Game 28: #9/10 Texas (21-6, 11-5 Big 12) vs Kansas (19-7, 10-6 Big 12) Wednesday, March 2, 2022 – 7:00 p.m. Central
Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) – Lawrence, Kansas
GameDay Quick Facts:
• TELEVISION: The game will be televised nationally on ESPN+. Josh Klingler (pxp) and Brenda VanLengen (analyst) will call the action.
• RADIO: 105.3 The Bat broadcasts every UT game on the statewide network. Craig Way (pxp) will call the action. Check TexasSports.com for a listing of affiliates carrying the game.
• SERIES: Texas leads, 31-12. Last meeting: Kansas 70-66 OT (Jan. 12 , 2022; Austin).
LEADING IN: The No. 9/10 Texas Women's Basketball team will hit the road Wednesday evening as they travel to Lawrence to take on the Jayhawks in their final road game of the regular season. The Longhorns are riding a six-game win streak entering Wednesday's tilt and are coming off of a 77-42 rout over TCU at home on Saturday. Kansas enters play coming off a 85-77 loss at Baylor on Saturday.
THE SERIES: Texas and Kansas will meet for the 44th time overall on Wednesday. The Longhorns own a 31-12 advantage over the Jayhawks in the all-time series and are 8-2 in their last 10 meetings. Texas fell to KU 70-66 in overtime in their first meeting of the season in the Erwin Center (Jan. 12).
DOWN THE STRETCH: With the Big 12 Conference Regular Season Title out of the equation, the Longhorns are aiming to position themselves among the top seeds in next week's Big 12 Conference Championship in Kansas City.
Baylor locked up at least a share of the regular season title as well as the No. 1 overall seed in the Big 12 Championships with their victory over Iowa State on Monday. Texas can still enter the tournament as the No. 2 overall seed with a victories over Kansas and Oklahoma State in their final two regular season contests, but will need Iowa State to drop their regular season finale at West Virginia. With two games left, the Longhorns have clinched at least a No.5 seed which would net them a first round bye next week.
FINAL TOP 16 PROJECTIONS ANNOUNCED: The NCAA Division I Women's Basketball selection committee released its final projections for the top 16 seeds for 2022 NCAA Championships on Monday with Texas being projected as the No. 10 overall seed in the tournament.
The Longhorns were paired in the Spokane Region as the No. 3 seed along with No. 1 Stanford, No. 2 LSU and No. 4 Indiana.
South Carolina earned the top overall seed with Stanford, N.C. State and Louisville holding the other regional No.1 seed spots.
THE SCHAEFER FORMULA: Longhorn head coach Vic Schaefer makes no secret in the way his teams have found success over the years. Relentless full court defensive pressure, attention to detail, and limiting turnovers and mistakes have been built in to the identity of his programs. The 2021-22 Longhorns are no different ranking among the best in the country in several defensive categories. UT currently ranks No. 1 in the Big 12 and No. 26 in the NCAA holding opponents to just 55.8 points per game. They also lead the league and rank No. 11 nationally in turnovers forced at 21.9 per contest and rank No. 5 in turnover margin at 7.07.
HITTING THEIR STRIDE: After dropping three-straight games from Jan. 29 – Feb.6 , the Longhorns have righted the ship as they've won six in a row and are playing some of their best basketball of the season down the stretch run of the regular season
With two games remaining in the Big 12 regular season schedule, the Longhorns sit in a tie for third place in the league standings with Oklahoma at 11-5. Over the last five games, the Longhorns are outscoring their opponents 357-252 and holding them to just 52.4 points per contests. Texas is shooting 46 percent from the field and 40 percent from behind the arc and own a 186-136 rebounding advantage that span as well.
SCOUTING THE JAYHAWKS: Kansas has enjoyed a successful 2021-22 season under head coach Brandon Schneider as their 19-6 record marks their highest win total since the 2012-13 season.
The Jayhawks rank No. 3 in the league with a 44.2 field goal percentage while holding opponents to a league-best 35.8 percent mark from the field. Senior guard Holly Kersgieter paces the team offensively and ranks No. 9 in the conference averaging 13.7 points per game. Zakiyah Franklin is the team's second-leading scorer at 11.9 points per contest. Taiyanna Jackson leads the Jayhawks on the glass averaging 8.2 rebounds per game to go along with 8.7 points per game.
NEXT: Following Wednesday's tilt, Texas will return home for their final game of the regular season as they play host to Oklahoma State on Senior Day in what will also be the final regular season game inside the Frank Erwin Center. Tip is slated for 1 p.m. CT and will air nationally Longhorn Network.