The Kansas Jayhawks jumped out to an early 18 to 3 lead against the Texas Longhorns before both teams settled in. The story of the 1st half however was the Jayhawk defense.
Kansas held the Longhorns to an 8 of 26 first half shooting performance putting Texas at 30% from the field. What makes it more impressive is that it wasn’t just a bad stretch of shooting for Texas, Kansas was limiting the open looks and forcing difficult and contested jumpshots throughout. This is a Kansas defense that has turned it up a notch in the last two games and Bill Self’s message appears to be sinking in.
On the offensive end Kansas was led by senior guard Tyrel Reed who contributed 9 points on 3 of 5 shooting from beyond the arc. At half the Jayhawks lead the Longhorns 35-23.