Kansas burns Texas 92-86

Kansas shot 48.6% (17-35) from behind the arc Friday night in Austin to outscore Texas by a 92-86 final score.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair until the Jayhawks ripped off a 9-point run to take a 25-17 lead with 9:29 remaining in the first half. Texas immediately responded with an eight-point run to tie the game back up. The two teams battled to a 37-34 Kansas margin at the break.

A pair of back-to-back threes by Svi Mykhailiuk early in the second half gave the Jayhawks a 10-point lead at 51-41 with 16:28 to play, and Texas never really threatened after that. The Longhorns began a full-court press with about 11 minutes remaining and would get as close as five at 72-67 with 7:25 to play, but Kansas re-built a 14-point lead on a Devonte Graham three with 3:43 left.

The final minute or so was kind of exciting? I guess? UT closed to within 4 points with just 27 seconds to play, but Kansas made all six free throw attempts in the final seconds, and emerged from Austin victorious.

UT’s Mohamed Bamba was unstoppable in the first half, scoring 16 points on 7-11 shooting. But, Kansas switched to a 2-3 zone with six or so minutes remaining in the first half, and stuck with that defense throughout most of the second half. Texas struggled to get the ball to Bamba in the second half, as he went just 2-5 for 4 points. For the game, Bamba collected 15 rebounds, 8 blocks, and at least 1 goaltend that wasn’t called.

The story of the game was three point shooting. Kansas bombed in 17-35 (48.6%) threes, while Texas hit just 7-25 (28.0%).

Once again, KU’s opponent shot more free throws than the Jayhawks, but KU was nails at the line, going 13-15 (86.7%) and hitting their final six charity shots to ice the game.

Devonte Graham led all scorers with 23 points on 6-15 shooting, including 6-12 from behind the arc. Graham added 8 assists and 5 rebounds.

Kansas has now won 27 consecutive conference openers, and claims an 8-game winning streak against Texas.

Up next, Kansas will host #22 Texas Tech in Allen Fieldhouse on Tuesday, January 2, at 8 PM CST. The Red Raiders knocked off #18 Baylor by 24 points in Lubbock at the same time KU was playing Texas.