When you're staring down a double-digit deficit on the road against a team with nothing to lose, it’s gut-check time. And on Saturday afternoon in Norman, Texas men's basketball answered that call - not with panic, but with poise.
Down 14 in the first half to an Oklahoma squad sitting at the bottom of the SEC standings, the Longhorns could’ve folded. Instead, they flipped the script. What started as a sluggish, flat-footed showing turned into one of Texas’ most complete performances of the season, as they stormed back to take down the Sooners, 79-69, at the Lloyd Noble Center.
“We’re getting to that point in the season where we have a lot of games behind us and a lot of experience,” head coach Sean Miller said postgame. “And I would say that today was one of our top moments as a team.”
The Sooners came out swinging, and for a while, it looked like they might land a knockout punch early. They set the tone defensively, taking away Texas’ top scoring options and forcing the Longhorns into tough, contested looks.
The result? A 14-point hole that had Texas reeling.
But then came the response.
In the final 10 minutes of the first half, Texas caught fire - hitting nine straight field goals to claw their way back into the game. The offense, which had sputtered early, suddenly found a rhythm. The Longhorns trimmed the deficit to just three at the break, and more importantly, they had momentum.
“I know we didn’t get off to a good start,” Miller said, “but we put that behind us and ended up having a great performance, especially in the second half.”
That second half was a different story entirely. Texas looked like a team that had found its identity midgame - confident, composed, and in control.
Oklahoma hung around for a while, but when it mattered most, the Sooners ran out of gas. They didn’t hit a single field goal in the final three minutes, and Texas took full advantage.
The turning point? It started with a hustle play.
Junior forward Dailyn Swain snagged a key rebound and quickly pushed the ball ahead to senior guard Jordan Pope. Pope, cool and collected, waited for the play to develop before finding graduate forward Lassina Traore, who set up Swain for a hard-charging layup in traffic. That bucket gave Texas a 67-63 lead - their first real cushion of the game.
Next trip down the floor, Pope drilled a deep three. Timeout Oklahoma. On the following possession, Pope did it again - another dagger from beyond the arc that stretched the lead and silenced the home crowd.
From that point on, Texas slammed the door shut, finishing the game hitting 8 of their final 9 shots from the field - a complete 180 from their rocky start.
Swain was the heartbeat of the team once again, stuffing the stat sheet and leading the Longhorns in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. His ability to impact the game in so many ways has been a constant this season, and Miller didn’t hold back in his praise.
“There’s no player in the SEC that means more to his team than what Dailyn Swain means to us,” Miller said. “He’s played at an incredible level.”
But it wasn’t just the stars who stepped up. Junior guard Simeon Wilcher and junior forward Camden Heide - both of whom had been relatively quiet in conference play - made their presence felt in a big way. The duo combined for 23 points and came through with critical plays in crunch time.
Wilcher, in particular, delivered a clean, efficient performance off the bench: 10 points, two assists, no turnovers, and a pair of clutch threes when the game was hanging in the balance.
“Today was a sign, a good sign for our team,” Miller said. “A big reason we won was because of our bench.”
For Texas, this wasn’t just a win over a struggling opponent - it was a statement. A team that’s had its share of ups and downs showed it can take a punch, regroup, and respond with authority. And with the back half of SEC play looming, that kind of resilience might be the most important stat of all.