Freezing temperatures across the country didn’t translate into a frigid performance by the Texas Longhorns on Saturday in an 87—67 win over the Georgia Bulldogs that saw head coach Sean Miller’s team rally from a seven-point halftime deficit to lead by as many as 23 points in the second half.
Texas shot 68.8 percent after halftime and recorded eight offensive rebounds in outscoring Georgia by 27 points. On the defensive glass, the Bulldogs only secured three rebounds in the second half.
Four players
reached double figures for the Horns, led by a game-high 26 points in another big-time performance by junior wing Dailyn Swain, who was 12-of-16 shooting, hit two threes, notched six rebounds, and came up with five of the team’s 10 steals in an impactful defensive effort. Graduate guard Tramon Mark added 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting with six rebounds and four assists.
Despite a solid start to the game for Texas offensively, sophomore center Matas Vokietaitis was called for an early foul reaching to contest a shot and then drew a questionable whistle offensively for a moving screen that sent him to the bench at the 16:56 mark, a massive development for the Longhorns because of the limited contributions provided by his backup, graduate forward Lassina Traore.
By the first media timeout, Texas had already committed four fouls, including three shooting fouls and two that provided the opportunity for three-point plays, both converted. After the break, senior guard Jordan Pope was whistled for a foul on a three-point shot with Georgia converting 2-of-3 at the line in a 6-of-7 start from the line.
Miller had to bring Vokietaitis back into the game before the under-12 timeout as the Longhorns started to show defensive issues beyond fouling — the Bulldogs were beating perimeter players off the bounce to set up scoring chances in the paint with a stretch of six straight made baskets that were dunks or layups.
Swain and Mark kept Texas in the game with Swain hitting two threes and a layup and Mark driving for a dunk and hitting a corner three to trail 30-28 at the final media timeout of the first half.
In a fast-moving first half, the longest delay came during a review of a dangerous fast-break foul by Traore on Jake Wilkins that was upgraded to a flagrant foul for excessive contact on review. Another dunk given up after penetration and a bad shooting foul on Texas that bailed out an off-balance jump shot sent the game into halftime with Georgia leading 37-30.
The Longhorns avoided a bigger deficit by keeping the Bulldogs from scoring in transition — despite entering the game leading the nation with an average of almost 24 fast-break points per game, Georgia only scored two points on the break in the first half compared to nine for Texas.
But the Dawgs were only whistled for five fouls that produced one trip to the free-throw line for the Horns, who were called for nine fouls that produced 12 free throws for Georgia. Poor perimeter defense by Texas that forced rotations off the ball contributed to the visitors recording four layups and six dunks in the first half.
Unlike the start of the second half against Texas A&M, Texas came out with intensity defensively and execution offensively, forcing four turnovers in the first two minutes and going on an 8-0 run before Pope killed some of the momentum with a foul in the backcourt, his third of the game.
Georgia found some stability by attacking the rim, including turning a steal into a fast-break layup, but a three-point play by Vokietaitis ensured it wouldn’t become a true run for the Bulldogs.
When Mark hit a three after the under-16 timeout, it marked the seventh straight made basket for the Longhorns to start the second half. A missed three by junior guard Simeon Wilcher ended that streak, but senior guard Chendall Weaver secured the offensive rebound and quickly found Mark for another triple as Texas took the lead for the first time since early in the game.
The Longhorns were slicing up the Bulldogs defense badly enough to force head coach Mike White’s team into a zone defense prior to the under-12 timeout behind 10-of-11 shooting to open the second half.
It wasn’t just the hot shooting from Texas, either — by the under-eight timeout, Georgia hadn’t secured a single defensive rebound, allowing a scoring surge that pushed the lead to 11 points for the Longhorns. In fact, it wasn’t until the 6:05 mark that the Bulldogs finally secured their first defensive rebound of the second half.
The route was on for Texas at that point in a relentless effort that showcased this team’s long-awaited upside in the second conference home win of the season and fourth victory over a top-25 opponent.
On Wednesday, Texas makes its second trip to Alabama for a matchup against Auburn at 6 p.m. Central on ESPN2.
