As Kansas loss shows, Texas’ playmakers must all play well in March for team to thrive

LAWRENCE, Kan. — In less than a calendar year, Chris Beard has lifted the Texas basketball program out of the quagmire of mediocrity. More work remains, but Beard’s work on this particular team is just about done.

These Longhorns are who they are. Now, the players must deliver in March.

To close out tough games, you can’t miss 14 of your last 15 shots. You can’t miss the front end of two one-and-one situations at the free-throw line. You can’t trap the opposing team’s ballhandler near the sideline and allow him to escape like smoke through a keyhole.

The margins are slim when No. 6 Kansas is gunning for a Big 12 title. Give the Jayhawks any slight advantage at Allen Fieldhouse, and they’ll capitalize.

That’s certainly what happened Saturday as the Horns lost a 70-63 overtime thriller in their regular-season finale.

“I think we battled one of the best teams in the country,” Texas guard Courtney Ramey said. “I just think we ran out of time.”

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By snapping its three-game losing skid to Texas, Kansas (25-6, 14-4 Big 12) will split the league title with Baylor (26-5, 14-4). Told that Iowa State was keeping it close with Baylor, Kansas coach Bill Self said, “We got a hat, we get a ring and a towel and a T-shirt. No matter what happens, they ain’t taking that from us."

Texas (21-10, 10-8) finished fourth in the league standings behind third-place Texas Tech and will be the No. 4 seed at the upcoming Big 12 Tournament.

Texas will play No. 5 seed TCU (19-11, 8-10) in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals at 11:30 a.m. Thursday at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.

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“We finished fourth, and everybody’s record right now is 0-0 in the Big 12,” Ramey said. “Our next goal is to win our next game, win the next one after that and hopefully become back-to-back Big 12 champions in the (league) tournament. We’ve just got to prepare for TCU and get ready for them on Thursday.”

The Longhorns closed the regular season with a seven-point loss to the Bears and a seven-point loss to the Jayhawks. Texas was right there in both games. But too many missed shots cost them both, too.

So while there’s optimism in Cooley Pavilion, there’s reality, too. This team can’t afford to have one of its top four players — Timmy Allen, Marcus Carr, Andrew Jones and Ramey — have an off night. All four must be hitting on all cylinders.

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The Kansas game was a prime example. Ramey was sensational. He held Big 12 player of the year candidate Ochai Agbaji to eight points on 1-of-11 shooting. Agbaji’s lone field goal came with 2:37 left in overtime. Prior to that, he was 0-for-10 overall and 0-for-5 from 3-point range. Not only that, but Ramey had a team-high 18 points and seven boards.

This was after Ramey kept Agbaji in check on Feb. 7 in Austin, too. Agbaji had 11 points and was mostly a non-factor in Texas’ 79-76 win.

He’ll disagree because it was a loss, but this sure seemed like Ramey’s best overall game in a Texas uniform.

“Ramey’s an all-defensive player in my league,” Beard said, sitting next to Ramey in the postgame press conference. “If he doesn’t get a little certificate and trophy or all that, I’ll run down to Kinko’s and get you one. I got a bunch of trophies I don't really care about. I’ll change the nameplate out and get you one.

“To not recognize what the guy to my left has done in 85 minutes (against Kansas) is wrong,” Beard added.

Jones had 12 points even though his right shooting hand was taped up. Apparently, Jones’ dog took a bite out of him late Thursday, a UT spokesman said. Jones spent a late night in the emergency room but didn’t look any worse for wear, getting six rebounds and two steals.

Allen had nine points, four rebounds and four assists. But he went 2-for-15 shooting and had all three of his turnovers after halftime. Carr also had just five points on 2-of-6 shooting and fouled out with 3:11 left in regulation.

Christian Bishop had another workmanlike day with six points and seven rebounds. Dylan Disu played some terrific defense late and had seven points. Devin Askew had two big blocks.

But the fact remains this is a team driven mostly by four players. If they’re clicking, Texas is darn near impossible to beat. If any one of them is off, it’s an adventure.

“We’ve got to win one of these,” Beard said. “It’s the only way to kind of get this taste out of our mouth, because we've been right there with the Baylors, with the Kansases, with the Texas Techs. We’re right there, but we’ve got to find a way to get over the edge in March, and I think our players understand that, too.”

Self felt his team played “extra tight” on senior day. He also thought Kansas won it in regulation when Jalen Coleman-Lands appeared to bank in a buzzer-beater. But replays showed the clock had expired — barely.

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In the extra period, Kansas led 65-63 when Beard went for broke and tried to pressure Christian Braun into a turnover just in front of the Texas bench. But Braun got the ball out and David McCormack threw down a vicious two-handed slam to cap his double-double day and seal off the victory.

McCormack finished with 22 points, went 10-for-10 at the free-throw line and had 10 rebounds as Texas went small at times. On three specific possessions, the 6-foot-10 McCormack found himself guarded by the 6-5 Jase Febres and the 6-4 Jones.

One play, McCormack put his shoulder into Febres and the guard went flying backward because he wasn’t heavy enough to stay grounded. McCormack could’ve had an even bigger game but made just six of 13 shots and missed several right at the rim. Jalen Wilson also had 17 points for the Jayhawks, who shot 34% and still won.

“Has anybody ever been to the worst movie they’ve ever seen, but the ending was fantastic,” Self asked the sold-out crowd of 16,300 during the postgame senior celebrations.

Asked to elaborate afterward, he said, “I don’t watch a lot of movies, but there’s got to be some real crap out there.”

That label doesn’t apply to Texas. But the Horns need their headliners to play like headliners if they want any rave reviews. After all, Beard can only do so much.

Contact Brian Davis by phone or text at 512-445-3957. Email bdavis@statesman.com or @BDavisAAS.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: As Kansas loss shows, Texas’ playmakers must all play well in March