Texas basketball (7-2) delivered a disappointing performance in its biggest test of the young season against No. 20 Connecticut on Sunday, and head coach Rodney Terry wants to see how his team responds. The Longhorns don’t have much time to lick their wounds, since dangerous New Mexico State (4-5) visits Austin on Thursday.
Here’s what you need to know for the matchup:
Texas vs New Mexico State time
Day: Thursday
Start time: 7 p.m.
Location: Moody Center in Austin
How to watch Texas vs New Mexico State
TV channel: SEC Network
Livestream: Fubo (free trial), ESPN+, SEC+
Tramon Mark: Can he get his offense going?
Since returning from a preseason ankle injury five games ago, Texas wing Tramon Mark has endured some up-and-down basketball. He had a season-high 15 points against Delaware State Nov. 19 but has scored in single digits three times and had just five points in 19 minutes in the loss to UConn.
For the season, he’s averaging 8.2 points, which is about half of what he scored per game last season at Arkansas. Texas has two players — freshman guard Tre Johnson and senior forward Arthur Kaluma — who are scoring more than 11 points a game right now. On Wednesday, Texas coach Rodney Terry said he thinks Mark could develop into that third scorer the team needs.
“I think once (Mark) had that injury, it’s going to take some time for him to get going again a little bit,” Terry said. “I do think he had his best practice (Wednesday), where I thought he played with the kind of energy and activity that we need him to play with, play in and play out, whether it be on offense or defense. I thought he was really, really good. I thought it was his best practice of the year.
“If we can get him to a point to where he’s consistently doing that, there’s no doubt in my mind that he could definitely be a third scorer to go with those other guys.”
Tre Johnson: Leads SEC in scoring
Johnson, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard, has led or tied for the team lead in scoring in each of the first nine games while shooting 47.7% from the floor and 42.0% from 3-point range. He has scored at least 20 points in four of his games this season and currently leads the SEC in scoring at 21.1 points per game.
New Mexico State: Aggies on the rise
Second-year coach Jason Hooten, a Texas native who’s the winningest coach in Sam Houston State history, is in the midst of a massive rebuilding project.
New Mexico State cleaned house after several hazing and sexual-assault allegations in 2022, and Hooten took over a program last season with a completely new roster. After compiling a 13-19 record in 2023-24, the Conference USA team picked up a signature win under Hooten with an 89-83 overtime victory Saturday at rival New Mexico.
The Aggies boast a massive roster with seven players at least 6 feet, 7 inches, including bruising forward Robert Johnson, who leads the team with 13.9 points and 7.5 rebounds a game.
Texas vs. New Mexico State prediction
Texas. This won’t be an easy game, since New Mexico State can punish the Longhorns on the glass. But a Texas defense that just got diced up by UConn should be sufficiently angry enough to limit the Aggies’ attack.
More: Texas Longhorns vs UConn basketball: See the best photos from 2024 Moody Center matchup
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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas basketball vs New Mexico State: TV channel, time, game info
