Texas has joined the SEC and is now part of the ACC/SEC Challenge.
The Longhorns play at NC State at 9:15 p.m. Wednesday night at the Lenovo Center on ESPN2. It's the lone high-major opponent on the Wolfpack's non-conference schedule.
Texas is off to a 6-1 start with a opening night loss to Ohio State on Nov. 4, and a 70-66 win over Syracuse on Nov. 21. Coach Rodney Terry became the interim coach Dec. 12, 2022, after coach Chris Beard was suspended following his arrest and ultimately fired.
The former Fresno State and UTEP coach went 22-8 overall and reached the Elite Eight in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.The Longhorns went went 21-12 and fell in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year to Tennessee.
Overview
Texas went through an overhaul last spring with three key players returning.
Texas senior center Kadin Shedrick, who is from Holly Springs (N.C.) High and played at Virginia, anchors the frontcourt. Senior backup center Ze’Rik Onyema returns to be his backup.
Texas brought in former Creighton Kansas State small forward Arthur Kaluma and Indiana State power forward Jayson Kent, who has been injured of late.
The backcourt returns junior wing Chendall Weaver and signed former five-star prep guard Tre Johnson. Indiana State transfer Julian Larry and former Houston and Arkansas wing Tramon Mark, both senior guards, joined Oregon State junior point guard Jordan Pope, came through the transfer portal.
Rankings
Texas is No. 56 in the NET rankings this season, and NC State is No. 91.
ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Longhorns ranked No. 19 overall, and the Wolfpack are No. 53.
KenPom.com has Texas at No. 35, and NCSU checks in at No. 69.
Shooting
Texas is averaging 83.3 points per game and is shooting 50.6 percent from the field, 35.7 percent on three-pointers and 73.2 percent on free throws.
Johnson is 21 of 50 on three-pointers for 42.0 percent and Kaluma has made 7 of 17 from beyond the arc for 41.2 percent.
Rebounding
The Longhorns are averaging 37.3 rebounds per game and have a plus-4.3 rebounding margin. Texas has 62 offensive rebounds with Shedrick grabbing 17 of them.
Kaluma is averaging a team-high 7.0 rebounds a contest with Weaver behind him at 6.3.
Defense
UT is allowing 61.7 points per game, with opponents shooting 36.5 percent from the field and 33.6 percent on three-pointers.
Shedrick has 15 blocks and Pope leads the squad with nine steals.
Depth
Texas has been missing Kent, who averaged 13.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game last year at Indiana State. However, Mark returned Nov. 21 and he is coming off the bench. The 6-5, 200-pounder averaged 16.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game last year at Arkansas, and shot 36.4 percent on three-pointers.
Larry is also coming off the bench and is averaging 8.3 points in 24.0 minutes per game, and he’s 4 of 8 on three-pointers. Onyema and freshman forward Nic Codie round out the bench.
Star Watch
Tre Johnson was hyped early in his prep career and was a Rivals.com five-star prospect in the class of 2024. He is living up to the attention seven games into his Texas career.
The 6-6, 190-pounder is averaging 21.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. He’s shooting 47.7 percent from the field and 42.0 percent on three-pointers (21 of 50).
Johnson started his prep career at Lake Highlands School in Dallas, Texas, and finished up at Link Academy in Branson, Mo. Johnson was ranked No. 5 overall in the class of 2024 by Rivals.com
Johnson scored 29 points and went 5 of 10 on three-pointers in his first college game, falling 80-72 to Ohio State on Nov. 4. He’s scored at least 16 points in every game. He also had 16 points, but struggled from the field going 4 of 18 in a 70-66 win over Syracuse.
Johnson played both backcourt spots in high school, and prefers to have the ball in his hands. He’s more of a jump shooter than an athletic slasher to the rim. He’s shot four free throws or less in five of seven games.
Likely starters
NC State
PG — 12 Michael O’Connell (6-2, 195, Sr., 8.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 4.3 apg, 1.3 spg)
SG — 8 Jayden Taylor (6-4, 195, Sr., 14.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.7 apg, 2.0 spg)
G — 5 Treymane Parker (6-1, 165, Fr., 5.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.0 spg)
F — 3 Dontrez Styles (6-6, 210, Sr., 7.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 0.4 apg, 1.3 bpg)
C — 1 Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (6-10, 240, Sr., 10.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.1 apg)
Brigham Young
PG — 0 Jordan Pope (6-2, 175, Jr., 7.9 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.3 spg)
SG — 20 Tre Johnson (6-6, 190, Fr., 21.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.0 apg)
G — 2 Chendall Weaver (6-3, 180, Jr., 6.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.1 spg)
PF — 6 Arthur Kaluma (6-7, 225, Sr., 14.4 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.0 bpg)
C — 5 Kadin Shedrick (6-11, 231, Sr., 10.9 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 0.4 apg, 2.1 bpg)
Numbers Of Note
4 Years as an assistant coach at North Carolina-Wilmington under coach Jerry Wainwright for Texas coach Rodney Terry. He was a long-time assistant coach under Rick Barnes, and went 71-51 during his time with the Seahawks.
6 Consensus first-team All-American’s — Abb Curtis (1924), Jack Gray (1935), Chris Mihm (2000), T.J. Ford (2003), Kevin Durant (2007) and D.J. Augustine (2008)
38 NCAA Tournament appearances, with majority happening after 1989, and eight prior to 1979. The Longhorns have made it the Final Four three times, and eight trips to the Elite Eight.
Game within the game: Texas' Arthur Kaluma at NC State's Dontrez Styles
The last time NC State faced off against Texas senior forward Arthur Kaluma, he was wearing a Creighton uniform.
Kaluma went 2 of 6 from the field ad had 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists in a 72-63 win over NC State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 17, 2023.
Kaluma helped the Bluejays reach the Elite Eight and he averaged 11.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game for CU. He then surprisingly left Creighton, landing at Kansas State for the 2023-24 season.
Kaluma improved his numbers across the board with the Wildcats, averaging 14.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. He shot 51 of 148 from beyond the arc for 34.5 percent. He the entered the transfer portal again, and entered the NBA Draft for a second time.
Now, Kaluma is averaging 14.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists a contest for the Longhorns this season. He’s shooting a career-high 41.2 percent and has had to play more at stretch four with the injury to Jayson Kent.
Kaluma attended Glendale (Ariz.) Dream City Christian and was ranked No. 51 overall by Rivals.com in the class of 2021.
Kaluma will likely matchup against NC State senior forward Dontrez Styles, who previously played at North Carolina and Georgetown. The 6-6 Styles is averaging 7.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, and struggled in both games last week. Styles finished with six points, three rebounds and eight fouls in the losses against Purdue and BYU.
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