Jayhawks no-show at Texas, lose 73-63

On a night where KU basketball was described by multiple people as “not ready to play” and “not playing hard,” the Jayhawks put up yet another abysmal offensive performance in falling to the Texas Longhorns on Tuesday night by a 71-63 score.

Kansas is now just 1-5 this season in true road games, with the only victory coming at Baylor a few weeks ago. Even worse, at least two of those arenas were maybe half full at West Virginia and at Texas, so it’s not like crowd intimidation is any kind of factor.

Kansas started the game with six turnovers in the first 12 minutes of action as Texas built an early 12-5 lead. KU would eventually finish the game with 13 total giveaways. Texas built a 10-point, 24-14 lead after a Jaxson Hayes free throw with 4:29 before halftime. Then KU’s Ochai Agbaji went crazy, and the Jayhawks found themselves down just 3 at the break, 26-23.

Texas held KU at arm’s length for most of the second half, but was never able to put Kansas away. The Jayhawks would close to 48-45 with 6:18 to play on a Lagerald Vick layup, but a 12-3 Texas run quickly erased any KU momentum.

And yet, the Jayhawks found themselves trailing 65-61 with just over a minute left following a Dedric Lawson three-pointer. UT’s Kerwin Roach immediately turned it over, and it looked like KU had a shot to sneak this one out with a good possession. However, just five seconds into the possession, Dedric Lawson launched a ridiculous 3-point attempt that missed. Kansas began fouling, and Texas salted the game away at the free throw line, eventually hitting the final margin of 73-63.

Ochai Agbaji started over Lagerald Vick and led the Jayhawks in minutes, points, free throws, rebounds, and personal fouls. Agbaji finished 8-10 shooting for 24 points with 7 rebounds.

Dedric Lawson was 4-15 from the floor, including 1-5 from behind the arc, scoring just 13 points and collecting 7 rebounds.

For some reason, this KU team just isn’t very good right now. Despite having two McDonald’s All-Americans, an elite shooter, and one of the best bigs in the country, these Jayhawks can’t figure out how to score. They have won just one road game all year, lost to the worst team in the Big 12, and given Shaka Smart his first win over Kansas while at Texas while dropping three of their last four games overall.

I have no idea how this team is 3-1 against current members of the AP Top-10. In all four of their conference losses, the Jayhawks have failed to score even 65 points.

UP NEXT

KU will host Texas Tech on Saturday, February 2 at 3 PM in Allen Fieldhouse. The game will be broadcast on CBS. KU will then travel to K-State the following Tuesday, February 5, for the first iteration of the Sunflower Showdown. In order to have any confidence at getting to #15, the Jayhawks likely need to go 2-0 over the next seven days.