AUSTIN, Texas — Usually an emphatic presence on the sideline, Kansas coach Bill Self seemed subdued.
For most of the second half, Self alternated between holding his hands on his hips and sitting on his chair while watching the game silently.
After winning the Big 12 title outright on Wednesday with Texas’ loss to TCU, the Jayhawks were playing for pride and improving their case for the No. 1-overall seed in the NCAA Tournament in their regular-season finale against the Longhorns. Self’s lack of visible emotion was a telling sign of Kansas’ play on Saturday at Moody Center.
No. 9 Texas defeated No. 3 Kansas, 75-59, in the regular-season finale for both teams. The Jayhawks (25-6, 13-5 Big 12) finished first in the conference but saw their seven-game winning streak end with the loss.
Sir’Jabari Rice scored 23 points and Tyrese Hunter added 20 for the Longhorns, who split the season series with Kansas. In February, Kansas defeated UT, 88-80, at Allen Fieldhouse.
Jalen Wilson scored 23 points on 7-for-18 shooting for Kansas, which hasn’t won in Austin since January 2020.
Texas thoroughly outplayed Kansas in the first half. Despite a rough offensive half by KU, the Jayhawks found themselves down only eight points, 32-24, at halftime.
The closest KU would get in the second half to the Longhorns was seven points.
The Jayhawks will look to shake off that performance heading into the Big 12 tournament, where they will be the No. 1 seed in action on Thursday.
Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s game…
Texas’ defense causes KU’s offense fits early
Jayhawks fans can skip rewatching the first half of Saturday’s game, as KU’s offense struggled mightily against UT’s defense.
Kansas scored 24 points in the half — the second-lowest scoring first half of the season for KU. Kansas scored 21 first-half points in its 68-53 loss to Iowa State.
The Jayhawks shot 9 for 30 (30%) from the floor, including 3 for 12 (25%) from beyond the arc in the period.
The Longhorns did an excellent job of making KU hold the ball and forcing the Jayhawks into shots deep into the shot clock.
Anytime KU got the ball on offense, nothing seemed to come easy. The shot quality and offensive process for Kansas lacked any real flow.
The Longhorns also ensured Kansas couldn’t score in transition by getting back quickly and walling up in the paint, which limited KU to two fast-break points.
The Kansas bench only scored three points in the first period — a Joseph Yesufu 3-pointer five seconds before the end of the first half.
Gradey Dick struggles again
Freshman guard Gradey Dick is typically KU’s second option on offense but has struggled to score lately.
Dick scored four points on 0-for-7 shooting against Texas Tech on Tuesday and had a similar performance on Saturday. He seemed hesitant to shoot — a rare occurrence for the sharpshooter.
Nearly midway through the second half, Dick had scored no points on 0-for-2 shooting.
The Longhorns didn’t let Dick get to his shooting spots, closed out on him hard and put enough defensive pressure on him to make him pass the ball.
He finished with six points on 2-for-5 shooting, knocking down a pair of second-half triples.
Texas owns KU in two key categories
Coming into the game, Self talked about how UT’s first eight rotation players were the best 1-8 in the conference.
The Longhorns proved Self right on Saturday. Texas shared the scoring load, with eight players scoring points.
The Longhorns had an 24-point advantage in bench points (32-8).
UT came into the game shooting 70.2% at the rim in transition (per Hoop-Math), so naturally, it seemed to be a point of emphasis for the Longhorns.
Usually, the Jayhawks do an excellent job of getting back on fast breaks and defending the paint, as opposing teams shoot 58.8% at the rim in transition. That wasn’t the case on Saturday.
UT attacked the rim as much as possible — leading to multiple and-one opportunities. The Longhorns had a 13-point advantage in fast-break points (17-4).
