Big rally lifts Central Florida over Texas Longhorns basketball in a Big 12 stunner
The Big 12 hole for Texas just got a lot deeper after Central Florida rallied for a 77-71 win over the Longhorns Wednesday at Moody Center.
Despite trailing 55-40 with 14 minutes, 30 seconds left in the game, the Knights took advantage of some sloppy play and cold shooting from Texas down the stretch to pick up a crucial road win. While Central Florida (11-5, 2-2 Big 12) remains in the middle of the Big 12 race four games into conference play, Texas (12-5, 1-3) faces a crucial contest against No. 9 Baylor, which visits Moody Center Saturday at 11 a.m.
Final: UCF 77, Texas 71.
A devastating loss for the Horns, who held a 55-40 lead w/ 14:30 left in the game but are now -3 in Big 12 play. pic.twitter.com/tso144MjNc— Thomas Jones (@ThomasJonesAAS) January 18, 2024
Texas coach Rodney Terry shook up his lineup by inserting Ithiel Horton into the starting lineup, and the move seemed to spark the graduate student who played at Central Florida a year ago. After not scoring in Texas’s first three Big 12 games, Horton exploded for a team-high 20 points against his former squad.
But Horton’s points couldn’t stop a Central Florida team that dominated on the glass while shooting 50.9% from the floor, which is 10 percentage points better than the Knights’ season average. Central Florida outrebounded Texas 37-22, which negated the Longhorns’ 50% shooting from the field.
More: Texas basketball considers shuffling the starting lineup after recent struggles
Max Abmas added 15 point for Texas and Dillon Mitchell chipped in 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
Central Florida’s Jaylin Sellers scored 24 points to lead all players.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Big rally lifts Central Florida over Texas basketball in Big 12 stunner
