With conference play looming, Texas (11-4, 1-1) fans had little doubt that J’Covan Brown was going to play a huge role the rest of the season. However, their fears were realized as Brown had to leave the loss to Iowa State early in the second half with a right ankle injury. Brown was the Big XII’s leading scorer heading into the meeting with Iowa State and was still able register 19 points in 25 minutes of play.

Led by senior center Clint Chapman, who recorded his first career double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds, the Longhorns fought valiantly in their conference opener, after losing the team’s Most Valuable Player. Despite being down 15 points with a little under 11 minutes left in the game, the ‘Horns trimmed the deficit down to four points, but were unable to even the score late in the game.

Even though this loss dropped the ‘Horns to then 0-1 in conference play and damped their chances at making the NCAA Tournament for a 14th consecutive year, fans had to be pleased by the effort and determination of this inexperienced and poorly coached team. The ‘Horns entered halftime down 34-44 after the Cyclones converted a mindboggling 9-11 ( 72%) from three-point range, but opened up the second half on a 10-0 run which cost them Brown. The ‘Horns made defensive adjustments that cooled off the Cyclones from behind the arc ( 1-9 in the second half), and though they showed rapid improvements from the last game which they lost Brown for extended time ( N.C. State) displayed that he is still an absolutely vital part of this team.

After the loss in Ames just a few days prior, Brown was a game-time decision for the contest against Oklahoma State. Brown did get the start, but was for the most part a non-factor with his ankle injury visibly hampering his play. Unfortunately, Brown’s struggles wasn’t as bad as the rest of the team which shot as a whole 21% from the field in the first half en route to their lowest scoring half of the season ( 21 points). In order to make up for their offensive inefficiencies, the ‘Horns were able to steal 11 balls from the Cowboys and outscored them on the fast-break eight to zero. They also played stifling defense and held Oklahoma State to 40% from the floor with 13 less shot opportunities and 18 less attempts from the foul line.

After Brown’s ineffective first half it looked as if coach Barnes had benched him for the second half, but Barnes put him in with about 10 and a half minutes remaining in the game. Brown responded to this positively by hitting a three pointer (Texas’ first of the night which had been 0-12 up to that point) and help sparking a run in which Texas was finally able to put the game away. Amid Brown’s struggles, Myck Kabongo helped lead the team with 15 points and six assists in one of his best efforts as a Longhorn thus far. Jonathan Holmes who had 11 points seemingly came up with the big play when Texas needed it, and helped carry the front court with Chapman struggling after a career game.

Game Grades

vs. Iowa State: B-

vs. Oklahoma State: C

Though it’s rare that a team can seemingly play better in a loss than in a win, that’s exactly what has happened in the first two games of conference play.

Against Iowa State, the Longhorns were tested and very well could’ve passed despite losing Brown for all the entirety of the second half. However, the ‘Horns showed their youth (a common theme of this season) and had too many empty possessions to overcome. With Chapman’s career performance and Sheldon McClellan’s toughness and effort to draw contact, the Longhorns showed grit and hunger to win in a very hostile arena. The Longhorns had a failing effort on defense in the first half, but were able to frustrate the Cyclones in the second half to the point that the Longhorns nearly came back.

In the game hosting Oklahoma State, this team simply didn’t look ready to play and were lucky to draw such an awful opponent that allowed them to overcome their own inefficiencies and mistakes. The ‘Horns shot a humiliating 16.67% from behind three point range for the game, which lead to a 30% shooting effort for the night. Two things are for certain: 1) The showing against Oklahoma State is probably the worst performance by the team to gain a victory. 2) If they play this way during the next four contests, hosting Texas A&M, @ Missouri, @ Kansas State, and hosting Kansas, this team will start conference play with a 1-5 record.