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For the first time since the 1983-84 season, the Texas Longhorns will end the season without a single true road victory.
With one final opportunity on Wednesday night in Lubbock, Shaka Smart’s bunch slogged through a disappointing performance en route to a 77-67 loss to the Texas Tech Red Raiders and a 10-20 (4-13) record on the season.
In a game that extends 40 minutes of on-court action, Texas remained competitive for approximately half. After a Jacob Young three-point heave at the halftime buzzer trimmed the deficit to 34-29 entering intermission, the second half was all Texas Tech’s early and often. By the 16:50 mark, Texas Tech’s lead had ballooned to 44-29 behind a 12-0 run to open the half.
The Longhorns never recovered.
At this point in the season, there’s really not much left to be said. The ‘Horns compete and show flashes of potential, but as a unit, are simply lacking the overall talent and pieces in proper positions to win basketball games, which is why Texas is now on a six-game losing streak.
If you weren’t aware yet, this is what a team not named Kentucky or Duke looks like when it loses its entire starting five from the previous season, and as evident by the record, it’s not pretty.
Shaquille Cleare led the Longhorns with 15 points on an efficient 7-8 shooting performance, while Jarrett Allen notched yet another double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Jacob Young’s 14 points behind four three-pointers both mark career-high outputs, but the remaining five Longhorns collectively scored just 18 points on 6-27 from the field and 1-13 from three.
The Red Raiders didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard, either, but between Keenan Evans’ 18 points, 15 points from Justin Gray and another 13 points from Aaron Ross, the supporting cast was able to coast on just a basket or two each.
All that remains now for the Longhorns is a Saturday afternoon meeting with No. 11 Baylor and the Big 12 Tournament, which, given Texas’ current six-game losing streak, may end sooner than later.