If Texas wants to claw its way back to .500 in SEC play, it’ll have to do so in one of the toughest environments in college basketball-and against one of the sport’s perennial powerhouses. The Longhorns head to Lexington to take on Kentucky, and if Saturday’s loss to Texas A&M was any indication, the biggest question isn’t just about the starting five. It’s about who’s coming off the bench-and whether they can deliver when it matters.
In the loss to the Aggies, Texas’ bench managed just six points. That’s not a typo.
Six. Meanwhile, A&M’s reserves poured in 20, and over the course of 40 minutes, that disparity added up in a big way.
“We didn’t get much from our bench,” head coach Rodney Terry said after the game. “If you look at our bench versus their bench, it was a heavy lean… they wore us down as the game wore on.”
That’s not just coach-speak. It’s a real concern for a Texas team that’s leaned heavily on its starters all season.
Outside of a blowout loss to Tennessee-where Terry benched several starters to send a message-Texas has stuck with a tight eight-man rotation. In the A&M game, no reserve cracked the 20-minute mark.
During SEC play, all five starters are logging at least 28 minutes per game, with Dailyn Swain and Tramon Mark pushing past 30.
That kind of workload isn’t sustainable against a team like Kentucky, which has been getting consistent, meaningful contributions from its bench. In their most recent game against Tennessee, the Wildcats had two reserves play 20+ minutes.
Freshman guard Jasper Johnson was particularly impactful, logging just under 20 minutes while scoring 12 points and dishing out four assists. He missed just one shot all night and brought energy on both ends of the floor.
“I thought he was terrific,” Kentucky head coach Mark Pope said. “He actually gave us a massive lift when we were stuck… he did exactly what we desperately needed him to do.”
That’s the kind of spark Texas is still searching for off its bench.
Senior guard Chendall Weaver brings value defensively and hits the glass hard, but he hasn’t been a reliable scoring option. Graduate center Lassina Traore also brings defensive toughness, particularly in wins over Alabama and Vanderbilt, but neither has consistently shifted the momentum offensively.
Junior guard Simeon Wilcher has shown flashes of offensive ability, shooting nearly 37% from the field and just under 36% from three over the full season. But in SEC play, those numbers have plummeted-just 18.8% from the field and 23.5% from deep. That kind of drop-off is tough to overcome, especially when the starters are already carrying such a heavy load.
“We’ve won a lot of games this year where our bench has delivered,” Terry said. “Tonight that really wasn’t the case.”
That’s putting it mildly. And with Kentucky up next-a team that doesn’t just rely on its depth but thrives because of it-Texas can’t afford another no-show from its second unit.
Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. CT, and if the Longhorns want to walk out of Rupp Arena with a season-altering win, it won’t just be on Swain, Mark, and the rest of the starting five.
The bench has to show up. Because against a program like Kentucky, depth isn’t a luxury-it’s a necessity.