Texas Basketball: 3 keys to Longhorns downing No. 17 Kansas Jayhawks

After enduring one of the most tumultuous stretches of any ranked team this season, Texas Basketball will aim to rebound over the upstart, 23rd-ranked Kansas Jayhawks in a top-25, Big 12 showdown on Tuesday.

In what was one of the most thrilling games of a busy Saturday slate, the Longhorns experienced a heartbreaking home loss – and their fifth loss in their last eight games – to the West Virginia Mountaineers.  After posting 53 first-half points and building a 19-point lead, the Longhorns melted down the stretch, allowing the Mountaineers to go on a 41-20 run over the final 18 minutes of the game en route to an 84-82 West Virginia win.

Texas was, by no means, poor offensively – they saw three players reach double-figures in Courtney Ramey (career-high 28 points), Matt Coleman III (20 points, seven assists), and Jericho Sims (14 points) – and recorded clips of 54.5% inside the arc and 53.8% from the perimeter, averaging 1.15 points per possession.  What ailed Texas, however, was committing 16 turnovers – allowing WVU to score 25 points off of them – and allowing the Mountaineers 37 trips to the charity stripe.

Now, the Longhorns will line up against a resurging Kansas squad.  After falling out of the AP’s top-25 for the first time in 231 consecutive weeks, the Jayhawks have rallied off five-straight wins – including over Oklahoma State and Texas Tech – and have found themselves back in the polls at 23rd.

Kansas’ most recent win – a 67-61 rout on Saturday – may have been the Jayhawks’ most impressive, resume-building win since their January 9th victory over Oklahoma.  The Jayhawks did not necessarily shoot the ball well – 48.6% inside and 30.8% outside – but they still averaged 1.08 points per possession, saw all five starters reach double-digits – headlined by David McCormack‘s game-high 17 – and held the Red Raiders to just 0.98 PPP.

The last time these two squads met was back on January 2nd, in what produced the most lopsided defeat for the Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse history.  In an 84-59 romp, the Longhorns saw five players reach double-figures, all the while shooting 12-26 from long-range – and holding the Jayhawks to just 0.80 PPP and a 3-23 mark from the perimeter.

But, obviously, things have changed since that tilt.  Since returning from their COVID-19 pause in late January, the Longhorns have not looked as aggressive as they initially were, and tensions have risen among Texas players.  The Jayhawks, meanwhile, finally look like a team that could threaten for the second spot in the Big 12 – and have an opportunity to assert themselves even further with a win over Texas.

For the Longhorns to deny them that enjoyment, however, Shaka Smart’s crew will have to follow through on a few key things – especially considering it is extremely unlikely that this produces the same result as the last meeting.