Men's Basketball: Texas keeps fading NCAA Tournament hopes alive with overtime road win over No. 25 Mississippi State, 87-82

[Jeff Howe]

It might not be enough to put Texas in a better position to reach the NCAA Tournament or save men’s basketball coach Rodney Terry’s job. Nevertheless, Tuesday’s 87-82 overtime road win over No. 25 Mississippi State showed the Longhorns aren’t ready to put the 2024-25 season to bed.

Texas (17-13, 6-11 SEC) picked up a much-needed victory over the Bulldogs at Humphrey Coliseum, overcoming a second-half surge by Mississippi State (20-10, 8-9) to snap a three-game losing streak.

The Longhorns ran their lead up to 12 points in the second half, but the Bulldogs chipped away at the deficit and tied the game at 71 with 9.8 seconds remaining in regulation. Forward RJ Melendez stole Jordan Pope’s inbound pass and found guard Riley Kugel for a bucket, knotting the game up for the first time since the final 1:49 of the first half.

Thanks to a 14-0 run, Texas wiped out an eight-point deficit en route to a 37-32 halftime lead, 37-32. The Longhorns went up by eight when Tramon Mark knocked down a 3-pointer for the game’s first basket of the second half and led for the entire second half until Kugel’s game-tying layup.

Pope’s jumper from the elbow for the first points of overtime gave Texas a lead it never relinquished. Mark and Tre Johnson combined to score nine of the team’s 16 points in overtime on a night when they led the way on offense. Mark led all scorers on Tuesday with 24 points on 9-for-13 shooting (4-for-6 on 3-pointers) with four rebounds and one blocked shot in his return after missing last Saturday's 83-67 home loss to Georgia with a back injury. Johnson recorded 23 points (8-for-16 shooting, 6-for-9 from 3-point range), four assists, three rebounds and one steal.

It was over when…: Mark rebounded a missed 3-pointer by Josh Hubbard and was fouled with 20.8 seconds left in overtime. Mark’s two free throws extended the lead to three points, 85-82. The Longhorns put the game away on Mississippi State’s ensuing possession when Arthur Kaluma rebounded another missed three by Hubbard and was fouled with 7.8 seconds left. Kaluma followed up his 11th rebound of the game by knocking down two foul shots, the final points of the night for either side.

Top Offensive Performer: How good were Johnson and Mark on Tuesday? The Longhorn gunners shot a combined 17-for-29 from the field, 10-for-18 from beyond the arc and 3-for-4 from the foul line. The rest of the team went 14-for-35 overall, 1-for-5 on 3-pointers and 11-for-19 on free throws.

Top Defensive Performer: Kaluma’s 11 rebounds led everyone on the court, with eight coming on the defensive end. Texas held Mississippi State to a 39.7 percent shooting night (27-for-68), including a 6-for-25 mark from 3-point range.

Reason for Optimism: If Mark and Kaluma (a double-double with 10 points) are reasonably healthy, Johnson has help to make the Longhorns competitive in the postseason. Beyond personnel on the floor, credit the Longhorns for regrouping after a disastrous end to regulation, taking control of the game in overtime.

Reason for Pessimism: The Bulldogs scored 13 points off 16 Texas turnovers, including the tying points near the end of regulation. Watching a team fail to take care of the basketball is frustrating. Watching the Longhorns commit multiple backcourt violations and struggle to handle Mississippi State’s full-court press late in the second half was excruciating.

Modest Proposal: Since Texas has one game left on the schedule with the SEC Tournament contested on a neutral floor, the Longhorns shouldn't worry about a lack of calls going their way. That matters because it must force the issue trying to get to the foul line to even out the free-throw differential. The Bulldogs were 16-for-18 from the foul line in the second half while Texas was just 2-for-6, which played a big role in Mississippi State’s comeback.

Biggest Question Before the Next Game: How will the Longhorns handle a do-or-die situation?

Texas is squarely on the bubble and most likely on the outside looking in heading into Saturday’s regular-season finale against Oklahoma at Moody Center (7 p.m., SEC Network). The same is true for the Sooners and coach Porter Moser, who's 0-8 against the Longhorns during his time in Norman.

The sense of urgency should be high, to say the least.

Oklahoma (17-12, 4-12) has a home game against No. 15 Missouri on Wednesday before heading to the Forty Acres. It doesn't matter if the Sooners’ bubble pops before Saturday. Texas can't let Oklahoma win and put it in a situation where the Longhorns must win the SEC Tournament to be a part of March Madness. The Longhorns must maintain what little control of their destiny they have left.

View full news story

[Jeff Howe]

A few notes:

— Tre Johnson played a season-high 43 minutes. Tuesday's game marked his 13th 20-point game of the season.

— Arthur Kaluma's double-double was his eighth of the season.

— Jayson Kent had a season-high 10 rebounds.

— Tramon Mark tied a season high with nine field goals and a career high with four 3-pointers.

— Texas has wins over four AP Top 25 opponents this season. RT has 15 wins over AP Top 25 opponents as Texas' coach.

— Texas is 17-10 under RT in games decided by five points or less or in overtime.

[817 Boxing B]

Great post but what a game!! Heart was in my throat!! The Horns found every way to give the game back to the Bulldogs, and they damn near did. Tre has to be more consistent on the defensive end. The way to the floor in the NBA starts on the defensive end and right now, he is widely inconsistent. The physicality of the SEC is too much for thsi year's team. The lack of strong handle by the PG position and poor contact balance really shows up in conference play. Nobody can really play through contact on this team. Too often do I see Horns lose the ball or hitting the floor on contact. Gotta be maddening for RT to watch them melt down and then make the decision to fight or give up every single game. Anyways.. keep up the good work and this bubble life has my stomach... bubbling...💩🤣🤣🤣🤣🤦🏿‍♂️🤘🏿🫡

[Jeff Howe]

 

[817 Boxing B]

10 minutes ago, Jeff Howe said:

A few notes:

— Tre Johnson played a season-high 43 minutes. Tuesday's game marked his 13th 20-point game of the season.

— Arthur Kaluma's double-double was his eighth of the season.

— Jayson Kent had a season-high 10 rebounds.

— Tramon Mark tied a season high with nine field goals and a career high with four 3-pointers.

— Texas has wins over four AP Top 25 opponents this season. RT has 15 wins over AP Top 25 opponents as Texas' coach.

— Texas is 17-10 under RT in games decided by five points or less or in overtime.

15 wins over AP Top 25 teams.... and he's about to get shown the door. This is the bougiest barbecue spot in the world..🤣🫡🤘🏿

[Jordan91]

They won. Let’s see if they show up against OU. 

[harveycmd]

Terry still hugs. Given that OTF likes to mark OGs, who do you guys think are the original OG rappers? Some guy recently tried to hype Tupac to me. I said man, you about ten years too late. It's gotta be NWA. May have been some local guys earlier than that, but they were the first to go national. Can't be no Tupac crap.

[Jarveaux]

RT may not be in Texas men’s basketball future. Hasn’t shown he can win consistently. His back was against the wall last night & he came through. Unfortunately it’s probably to little to late .

[Hornmatic]

4 hours ago, harveycmd said:

Terry still hugs. Given that OTF likes to mark OGs, who do you guys think are the original OG rappers? Some guy recently tried to hype Tupac to me. I said man, you about ten years too late. It's gotta be NWA. May have been some local guys earlier than that, but they were the first to go national. Can't be no Tupac crap.

No idea why this was asked or why I’m responding in this thread. But Ice T both literally and figuratively. 

[MarkInAustin]

There is a coach watch thread on this board but it is not this one and it is not the game thread.  

Kent played very well, especially in the first half.

The team apparently has never practiced against the 2-2-1 zone press, which when executed with skill is the toughest defense in basketball but which is a known quantity and should be practiced against before playing a team that employs it.

Tre tries on D, he isn't lazy, but he isn't good at it.  I had attributed that to his having to go full bore on offense but I now also think there is an inexperience factor working against him as a team defender.  He doesn't anticipate the ball movement.  Gets caught looking, or a step behind.

I don't understand not using Devin much or at all in second halves. Were Weaver available this would make more sense.

I appreciate Kaluma's toughness, without which the team would be almost mush.  Kaluma is playing dinged, yet he is good for a double-double.  

As Jordan suggested elsewhere, Tre is now the most likely ball handler and passer to survive on offense. 

Larry played good defense last night.

There was a Vinson sighting.

Beat OU.

[Neil Leininger]

I think they need to beat OU on Saturday and win two in the SEC tournament to get to 20 wins to feel safe on selection Sunday. They lose at home against OU, they will have to win the SEC tournament, beat OU and win the opening round game, it will be a dicey scenario. Terry is a great guy off the court, he has shown his inability to put the pieces together for two seasons now, or prepare his teams with basic basketball fundamentals, i.e. not having anyone available in the middle of the court to beat a simple 2-2-1 press. Just like last season when you have a chance to get to the SS against #2 seed Tennessee and you let your PG commit 3 turnovers trying to inbound the ball.

That being said, I would hate it for this team to not make the tournament given the individual talent we have. Tre's single season in Austin should be highlighted by a tournament run. Kent and Larry have never played in the tournament after getting screwed last season. Mark and Kaluma both left winning programs, chose poorly in their 1st transfers and missed the tournament last year. 

I don't think Terry can get this team far in the post-season, but individual talent wins in the tournament and this team has 3+ guys that completely take over games in Johnson, Kaluma, Mark, and "Pope."

[bierce]

Vinson sighting on the bench maybe.  He didn't get in the game.  I loved the expression we saw on Presley celebrating what was going on at one point. 

I don't think we have to win the SEC tournament if we lose to OU Saturday.  Making the finals should be enough.  That would mean we beat in succession Arky or Georgia, Missouri or A&M, and then Auburn.  That would not only get us to 8 q1 wins, it would mean we have 6 wins over top 20 teams. 

Of course, beating a rested Auburn team in our third game in 3 days, um . . . right.

[Jordan91]

4 hours ago, MarkInAustin said:

There is a coach watch thread on this board but it is not this one and it is not the game thread.  

Kent played very well, especially in the first half.

The team apparently has never practiced against the 2-2-1 zone press, which when executed with skill is the toughest defense in basketball but which is a known quantity and should be practiced against before playing a team that employs it.

Tre tries on D, he isn't lazy, but he isn't good at it.  I had attributed that to his having to go full bore on offense but I now also think there is an inexperience factor working against him as a team defender.  He doesn't anticipate the ball movement.  Gets caught looking, or a step behind.

I don't understand not using Devin much or at all in second halves. Were Weaver available this would make more sense.

I appreciate Kaluma's toughness, without which the team would be almost mush.  Kaluma is playing dinged, yet he is good for a double-double.  

As Jordan suggested elsewhere, Tre is now the most likely ball handler and passer to survive on offense. 

Larry played good defense last night.

There was a Vinson sighting.

Beat OU.

I actually didn’t watch the game last night. First time in thirty years that has happened. Fortunately I watched this morning. Pretty sure Pryor’s lack of playing time had to do with Mark having some flashbacks to last year at Arkansas. He’s been injured too, so that could play into it as well. That’s what he was brought here to do. Fans are so busy criticizing RT  they have failed to realize just how little Mark and Pope have done this year. If he or Pope could consistently give Texas fifteen points a game then Texas would be in most games. What’s odd is Mark had such a good game despite not practicing for three days. Texas does not have a point guard. It’s why I have been suggesting it be Tre. Kaluma is struggling with his shot because he has been playing on one leg for a while now. He’s still rebounding and make some fifteen foot shots. He will deliver that every game. So if Pope or Mark could get it going on the wing Texas could win some games. My goodness RT knows how to beat a 2-2-1. He also knows how to inbound a pass too.The fact that these kids look that bad, in all honestly is on the coach. It was comical watching that. Another I have noticed during the year is some of these players get rattled real easy. Not a good thing. 

[Jordan91]

22 minutes ago, bierce said:

Vinson sighting on the bench maybe.  He didn't get in the game.  I loved the expression we saw on Presley celebrating what was going on at one point. 

I don't think we have to win the SEC tournament if we lose to OU Saturday.  Making the finals should be enough.  That would mean we beat in succession Arky or Georgia, Missouri or A&M, and then Auburn.  That would not only get us to 8 q1 wins, it would mean we have 6 wins over top 20 teams. 

Of course, beating a rested Auburn team in our third game in 3 days, um . . . right.

Codie got six minutes. 

[MBHORNSFAN]

Winning is always fun but this program is stuck in neutral and not improving.  Making the tournament really does not change the long term projection with RT.. Change is needed. 

[thatdude2]

10 hours ago, harveycmd said:

Terry still hugs. Given that OTF likes to mark OGs, who do you guys think are the original OG rappers? Some guy recently tried to hype Tupac to me. I said man, you about ten years too late. It's gotta be NWA. May have been some local guys earlier than that, but they were the first to go national. Can't be no Tupac crap.

Shakespeare 🫨 

[MarkInAustin]

59 minutes ago, Jordan91 said:

Codie got six minutes. 

Right - I saw Codie, thought it was Vinson.

[TexasMDcoach]

Too little, too late. 

[Jarveaux]

Ole Miss beat #1 ranked Tennessee last night . Chris Beard vs Rick Barnes . Familiar names . 

[Jarveaux]

14 minutes ago, Jarveaux said:

Ole Miss beat #1 ranked Tennessee last night . Chris Beard vs Rick Barnes . Familiar names . 

Sorry Tennessee #4 

[Neil Leininger]

We are locked into the #13 seed after last night's games.

[BobInHouston]

On 3/5/2025 at 9:34 AM, MarkInAustin said:

Tre tries on D, he isn't lazy, but he isn't good at it.  I had attributed that to his having to go full bore on offense but I now also think there is an inexperience factor working against him as a team defender.  He doesn't anticipate the ball movement.  Gets caught looking, or a step behind.

Invariably makes a bad first step and, as you note, is behind the play. Sometimes happens because he goes over screens, which is admirable.

Bottom line, his man is open and usually can score.