Texas falls to No. 5 UCONN in Empire Classic, 81-71
The Texas basketball program endured its first loss of the 2023-24 season. The loss came at the hands of last season’s national champion in the No. 5 UCONN Huskies.
There’s no shame in losing to a program of Connecticut’s pedigree, but it is a missed opportunity. There aren’t many out-of-conference tests on the Longhorns’ schedule, so the game could be viewed as one that got away. Such perspective doesn’t give adequate respect to the challenge Texas faced on Monday.
The Longhorns were undersized on the night, and it didn’t help that they had to face one of the biggest players in college basketball. Connecticut center Donovan Clingan towered over the Texas front line standing at 7-foot-2.
While Clingan’s height presented issues for the Longhorns, it was the Huskies’ well rounded forward Alex Karaban who did the most damage. Karaban shot 8-for-14 from the field with four three-point baskets and 20 points to lead UCONN in scoring.
Texas had a solid enough day offensively shooting 45.2% from the field and 76.9% from the free throw line. It will still need to improve to reach the level that Connecticut is playing at right now.
The Longhorns will next take on the Wyoming Cowboys on Nov. 26.
