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Ok listen, I’m not in the business of singling out kids as the reason for losses, but Javan Felix had a starring role towards the end of a terrible closing sequence for the Texas Longhorns in a 64-59 loss to the No.4 Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday, culminating with possibly one of the worst misses on a potential game-tying shot in NCAA history.
The Jayhawks couldn’t shake the Longhorns for most of the day but ended the game in a 14–6 run to erase the upset bid by Texas.
Let me be clear, though, Felix was not the reason the Jayhawks won. Kansas fought to get back into this game. Jeff Withey had six points, six rebounds and three blocks after halftime to finish his line at 14 points, nine boards. Ben McLemore also shook off a sub-par first half to score 11 of his 16 points in the second half.
The Jayhawks also sealed of the perimeter, preventing any Longhorn 3-pointers after Texas sank 7 of 11 shots from beyond the arc in the first half, including a trio of 3’s to start the game.
Kansas’ ball-handling also improved as the game went on, committing just four turnovers in the second half after turning the ball over 11 times in the first.
In the end, though, the game came down to the aggressive play of a veteran team overpowering a young team that settled for poor jump shots.
In addition to being scoreless on four 3-point attempts, the Longhorns were also only 1 of 2 from the free-throw line, whereas Kansas was 11 of 14 from the charity stripe.
Travis Releford scored 12 points as the only other Jayhawk in double figures.
Sheldon McClellan had 18 points to lead the Longhorns, while Julien Lewis had 11 points, seven rebounds and Jonathan Holmes had 10 points.
Kansas returns to the court Tuesday for an 8 p.m. road game against the No.16 Kansas State Wildcats, while Texas takes to the road to face the Oklahoma Sooners on Monday at 9:30 p.m.
Mike Gillmeister can be reached at [email protected], or on Twitter:@mgillmei. Like his Facebook page here for updates on Big 12/A-1o men’s basketball.
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