What you missed: Texas drops a crucial must-win game for their Tournament odds in a 69-84 defeat, giving South Carolina their first SEC win of the season.
The participants: Texas Longhorns (16-10, 5-8) @ South Carolina (10-16, 0-13)
Tale of the Tape: There’s no sugar coating this, the Gamecocks have been horrific in conference play ranking second to last in the SEC in Defensive Efficiency, opponent Effective FG%, and Defensive 3 Point%, and rank dead last in the conference in Offensive Efficiency, Effective FG%, Turnover%, and 2 Point%, making this the reason for being winless in conference, until tonight.
Bully Ball: South Carolina Forward, Collin Murray-Boyles, was unstoppable tonight. In 27 minutes, the Sophomore poured in 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks, giving him his 10th double-double of his career and shot an efficient 9/16 from the field while posting a +19 when on the court.
Free Throw Frenzy: In 2025 Texas ranks inside the top 10 in defensive free throw rate amongst power conference schools and tonight allowed a season-high in both Free Throws Made and Attempted as the Gamecocks shot an emphatic 34/45 from the line, the most under South Carolina Head Coach, Lamont Paris’ tenure.
Keeping it a buck: Embarrassing, pitiful, and quite frankly hard to watch, that’s how people will describe this ballgame for Texas and honestly, they’re not wrong. All the bad habits that fans have pointed out about the Longhorns came into fruition in this game, too many iso-ball, lacking a solid rim protector, and finally not being disciplined inside the paint, all was on display and while the outcome is obviously frustrating what’s even worse is the timing of all this. After this performance, Texas has to travel to Fayetteville to take on a dangerous Arkansas team in what will be yet another must-win, and with four games remaining in the regular season, and with such a detrimental loss that hurts the resume like tonight, a bid to the NCAA Tournament is going to be a tight race for sure.
