Texas struggles to score in 59-52 loss to Michigan

After putting forth its worst offensive performance of the season, a second half push wasn’t enough as the Texas Longhorns fell to the Michigan Wolverines on Tuesday night, 59-52.

To put into perspective just how seldom each team found the nylon throughout the night, at the initial under-16 media timeout, Texas owned just a 2-0 edge. As Michigan slowly but surely found its stroke, though, Texas didn’t, missing its first five three-pointers and starting 3-13 from the field as leading scorer Andrew Jones (15.3 ppg) watched helplessly from the sideline with a fractured wrist.

It wasn’t until nearly 14 minutes into the game that Texas finally cracked double digits on the scoreboard and by halftime, the ‘Horns trailed 32-20.

Just as it already has this season, though, Texas made a second half push, with Dylan Osetkowski leading the way for 14 quick points, which cut Michigan’s edge to just three points, 37-34.

Just as the ‘Horns found life, though, the Wolverines responded with a quick trio of threes, including two from Moe Wagner, as Michigan’s lead soon mushroomed to 48-34.

That same 14-point lead was maintained coming out of the under-eight timeout and in an instant, Texas caught a break.

With Michigan enjoying a comfortable 50-36 lead, Wagner rolled his ankle and after leaving the game, Texas erupted for a rapid 7-0 run, pulling back within striking distance, 50-43.

Just as it seemed Texas had found some life offensively, though, Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman responded with a banked in three-pointed, pushing the lead back to double digits, 53-43.

It was essentially the dagger for Texas, which failed to match even Michigan’s 53 points with nearly five minutes remaining en route to the 59-52 loss.

As seen by the final score, Texas struggled mightily on the offensive end, which was to be expected a bit with Jones out, but not quite to the level that proved true on Tuesday.

Dylan Osetkowski led the way for Texas with 17 points on 6-11 attempts, while Mohamed Bamba added another double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Kerwin Roach Jr. contributed 11 points of his own, but the remainder of the roster added 14 total points, including Eric Davis Jr’s one point, as he started in place of Jones.

A similar lack of parity was found for Michigan, with Abdul-Rahkman scoring 17 points to lead the Wolverines. Charles Matthews trailed him with 12 points. Wagner and Duncan Robinson each contributed 10 points, as well.

With the loss, Texas now drops to 6-3 on the season.

Next up, Texas will host Louisiana Tech on Saturday, Dec. 16. The game will tip-off at 9:00 p.m. ET on Longhorn Network.