Julien Lewis had 12 points and seven rebounds, as Texas (13-7,3-4) defeated Iowa State(14-6,4-3) 62-55 to split the season series. The win should give Texas confidence in its ability to finish close games, and could be the turning point of their season. Lewis had been struggling during the three game losing streak shooting 4-of-18 from the field and contributing just 10 points combined. Lewis did not hit from behind the arc, but didn’t need to because he did a good job getting to the foul line and making mid range shots.
The Big XII’s leading scorer J’Covan Brown had just 12 points as a result of struggling from the field shooting just 3-of-16. But two of those three shots were crucial three pointers early in the second half that gave Texas its then biggest lead 36-24. Brown also hit 4-of-5 from the foul line including two shots that iced the game 60-55. However, Brown missed his first free throw attempt of the game, his first miss since playing Oklahoma State, ending his consecutive made streak at 28. This game was just a continuation of Brown’s struggles from the field since his red hot game at Missouri. He has now shot under 30% in three straight games.
Myck Kabongo led the team with 13 points, and played much better than he did on Saturday. Clint Chapman had a solid showing of eight points and five rebounds, all of which were in the first half. Sheldon McClellan had just five points and will need more attempts if Texas is to beat Missouri or Baylor in their next two games. Jaylen Bond continued his strong play from Saturday as he scored four points and collected seven rebounds. Alexis Wangmene scored two points and collected six boards, while Jonathan Holmes contributed four points and collected five boards. Sterling Gibbs scored two points in limited playing time, rounding out all nine Longhorns who played scoring.
Iowa State was led by Royce White who had a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds as well as five assists. Despite the nice performance, White shot several air balls, including one from the foul line. Texas did a much better job defending him the second time around.
In fact, the Texas defense as a whole played a much bigger and better role since the last time these two teams met. Texas held Iowa State to 1-of-8 from behind the three point line in the first half, and only 4-of-13 for the game, in contrast to allowing nine three’s in the first half of their loss in Ames. In addition, Texas held Iowa State to only 20-of-60 from the floor, which allowed the ‘Horns to get away with shooting only 3-of-14 from three-point land themselves. The ‘Horns shot free throws like teams of the past converting only 61%, which while a low percentage isn’t something to be too alarmed about as this team was almost perfect in its last two games from the stripe and has been over 70% all season.
Game Grade: B
Texas got back to doing what it has a reputation for in the Rick Barnes era, playing stifling defense. Their tenacity on the defensive end kept the team in the game while shots weren’t falling. Texas trailed 13-8 at the under 12 minute time out in the first half, but they were able to go on a 20-9 run after the break to take a 28-22 lead over the Cyclones into halftime. As I have intended to explain all season, the key to Texas victories are stopping opponents from behind the arc. The ‘Horns held the Cyclones, the top three point team in the Big 12 to only 3-of-18 shooting before they allowed two late three’s during a rally in the last minute.
The biggest take away from this win was how it feels to win again, and the effort it takes to be victorious. Texas was far from perfect in this game, yet again, they let their opponent jump out to an early lead and forced themselves to play catch up. However, this ‘Horns team continues to show resiliency and has made great strides in every game so far of this difficult six game stretch. If Texas wants to win the last two games, at Baylor on Saturday and hosting Missouri on Monday, they will need to not force themselves to play from behind. If they can do this and keep up the intensity, they have the talent and capability to beat both Baylor on the road and Missouri at home.
