No. 9 Longhorns Blow Past No. 3 Kansas in Regular-Season Finale
AUSTIN -- With the Big 12 regular-season title already out of their grasp, the Texas Longhorns hosted the conference champion Kansas Jayhawks at Moody Center for Senior Day on Saturday with still plenty to play for.
And in a game that would provide either team with some significant seeding momentum headed into the Big 12 Tournament and March Madness, the No. 9 Longhorns left little doubt, holding off No. 3 Kansas' comeback attempt for the entire second half before cruising to a 75-59 win.
The Longhorns (23-8, 12-6) were led by some more strong backcourt play, as Sir'Jabari Rice (23 points, seven rebounds) and Tyrese Hunter (20 points) paced Texas as the team's only double-digit scorers.
Kansas (25-5, 13-5) got a team-high 23 points and 10 rebounds from standout forward Jalen Wilson, but he was the only Jayhawk in double figures. Star freshman guard Gradey Dick had just six points, all of which came within a one-minute span in the second half.
Texas forced Kansas into 11 turnovers while committing just seven of their own. The Longhorns also led by as many as 17 while the Jayhawks had their biggest lead of two vanish in the opening minutes.
For a team with no Big 12 regular-season crown to compete for, Texas still came with an opening forceful attitude toward the rim against the defending national champs.
The Longhorns quickly built a 17-9 edge after a flurry of transition dunks and five straight points from Rice. Kansas had gone over four minutes without a field goal and began struggling with careless turnovers.
Back-to-back triples from Hunter had then give Texas its largest lead of 12 at that point, as the Longhorns led 28-16 with a little under four minutes remaining. Texas then went scoreless for nearly three minutes before four points from Rice in the final 60 seconds.
But two big triples from Wilson and guard Joseph Yesufu gave the Jayhawks a major momentum headed into halftime, as
Dylan Disu posted the first five points of the second half and got Texas a shot of momentum after finishing an alley-oop from Hunter in transition. He was fouled in the act and nailed the free throw, giving Texas a 13-point lead. A triple from Rice a minute later brought this up even further.
Unsurprisingly, the Jayhawks had a run in them.
Back-to-back 3s from Dick cut Texas' lead to 55-47 while giving the many Kansas fans at Moody Center some newfound hope.
However, this end up being the closest the Jayhawks would get for the rest of the second half, as continued hot shooting from Rice and Hunter put the game away.
Both the Longhorns and Jayhawks will now await the Big 12 Tournament, which begins on Wednesday in Kansas City.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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