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    Jeff Howe
    AUSTIN, Texas — On a night when the Texas men’s basketball team needed a win to keep its fading NCAA Tournament hopes alive, the Longhorns laid an egg in an 83-67 loss to Georgia at Moody Center on Saturday.
    Coach Rodney Terry’s team never led over 40 minutes of the team’s third consecutive loss. The Bulldogs led by as many as 27 points in the second half, shooting 51.8 percent from the field (29-for-56; 8-for-22 from 3-point range) and turning 13 turnovers by Texas (16-13, 5-11 SEC) into 16 points at the other end of the floor.
    After losing just five home games in the two seasons since the Longhorns left the Erwin Center for their new digs, the 16-point defeat (the second largest margin endured by Texas at Moody Center) marked the team’s sixth loss on their home floor this season. Just like his club’s forgettable 103-80 loss to Alabama on Feb. 11, the execution and effort put forth by Terry’s bunch on Saturday left a lot to be desired.
    The burnt orange faithful had to be disheartened to watch Longhorns suffer a lopsided loss to Georgia (18-11, 6-10) with their postseason fate on the line.
    Texas plays its final SEC road game against No. 24 Mississippi State on Tuesday (7 p.m., SEC Network) and wraps up the regular season at home against Oklahoma next Saturday (7 p.m., SEC Network). Unfortunately, Saturday's loss to the Bulldogs means winning both games won’t help the team's March Madness odds.
    When Was it Over?: When Georgia went on a 12-2 run in the first half after the Longhorns made it a one-point game, 9-8, with 12:19 on the clock. Devon Pryor’s tip-in with 9:39 left in the half cut the Texas deficit to six points, but that’s as close as Texas got to the lead the rest of the way.
    Top Offensive Performer: Shooting 44.2 percent from the field (23-for-52) and only getting 12 points from Tre Johnson (3-for-7 shooting with no official shot attempts in the second half) sums up the Longhorns’ struggles on that end of the floor. Jayson Kent scored 14 points off the bench on 4-for-7 shooting, including a 2-for-3 mark from beyond the arc with five rebounds. Arthur Kaluma scored 10 of his team-high 15 points in the second half; he shot 6-for-12 from the field (3-for-8 on 3-pointers), grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and dished out three assists.
    Top Defensive Performer: Kaluma had two blocked shots and two steals, but the nod goes to Pryor. The 6-foot-7-inch sophomore finished the night with three steals, a couple of which he took back the other way for transition points. With that said, Georgia guard Silas Demary Jr. led four Bulldogs in double figures with a game-high 26, and forward Asa Newell’s four offensive rebounds (11 total for Georgia) led to 19 second-chance points for coach Mike White’s team (the Bulldogs had a decisive edge in second-chance scoring, 19-6). It was far from an acceptable performance for a program that wants to be known for what it does on defense.
    Reason for Optimism: Jordan Pope (10 points on 4-for-9 shooting, 2-for-5 on 3-pointers, three assists and three rebounds) reached double figures in scoring for the first time since an 11-point outing against Vanderbilt on Feb. 8. It wasn’t enough to make up for the loss of Tramon Mark, who missed the game after injuring his back in Wednesday’s 86-81 overtime loss to Arkansas, but Pope scored all of his points in the second half in 20 minutes (17 more than Julian Larry).
    Reason for Pessimism: The sense of urgency from the local cagers was left wanting, and that’s putting it mildly. Texas produced a dud when it needed to snap a two-game losing streak in the worst way. Saturday’s loss felt a lot like the 84-69 thumping SEC cellar dweller South Carolina handed the Longhorns in Columbia last Saturday — Texas appeared to be going through the motions, waiting for something to happen rather than being the more aggressive, assertive team on the court from the opening tip.
    Modest Proposal: Johnson had a team-high four assists and did his best to find open teammates with the Bulldogs frequently trapping him and making it difficult for him to get loose on screens. Johnson’s unselfish nature and growth playing within a team concept will further boost his stock in the 2025 NBA Draft, even though he's already expected to be a lottery pick. Still, the season will end sooner than the Longhorns want it to if Johnson goes an entire half without officially putting up a shot. It seems to be more of an issue of the coaches doing whatever it takes to get Johnson the ball where he can do something with it rather than the likely SEC Freshman of the Year forcing the issue on offense.
    Biggest Question Before the Next Game: Will Texas fight to the death for 40 minutes? The Longhorns could be short-handed in Starkville on Tuesday, especially if Mark isn’t back in the lineup. Regardless, it should be more about pride than anything for Texas because there’s no point in worrying about the NCAA Tournament bubble. That should’ve been enough for the Longhorns to avoid Saturday's lackluster showing.
    Jeff Howe
    Hours after the news of Terry Joseph’s move to the New Orleans Saints went public, Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian has filled the vacant defensive coaching staff position with the architect of some of the top secondaries in school history.
    Sources told On Texas Football on Monday that the Longhorns have hired Duane Akina as their safeties coach, a move first reported by Anwar Richardson of Orangebloods. Most recently, the defensive coordinator at Arizona, the 68-year-old Akina was the Texas defensive backs coach under Mack Brown for 13 seasons (2001-13).
    Texas won the 2005 national championship, two Big 12 titles (2005 and 2009), a Rose Bowl (2004) and a Fiesta Bowl (2008) during Akina's first stint in Austin. The Longhorns also produced two Jim Thorpe Award winners under Akina: Michael Huff (2005) and Aaron Ross (2006).
    Akina coached some of the top defenses in school history, including the 2001 group, which led the nation in total defense (236.2 yards per game and 3.8 yards per play allowed). The four starters in Akina's first Texas secondary (Rod Babers, Ahmad Brooks, Quentin Jammer and Nathan Vasher) played in the NFL; Jammer was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2002 draft, while Vasher was a Pro Bowl selection and an All-Pro for the Chicago Bears.
    Jammer was one of six first-round picks Akina coached during his time with the Longhorns. Along with Jammer, Huff (2006) and Ross (2007), Michael Griffin (2007), Earl Thomas (2010) and Kenny Vaccaro (2013) were first-round picks; like Jammer, Thomas was a finalist for the Thorpe Award, headlining a 2009 Texas defense that led the nation with 25 interceptions.
    Huff, Ross and Griffin joined 2006 second-round pick Cedric Griffin and 2007 fifth-round selection Tarell Brown to form arguably the best defensive backfield in school history in 2005. Those five helped lead the charge on defense en route to the Longhorns winning their most recent national championship.
    Akina coached or recruited 15 NFL draft picks and eight All-Americans in his first stint on the Texas staff.
     
    Jeff Howe
    The Texas football program made several coaching hires and changes to the on-field and support staff official Thursday.
    The Longhorns publicly announced the additions of running backs coach Chad Scott, EDGE coach LaAllen Clark and cornerbacks coach Mark Orphey. Since Orphey was hired, OTF has reported that he was expected to coach the Texas cornerbacks.
    A Galena Park North Shore alum and most recently the cornerbacks coach at Rutgers for three seasons (2022-24), Orphey takes over the role previously held by defensive passing game coordinator Terry Joseph. A member of Steve Sarkisian's initial staff on the Forty Acres, Joseph is moving into the role previously held by Blake Gideon as the team’s safeties coach.
    Sarkisian also elevated Keynodo Hudson from a defensive analyst position to coaching the STAR (nickel) position under Pete Kwiatkowski. Hudson, whose time as a defensive administrative assistant at USC (2012-16) overlapped Sarkisian’s tenure as the Trojans’ coach (2014-15), joined the Longhorns in 2024 after one season as the cornerbacks coach at Ole Miss.
    Hudson was the Florida Atlantic cornerbacks coach for two seasons (2017-18) under Lane Kiffin before making coaching stops at Illinois (2019-20) and Western Kentucky (2021-22). Hudson was on the same defensive staff for the Hilltoppers as Texas defensive line coach Kenny Baker.
    Analyst Mike Bimonte is now the co-passing game coordinator and assistant quarterbacks coach. A former Rutgers quarterback and Delaware assistant coach, Bimonte has been on Sarkisian’s staff since February 2021.
    Jahmal Fenner added the director of player development title to his role as the program’s director of high school relations. Fenner’s new role came open after the recent departure of former director of player development Kevin Washington, who accepted an administrative position at Baylor.
    Errin Joe (director of scouting) and Josh Dunson (senior player personnel coordinator) are recent hires who were formally introduced on Thursday. The same goes for scouting coordinator Tanner Martin.
    A Georgia Tech alum, Joe was with the Yellow Jackets for the last six seasons. He was most recently the director of player personnel.
    Dunson worked in the Georgia Tech recruiting department in 2023 before joining the Memphis staff as director of recruiting.
    CJ Vogel
    By now I am sure most of yall have seen Bill Norton’s post on Twitter: 
    Well, unfortunately, it is not a return to Austin for a second season with the Longhorns. 
    I have confirmed that Norton is out of eligibility and is off to the pros. Right now, Norton’s focus is on the Texas Pro Day, not a return to Texas for 2025.
    Jeff Howe
    AUSTIN, Texas — Riding a three-game losing streak and their NCAA Tournament hopes fading fast, the Texas men’s basketball team needed Saturday’s 82-78 win over No. 15 Kentucky in the worst possible way.
    Coach Rodney Terry watched his club battle back from a five-point deficit with 3:51 remaining to end the skid. Texas (16-10, 5-8 SEC) also got one step closer to the likely magic number of eight conference wins needed to feel good about its March Madness chances on a night when freshman phenom Tre Johnson set career highs with 32 points and nine rebounds, while Tramon Mark poured in a season-high 26 points (9-for-14 from the field and 3-for-5 from 3-point range).
    “I thought our guys really guarded really hard tonight, played probably as hard as we've played all year long, defensively, and found a way to grind this one out,” Terry said. “This is a grind-out game, and I give these guys a lot of credit for working the game really hard and working it for 40 minutes.”
    I’ve got three key takeaways from watching the Longhorns finish off the Wildcats down the stretch en route to a much-needed win in front of 11,060 fans at Moody Center.
    — Johnson’s big night came despite going 1-for-8 from beyond the arc. What helped his cause and lifted Texas to the victory was the combination of Johnson and Mark going a combined 12-for-14 from the foul line in the second half.
    Kentucky (17-8, 6-6) overcame a 1-for-11 shooting slump to take a 65-60 lead with 5:35 to play when Terry called a 30-second timeout.
    Coming out of the timeout, Mark was fouled by Koby Brea on a 3-pointer. While he couldn’t convert the four-point play, it halted the Wildcats’ momentum and was the counterpunch the Longhorns needed to get back in the game.
    The team's sense of urgency down the stretch was palpable. Once Texas got into the double bonus, the intent was clear: either get Johnson or Mark to the basket or get the ball into the paint to force the issue and get to the foul line.
    When the dust settled, the Longhorns were 17-for-21 from the stripe in the second half. It was a stark contrast from a 2-for-2 showing in the first half.
    — No two Longhorns exemplified the gritty nature of the win than Kadin Shedrick (five points, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals) and Jayson Kent (six points and eight rebounds).
    Amari Williams, the Wildcats’ 7-foot center, was a problem for Texas, scoring 18 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Still, Shedrick and Kent stayed in the fight, with Shedrick getting a tip-in and a clean block of Williams on the other end to extend the lead to four points, 74-70, and preserve inside of the game's final 90 seconds.
    “The first 35 minutes of the game, I was kind of struggling to get things going. I wasn't playing up to my expectations. I was getting frustrated with myself,” said Shedrick, who threw down a two-handed slam with 4.5 seconds left on the clock for the exclamation point on the win. “I give credit to my teammates and my coaches for keeping me locked in and helping me remember that I'm going to make a play down the stretch to help us win the game.”
    The play down low wasn’t a masterpiece, but the Longhorns won the rebounding battle (41-40) and had a plus-4 edge in points in the paint (38-34). On a night when, as Terry said, "[Texas] just had to find a way,” the Longhorns did.
    — The 1-for-11 slump contributed largely to Kentucky’s 37.9-percent shooting performance in the second half (11-for-29 from the field). The Wildcats committed 10 of 15 turnovers after halftime, with the Longhorns stringing together enough stops to overcome their dismal 1-for-9 stretch from the field in the second half.
    Kentucky coach Mark Pope pointed to his club's lack of execution late in the game as the difference between the Wildcats and Texas on Saturday. Part of that was the job the Longhorns did, using their aggressiveness on defense as fuel to get things going on the other end of the court and close out a quality opponent in a must-win situation.
    “If it's the last few minutes and the game [is] close, we're thinking we’re going to win regardless, even if we're down by a lot,” Johnson said. “When all five guys are locked in on defense, I have no problem, no doubt in my mind that we can make any comeback.”
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