No. 4 Longhorns Remain Undefeated After Blowout Win vs. UTRGV
AUSTIN -- The No. 4 Texas Longhorns have been adamant on playing where their feet are and always valuing the next game on their schedule as the biggest game.
And ahead of Saturday's matchup with the UT-Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros in the unique setting of Gregory Gym, the Longhorns could've easily looked ahead to Thursday's meeting with the No. 10 Creighton Bluejays.
But behind more hounding defense and terrific guard play, Texas cruised past UTRGV to secure a 91-54 win and remain undefeated in the young season.
Texas (5-0) forced 22 turnovers, had 10 makes from deep and had a season-high nine blocks. The backcourt was the key to success for the Horns, as Sir'Jabari Rice led all scorers with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists off the bench while Marcus Carr (18 points) and Tyrese Hunter (17 points) continued to do their thing as clear-cut scoring options.
UTRGV was led by guard Justin Johnson (19 points), who is one of the best scorers in the Western Athletic Conference.
The Longhorns scored the first 10 points and Hunter had the first seven, as Texas' suffocating defense held the Vaqueros without a field goal until the 15-minute mark
But despite the early hole, UTRGV showed fight on the defensive end and held the deficit to 10 midway through the first half.
This was the last time the scoreboard remained competitive, as the Longhorns began a mini dunk party behind hounding defense that led to transition slams. Hunter had a one-handed dunk on a fast-break before Mitchell continued his highlight-worthy ways with a breakaway slam and a poster a few minutes later to get Gregory Gym rocking.
Sir'Jabari Rice assisted Mitchell on an alley-oop later in the half for his third dunk in a handful of minutes before Texas' sixth man nailed a 3 to help the Horns take a 44-22 lead headed into the locker room.
Johnson scored seven straight for UTRGV early in the second half and the Vaqueros caught a little more of a rhythm. But a short scoring spurt was hardly enough to chip into the deficit, especially after Carr and Hunter began to catch fire again to put the game away.
The Longhorns ended the contest how it began, as Hunter and Carr nailed back-to-back 3s before Rice had a fast-break dunk that capped off an 8-0 run in under 40 seconds. Texas built a 72-43 lead at this point and continued to cruise the rest of the way. Rice added to his averages with nine points in the final seven minutes.
Texas now prepares for its second top-10 matchup of the season, as the team will host No. 10 Creighton (6-1) on Thursday at the Moody Center.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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