RECAP: Texas' second-half comeback effort falls short against Arkansas, 78-70

One of the worst halves of the season for the Texas Longhorns almost was erased by an exciting comeback effort. Almost.

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Final: Arkansas 78, Texas 70 pic.twitter.com/VKs205NXyJ

— Inside Texas (@InsideTexas) February 6, 2025

Texas trailed Arkansas 35-24 at halftime and saw the margin rise to as much as 23 points in the second half. However, texas reached the bonus early in the second period and chipped away at the lead via the charity stripe. The Longhorns scored 18 of their 46 second half points at the line and even found some three-point success that had evaded them in the first half.

With 11:07 to go, Arkansas led by 21, but then the Longhorns went on a 12-0 run over the next five minutes to cut the lead down to single digits. The teams played back and forth basketball for a few minutes more until the Longhorns cut the Razorback lead down to five at 69-64 with 51 seconds left thanks to a Jordan Pope three pointer.

After that make and on the ensuing possession, the Longhorns started playing the foul game and sent Johnell Davis to the line via a foul from Julian Larry. Davis made both attempts to put Arkansas back up seven. Kadin Shedrick went 2-for-2 at the line. Texas immediately fouled Zvonimir Ivisic, who missed the front end of his one-and-one. However, Tre Johnson mishandled a pass in transition, the Razorbacks recovered, and the clinching free throws were made by DJ Wagner to put the margin at seven points with 30.2 seconds left. A few more back and forth possessions ensued, but Arkansas did enough to leave with a 78-70 victory.

Johnson led all scorers with 25 points on 6-for-22 shooting. Arthur Kaluma recorded another double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Shedrick, who left the game during the middle portions due to back spasms, returned and provided a gutty 10 points and eight rebounds in 19 minutes. Larry posted double figures with 11 points.

Arkansas was led by Davis’ 24 points on 7-of-15 shooting, including a 4-for-8 night from three. Adou Thiero scored 14 points before fouling out. Wagner was the only other Razorback in double figures with 13 points. Ivisic scored nine points and pulled down 12 boards.

Across the end of the first half and in the beginning of the second half, the Longhorns went an entire 6:56 without a point. Meanwhile, Arkansas turned what was a six-point game with 2:21 left in the first half into a 21-point game thanks to a 15-point run. Texas finally broke the scoreless streak with a Larry three pointer, but Arkansas went on a five-point run to put the game at its largest margin of 23 with 14:22 left.

Texas was 10-for-28 in the first half, good for a paltry 38 percent from the field, and an even worse 2-for-10 from three-point land. Texas also went to the line just three times in the first 20 minutes compared to 18 trips for Arkansas. The Razorbacks were 13-for-18 from the charity stripe.

Arkansas’ stifling and energetic on-ball defense was a significant reason behind the Longhorns’ struggles, but Texas also failed to make many shots in their limited opportunities.

The offense found a rhythm in the second half, taking advantage of the bonus and converting at the line. Texas also was an improved 12-for-36 from the field and 4-for-12 from three. The Longhorns outscored Arkansas 46-43 in the second half, but that double-digit margin in the first half was too much to overcome.

Tramon Mark registered his first game without a point since March 29, 2021, when he failed to score in an Elite Eight game against Oregon State while with the Houston Cougars. He played just six minutes in the second half against his former team.

The Longhorns fall to 15-8 and 4-6 in SEC play. The loss to Arkansas currently stands as a Quadrant 2 loss in the NCAA’s NET Rankings, the Longhorns’ second Quadrant 2 loss of the year along with the December 8 defeat suffered at the hands of UConn.

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Texas travels to Nashville on Saturday for a game against the Vanderbilt Commodores.