Game preview: Texas has great players, but is not yet a great team

So far this season, the Texas Longhorns are 15-7, and 4-5 in conference. They have beaten teams like Oklahoma, Mizzouri, and LSU for Quadrant 1 wins. However, the Horns have also lost to highly ranked teams such as Tennessee, Auburn, Florida, and Ole Miss. Texas also split with Texas A&M, losing in College Station but winning in Austin. In the non-conference games, Texas lost to Ohio State in the season opener and got bullied by UConn at home, while beating teams like North Carolina State and St. Joe’s. 

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back in the Mood tonight 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/VxEOSkGSoz

— Texas Men’s Basketball (@TexasMBB) February 5, 2025

Overall, Texas has performed decently well, especially while competing in the brutal SEC, and is currently sitting inside the bubble for March Madness. But, they will still need a few more wins to secure a spot in the tournament. 

Up to this point, the Texas team can be summed up in a simple phrase: great players, but yet not a great team. Texas is filled with players that can score, like freshman sensation Tre Johnson, Kansas State transfer Arthur Kaluma, Oregon State transfer Jordan Pope, and Arkansas transfer Tramon Mark. 

One thing you might notice about all four of those players is that they are all in their first season on the 40 Acres. Herein lies the problem for this Texas team. Out of sixteen players on the roster, only six returned from last year’s team, with two being walk-ons and another player, Devon Pryor, playing very little until the recent stretch of games. 

Adding to the problem is injuries. To start the season, Mark missed a few games with an ankle injury and freshman Nic Codie was still recovering from an injury suffered in high school. Johnson and Jayson Kent also missed multiple games each. Chendall Weaver has been out since the Auburn game on January 7th and will miss the game versus Arkansas per the SEC Student-Athlete Availability Report. Kaluma recently missed the game against Texas A&M. 

Because of all these things, the Horns have not played together nearly as much as most teams they face. So far, the offense for Texas has basically been to get the ball to the best scorer on the floor and let him create a shot. Against lesser teams, or when the stars are shooting well, this has worked. But against SEC defenses, this has often been ineffective. Recently, Texas has had much better ball movement due to players like Indiana State transfer Julian Larry stepping up, and players moving much better without the ball. 

As the season goes on, the Horns’ chemistry should keep improving, taking a lot of the pressure off of guys like Johnson to score 20+ a night, and turn Texas into a tough team to beat. 

The Longhorns will try to bring their improving chemistry to bear on Wednesday night against Arkansas in the Moody Center.

Game notes via UT

GameDay Quick Facts

• TELEVISION: The game will be televised nationally by ESPN2 with Tom Hart (play-by-play), Dane Bradshaw (analyst) and Alyssa Lang (reporter) on the call.
• RADIO: The Longhorn Radio Network broadcasts every UT game on the statewide network. Craig Way (pxp) and Eddie Oran (analyst) will call the action. Check TexasSports.com for a listing of affiliates carrying the game. Westwood One Radio will broadcast the game nationally with Ryan Radtke (pxp) and King McClure (analyst) on the call.
• SERIES: Arkansas leads, 87-68. Last meeting: Texas 73-71 ot (Nov. 9, 2018; El Paso)

Notables

• TWO OLD RIVALS BACK TOGETHER: Former rivals in the old Southwest Conference (until Arkansas departed for the SEC prior to the 1991-92 season), Texas will play host to the Razorbacks in Austin for the first time since the 2010-11 season.
• OFFENSIVE DISPLAY: Texas set team highs in SEC play in scoring (89 points), FG percentage (.563), three-point FG percentage (.476) and assists (20) during Saturday’s 31-point win at LSU.
• SHEDRICK SEES DOUBLE: Graduate F Kadin Shedrick recorded his second double-double of the season and seventh of his collegiate career with his 16-point, 10-rebound effort while adding three assists and three steals in 29 minutes during Saturday’s victory at LSU.

Tuesday night injury report

2024-25 Texas Longhorns

Tre Johnson, 6-foot-6, 190 lbs, Fr., Link Academy (Mo.), 19.0 pts, 2.7 reb, 2.3 ast

Arthur Kaluma, 6-foot-7, 225 lbs, Sr., Kansas State, 13.6 pts, 8.0 reb, 2.0 ast

Jordan Pope, 6-foot-2, 175 lbs, Jr., Oregon State: 11.6 pts, 1.6 reb, 1.7 ast

Tramon Mark, 6-foot-5, 200 lbs, Gr., Arkansas: 9.6 pts, 3.5 reb, 1.4 ast

Kadin Shedrick, 6-foot-11, 231 lbs, Gr.: 8.4 pts, 6.2 reb, 0.6 ast

Chendall Weaver, 6-foot-3, 180 lbs, Jr.: 6.7 pts, 5.1 reb, 1.5 ast

Julian Larry, 6-foot-3, 185 lbs, Gr., Indiana State: 5.0 pts, 1.6 reb, 3.8 ast

Jayson Kent, 6-foot-8, 215 lbs, Gr., Indiana State: 4.1 pts, 2.1 reb, 0.6 ast

Ze’Rik Onyema, 6-foot-9, 235 lbs, Sr.: 3.9 pts, 2.7 reb, 0.4 ast

Devon Pryor, 6-foot-7, 185 lbs, So.: 3.2 pts, 2.3 reb, 0.6 ast

Nic Codie, 6-foot-8, 200 lbs, Fr., Dallas (Texas) Newman Smith: 2.5 pts, 1.1 reb, 0.2 ast

Jamie Vinson, 6-foot-11, 225 lbs, Fr., Oak Hill Academy (Va.): 2.5 pts, 1.3 rebs, 0.1 ast

Cole Bott, 6-foot-6, 195 lbs, Gr. (walk-on): 0.7 pts, 0.3 rebs, 0.5 ast

Preston Clark, 6-foot-6, 220 lbs, R-So. (walk-on): 0.3 pts, 1.5 rebs, 0.3 ast

Malik Presley, 6-foot-6, 200 lbs, So., Vanderbilt

Anthon McDermott, 6-foot-5, 185 lbs, Fr., Hallsville (Texas) (walk-on)

Previous game’s starters for Arkansas

G Adou Thiero: 16.4 pts, 6.3 reb, 1.8 ast

G DJ Wagner: 10.5 pts, 3.2 reb, 3.0 ast

G Johnell Davis: 9.4 pts, 3.6 reb, 1.6 ast

F Zvonimi Ivisic: 7.8 pts, 3.8 reb, 0.9 ast

F Karter Knox: 6.9 pts, 3.0 reb, 0.8 ast