Texas Starts Hot, But Kansas State Takes 34-28 Halftime Lead In Big 12 Tournament

Hoping to extend their season after downing TCU last night, Texas didn’t seem capable of missing early on in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament. The Longhorns started 8 for 11, hitting over 70 percent of their shots with 7:30 left to play in the first half. On the other side, the Wildcats were hitting less than 40 percent of their shots. Yet K-State was leading 21-18. The principal reason? K-State had only one turnover to Texas’s five, and owned a 9-3 advantage in points off of turnovers.

Not only did Texas cool off, but K-State was able to resist fouls with the Longhorns picked up several of their own. Early in half, Texas has six to K-State’s three, though both teams now have seven. Additionally, the Wildcats have been much more successful from three, hitting six of nine, opting to keep the ball outside as Texas maintained a 2-3 zone. Texas, however, only managed to connect on two of eight three point shots.

Despite lingering injuries, Will Spradling and Jordan Henriquez both received starts tonight. Spradling hasn’t been healthy since suffering a brusied sternum against Texas in February, and was very visibly winded during his 19 minutes of action against Oklahoma State. Henriquez was also limited due to a back injury that has been recurring this year. Spradling has three points to go along with a steal and an assist so far tonight, while Henriquez has hit two of four free throws for two points and one rebound.

K-State could certainly boast a bigger lead if its free throws would fall. The team has only hit six of 12, and missed two one-and-one opportunities. Rodney McGruder leads the Wildcats with 12 points, while Angel Rodriguez has eight despite seeing some significant bench time with two fouls. McGruder has been nursing both a hurt hand and hip due to undisclosed injuries during this game. He is favoring half of his body when away from the ball, which will be a situation to watch during the second half of this very physical game.