After a long layoff, the No. 8 Longhorns (7-1, 1-0) take the court today (11 a.m. on ESPN2) and a mammoth test against No. 3 Kansas (8-1, 2-0) awaits them. Before we get to some preview analysis, it should be noted the Longhorns will be without both Royce Hamm and Kamaka Hepa who did not travel with the team to Lawrence. During Friday's Zoom meeting with the media, Shaka Smart revealed there would be one or two players who wouldn't make the trip due to COVID protocols. The loss of Hepa, who is treating this year like a redshirt year, is minimal, although Texas will miss his energy on the bench. Seriously, the guy doesn't stop talking or coaching from the sideline. As for Hamm, he's played just 13 combined minutes the last two games and fouled out in five minutes against Sam Houston State. However, he's an experienced, valuable bench big, especially if/when Kai Jones, Jericho Sims, or Greg Brown are in foul trouble. Kansas is a really good offensive rebounding team, and Texas could miss Hamm's 10ish minutes off the bench.
The matchup, in my opinion, comes down to a few things: Texas's awareness in transition defense to keep Kansas from exploiting errors for wide open three-pointers; Texas bigs at least getting a neutral result on the glass, and particularly keeping David McCormack off the offensive glass; Texas remaining committed on offense to get into the paint and not allow KU's good defense to extend the UT offense beyond the perimeter consistently; Texas limiting its unforced turnovers and silly fouls on both ends of the floor.
An individual matchup to keep a close eye on could be Brown versus Jalen Wilson. Like Brown, Wilson is more of a 3/4 but he's provided his team with a lot of rebounding both on offense and defense. Plus, like Brown, he's a threat to knock down perimeter shots and has been able to get to the free throw line at a good rate. Unlike Brown, Wilson has been pretty good at playing without fouling. Additionally, Texas can't allow Marcus Garrett to constantly disrupt their ball screen action around the perimeter. I'm assuming Texas will throw multiple guards at Garrett on defense like it did against Cade Cunningham.
Betting line: Kansas -4.5; O/U 137 (same as the opening line, per Covers.com)
KenPom.com Prediction: No. 7 Kansas 70, No. 9 Texas 67
BartTorvik.com Prediction: No. 12 Kansas 70, No. 5 Texas 69
Dustin's thoughts: We'll see if it lives up to the ranking, but I'm expecting a really good game today when teams trade runs and play a tight finish in the second half. In the end, I think Kansas is more comfortable playing at an accelerated pace on offense and frees itself for a couple more threes and wins the battle on the offensive glass enough to close out a close victory. That said, I think Texas will show today it absolutely belongs and can play right with anyone in the league.
The matchup, in my opinion, comes down to a few things: Texas's awareness in transition defense to keep Kansas from exploiting errors for wide open three-pointers; Texas bigs at least getting a neutral result on the glass, and particularly keeping David McCormack off the offensive glass; Texas remaining committed on offense to get into the paint and not allow KU's good defense to extend the UT offense beyond the perimeter consistently; Texas limiting its unforced turnovers and silly fouls on both ends of the floor.
An individual matchup to keep a close eye on could be Brown versus Jalen Wilson. Like Brown, Wilson is more of a 3/4 but he's provided his team with a lot of rebounding both on offense and defense. Plus, like Brown, he's a threat to knock down perimeter shots and has been able to get to the free throw line at a good rate. Unlike Brown, Wilson has been pretty good at playing without fouling. Additionally, Texas can't allow Marcus Garrett to constantly disrupt their ball screen action around the perimeter. I'm assuming Texas will throw multiple guards at Garrett on defense like it did against Cade Cunningham.
Betting line: Kansas -4.5; O/U 137 (same as the opening line, per Covers.com)
KenPom.com Prediction: No. 7 Kansas 70, No. 9 Texas 67
BartTorvik.com Prediction: No. 12 Kansas 70, No. 5 Texas 69
Dustin's thoughts: We'll see if it lives up to the ranking, but I'm expecting a really good game today when teams trade runs and play a tight finish in the second half. In the end, I think Kansas is more comfortable playing at an accelerated pace on offense and frees itself for a couple more threes and wins the battle on the offensive glass enough to close out a close victory. That said, I think Texas will show today it absolutely belongs and can play right with anyone in the league.
