For the University of Texas (UT) Longhorns men’s basketball team, there was no better way to conclude the regular season than to defeat a bitter conference rival, who also happens to be the reigning national champion.
UT, which is now in the seventh spot on the latest and final Associated Press (AP) Top 25 poll, throttled the then-third-ranked University of Kansas (KU) Jayhawks 75-59 at home on Sunday, Austin NBC affiliate KXAN reported.
Per KXAN, the Longhorns put on a show defensively as the Rodney Terry-led program limited KU to 36% from the field and rendered freshman phenomenon Gradey Dick until the other side of the half.
“We addressed having the rebound better and defend in transition better, and we buckled down today,” Terry, who succeeded the terminated Chris Beard at the beginning of the season, told the station.
Graduate guard Sir'Jabari Rice scored 23 points and sophomore guard Tyrese Hunter scored 20 to lead UT to victory, the station reported.
According to KXAN, Terry’s Jayhawks counterpart, Bill Self, praised the Longhorns for being the better team in their final matchup of the year.
“Texas was turned up and made us play outside our comfort zone,” Self said in the report. “We got what we deserved today.”
Terry told KXAN that his team used the loss to Texas Christian University (TCU), which cost the Longhorns the Big 12 regular season crown, as motivation.
KXAN reported that UT finished the campaign with an overall 23-8 record and is the second seed in the upcoming conference tournament.
The Longhorns, who had moved into the new Moody Center, return to action on Thursday against the winner of the game between the seventh and 10th seeds.
“We have a hungry team that’s as good as anybody that has a chance to win the big prize,” Terry said in the report.