3 takeaways from Texas’s dominant win at LSU

Texas basketball (15-7, 4-5 SEC) found its way back on the track on Saturday with an 89-58 win over LSU (12-9, 1-7 SEC) in Baton Rouge. It was a dominant performance on both ends from the Horns in their biggest margin of victory in SEC play.

Texas drains ten three’s in 31-point win at LSU

The Longhorns started quickly, with Kadin Shedrick scoring five points in the first four minutes. The Tigers strung together an 8-2 run in the back half of the first half to cut the Texas lead to 26-23. It was the closest they would get the rest of the game.

After taking a 31-25 lead into the locker room, the Horns came out blistering to start the second half.

An 18-4 run early in the second half ballooned the Horns’ lead to 49-31, putting them in firm control of this road SEC contest.

Texas was terrific on the offensive end of the floor, knocking in 10-of-21 threes and tallying 20 assists on 36 made field goals. However, it was the defensive effort of the Horns that should have Texas fans excited about the ceiling of this team.

Texas defense is finding its rhythm

Rodney Terry wants his team to hang their hat on the defensive end of the floor. Tonight, they did just that.

Texas held the Tigers to 45.1 percent shooting from the field and just 2-of-15 from deep. They forced 15 turnovers, leading to 18 points. The defensive effort allowed Texas to get out and run, finding easy offense in transition.

We have seen this team bog down on the offensive end, so creating transition opportunities has become paramount to the Horns’ success.

Texas held LSU leading scoring Camryn Carter (17.9 PPG) to just six points on 2-of-7 shooting. They guarded the perimeter incredibly well, played strong help defense, and rebounded well. LSU came into the game averaging 11.7 offensive rebounds per game. They had four on Saturday.

Horns scoring balance leads the way

Texas has often become too reliant on phenom freshman Tre Johnson to carry the scoring load. That was not the case on Saturday.

Six Longhorns scored at least seven points in the win; four finished in double figures. Seven different Longhorns knocked down a three. The offense, which largely found its energy from their defensive effort, had arguably its best game of the season in the win over LSU.

Johnson and Tramon Mark both scored 18, combining 14-for-25 from the field and 4-for-8 from deep. This was the scoring tandem Texas fans expected to see coming into the season.

Mark, after hitting the game-winner against Texas A&M, seems to finally be coming into his own. The fifth-year transfer is averaging 12.5 points over his last six games.

With Johnson, Mark, Jordan Pope, and Arthur Kaluma, Texas has no shortage of scoring options. The win at LSU highlighted the balance fans hoped to see all season.

Texas continues to win the turnover battle

The Longhorns have been one of the best in the country at protecting the ball. Coming into Saturday, they were turning the ball over just 9.6 times per game, good for 13th in the nation.

Against LSU, Texas coughed it up just seven times, tied for their fifth best mark of their season.

With the experience in the backcourt, this should come as no surprise. Pope and Julian Larry guarantee that Rodney Terry’s squad will always have at least one true point guard on the court. In SEC play, Coach Terry has routinely used Pope and Larry in lineups together.

The veteran leadership in the backcourt allows guys like Johnson, Mark, and Kaluma to get away with forcing ill-advised shots, as they know they will likely get more offensive possessions than their opponents.

Veteran guards win in March. Texas hopes that will be the case this year.