Myck Kabongo had a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists. However, his performance was not enough for Texas (12-5,2-2) to overcome No. 9 Missouri Tigers (16-1,3-1) in Columbia. For Kabongo, this performance marks his first double-double as a Longhorn, and his highest assist total of the season (his previous high was nine in the game against Rhode Island). He finally looked confident while shooting and did a nice job getting his teammates involved. Texas fans can only hope that this performance marks the end of the struggles the freshman guard.

The Big XII’s leading scorer J’Covan Brown scored a game-high 34 points on 10-16 shooting (6-7 from three point range), his highest since the Rhode Island game in which he scored 35. As special as Brown’s day was, it could’ve been even better, but for some reason coach Barnes doesn’t seem to emphasize getting by far his best and most experienced player the ball, even when he seemingly couldn’t miss. After a sloppy game visiting North Carolina, Brown stepped up again when his team needed it against a big time opponent, despite still being visibly effected by an injured ankle.

As expected from a team built around inexperienced players, inconsistent play continues to be a common theme of the 2011-2012 season. Julien Lewis was the star of the game against Texas A&M scoring a team high 16 points on 6-10 shooting, but was held to only two points on 1-10 shooting in the contest against Missouri. Sheldon McClellan came in second on the team in points per game, but only managed to score six points on 2-8 from the floor. Clint Chapman picked up two fouls early in the first half so he only played 16 total minutes, which continues his trend of being great one game, and a non factor in the next matchup. Jonathan Holmes managed 10 points in the loss, after being a limited factor the past couple games.

Missouri on the other hand is a very experienced squad which starts four seniors and has one of them coming off of the bench. This experience showed as the Tigers shot lights out from three point range 8-11 in the first half, and converted 60% of their field goals the majority of the game. This effort was headlined by the second career double-double (18 points, 10 assists) for junior guard Phil Pressey who also did not commit a turnover. As well as the double-double by the Big XII’s second leading scorer behind only Brown, Marcus Denmon who had 18 points and 11 boards. Missouri crushed Texas in points off turnovers 20 to 2, and never trailed in this one despite Brown’s near herculean effort.

Game Grade: B-

Despite the loss, Texas fans have to like what this team is building towards and the direction this team is in. Texas simply did not have what it took to knock off a top 10 team on the road today, but could very well return the favor when they host Missouri at the end of the month. Brown showed his doubters that he is in fact one of the best players in the conference even when injured, and should be a contender for National Player of the Year next season on a much improved Texas team. Kabongo finally looked the part of a five star point guard, and there is no reason to think that with Brown knocking down shots that Kabongo won’t continue to improve and perhaps challenge for the Big XII’s freshman of the Year award. The two of them combined for 46 of the team’s 73 points, eight of the team’s nine made three pointers, and over half of the team’s made field goals.

Coach Barnes probably did the worst job of anyone on the team. As mentioned before, it seems like he didn’t emphasize Brown getting the ball, despite Brown being clearly the best player on the floor for either team. There were too many possessions in the game in which the ball went from Kabongo to Lewis or McClellan without Brown touching the ball past half court. Many of the Texas victories come when the offense runs through Brown. Understandably, Brown did not look 100%, but he still played 38 minutes and dominated the offense like Kevin Durant did back in 2007. Brown is a very good ball handler and has basketball instincts that may be better than anyone that has ever played at Texas. To Brown assists seem subconscious, and when he is on can score with as much ease as anyone in the country. Running the offense through Kabongo may help open up shots for Brown, but running the offense through Brown may help him A) Get to the line more, where he is 18-18 in his last two games combined B) Open up shots for Kabongo, McClellan and Lewis as defenses may double team Brown, or C) Open up the offense down low for Chapman and Holmes.

Any of these three options could be beneficial for Texas as they continue one of the most difficult six game stretches for any team in the country. With a visit to Kansas State (who has defeated the Longhorns in four of their last six meetings) coming up soon, Texas will need to come up with something new to avoid falling to 2-3 in conference play.