Another game, another late-game meltdown. Kentucky had Texas on the ropes with five minutes to go, leading 65-60. And yet, when the final buzzer sounded, it was Texas celebrating an 82-78 victory while the Wildcats were left shaking their heads, wondering how they let another one slip away.
This wasn’t just a loss—it was an all-time choke against a Texas team that just isn't very good. A predictable, frustrating, and all-too-familiar one at that.
Self-Destruction in Crunch Time
Just disaster after disaster, beginning with a Tre Johnson missed free throw. Johnson made the first and missed the second, instead of blocking out the four Kentucky players just stood there watching. Predictably Shedrick knocked it over to Johnson who missed, but it allowed Shedrick to get an easy offensive rebound dunk.
With two minutes left, Kentucky still had a chance though. Then came the comedic unforced errors. First, Oweh with an inbounds pass that somehow managed to find neither of the two Kentucky players standing near it, instead landing right in the hands of a Texas defender. Next, Amari Williams tried to inbound the ball to Otega Oweh, who wasn’t even looking. By sheer luck, Oweh drew a foul instead of another turnover, but the damage was already done—Kentucky had lost all rhythm and confidence.
Then, with 18 seconds left, Travis Perry drilled a deep three to cut it to five. A quick foul, a missed free throw—maybe there was still life. But instead of fouling immediately, Kentucky completely botched the defensive possession, allowing Texas to waltz down the floor for an uncontested dunk to ice the game.
Oweh heaved in a half-court prayer at the buzzer, making the final score look closer than the game actually was. But make no mistake—Kentucky had already lost this game long before that shot went in.
A Seven-Minute Scoring Drought? Again?
This game followed a script that Kentucky fans know too well:
- A promising start.
- A strong first half.
- A total scoring drought in the second half.
- Costly turnovers in crunch time.
- Missed free throws.
- A late-game collapse.
This time, the dreaded scoring drought lasted seven full minutes, from the 17-minute mark to the 10-minute mark of the second half. Kentucky still managed to get points at the line, but let’s be honest—when you're struggling to make simple inbounds passes, missing free throws left and right, and turning the ball over 15 times, that’s not going to cut it. Maybe the message at half-time of the Ole Miss game didn't stick.
Wasted Performances
It’s frustrating because Kentucky got solid individual performances. Oweh led the way with 20 points, Williams was a force inside with 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Ansley Almonor provided a spark off the bench with 11 points. But none of it mattered when Kentucky couldn’t execute when it counted.
On the other side, Texas got a monster game from Tre Johnson, who poured in 32 points, while Tramon Mark added 26. Kentucky had no answer for either of them.
Final Thoughts
This is the type of loss that will haunt Kentucky come Selection Sunday. It’s one thing to lose to a top-ranked team—it’s another to give games away in the final minutes because of unforced errors and mental lapses.
With March approaching, Kentucky has two options: learn from these late-game collapses and tighten things up, or prepare for yet another early exit. Right now, it’s looking like the latter.