch (Again) vs. Sooners

AUSTIN -- Oklahoma Sooners coach Porter Moser sounded blown away when talking to the media Saturday following an 85-83 overtime loss to the Texas Longhorns at Moody Center.

The reason? Texas guard Sir'Jabari Rice.

"I just said this to everybody, I think Rice is one of the most unheralded players in this league," Moser said. "He's so good. I love how efficient he was. I love to see his efficiency."

Even after a gut-wrenching loss that put a significant dent in OU's NCAA Tournament chances, Moser still went out of his way to appreciate Rice's performance ... and it felt well-earned.

The veteran hit a handful of timely shots against the Sooners in the the second half, bringing Texas out of a crucial seven-point hole before providing more big plays in overtime. He finished with a game-high 24 points - which also tied his season-high - on 4 of 6 shooting from deep.

"It's nothing new," Texas guard Marcus Carr said of Rice's performance. "It's not a surprise to me. It's something I've seen since summertime."

Just like it wasn't a new sight to Carr, it wasn't the first time the Sooners have seen Rice come up clutch against them either. In Texas' 70-69 win in the first meeting of the season between the two teams on Dec. 31, Rice scored all 11 of his points in the final six minutes of the game to help pull out the win.

He's now scored 20 or more points in four of the last seven games, all while coming off the bench. Texas coach Rodney Terry sees this veteran approach making a major difference when the Longhorns need it most.

"Jabari has done a great job," Terry said. "Over the last month of the season, he's had an incredible approach to practice and it's carried over to him in games."

Rice seems primed to run away with Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year honors, as he's essentially a sixth starter for the Longhorns.

This clearly isn't the focus now for anyone in the Texas locker room, including Rice. But when this season is all said and done, Rice's incredible impact in 2022 will hardly be "unheralded" any longer.

You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7

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