Kansas @ Texas preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 14, 2019 ) Texas 78, Kansas 80

Kansas coach Bill Self wasn't happy about his Jayhawks' second-half struggles Saturday at No. 6 Kentucky but didn't seemed too concerned after the fact. With goals set on a 15th consecutive Big 12 regular-season championship, No. 12 Kansas returns to conference play Tuesday at Texas, a team they have dominated in recent years.

The Jayhawks scored just five field goals over the final 10 minutes, shooting a season-low 36.5 percent from the floor for the game, which resulted in a 71-63 loss in the Big 12/SEC Challenge despite yet another double-double (20 points and 15 rebounds) from Dedric Lawson. "There were too many errors and too many naked possessions offensively where we didn't get anything out of it and our shot selection was poor," Self said afterward. "If we'd won this game, I'd be happy going home, but trust me, it doesn't mean that much, it's not going to affect us in any way, shape or form preparing for our next game." Kansas, which is tied with Kansas State at 5-2 atop the Big 12 standings, held off a late run and edged Texas 82-80 two weeks ago in Lawrence behind 21 points and five 3-pointers from Lagerald Vick and 20 points and three steals from Marcus Garrett for its 10th straight win in the series. Despite a career-high 19 points by freshman guard Courtney Ramey, the Longhorns lost their second straight and for the fifth time in six tries, dropping a 98-88 decision at Georgia on Saturday in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN

ABOUT KANSAS (16-4, 5-2 Big 12): The Jayhawks are the only team in the Big 12 with two players ranked in the top eight in scoring; Lawson is second at 19.5 points while Vick is eighth at 14.8 points. Combined with his previous effort - 29 points and 15 rebounds against Iowa State - Lawson upped his career averages to a double-double with 17.9 points per game and 10.0 rebounds between his time at Memphis and Kansas. Garrett is averaging 13.8 points in his last four games, including a career-high 20 versus Texas - and his 1.8 steals per game are second in the Big 12 - while Vick is second the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage at 45.5 and 3-point field goals made at three per game.

ABOUT TEXAS (11-9, 3-4): The Longhorns allowed Georgia to shoot 66.7 percent from the floor, including 12-of-17 beyond the arc, while Ramey (6.4 points, 36.7 percent shooting) converted a career-high 7-of-15 from the floor, including a career-best 5-of-8 clip from 3-point range, and added five assists in a career-high 38 minutes. “We’re at a crossroads right now,” forward Dylan Osetkowski told the Austin American-Statesman. “It’s cliche, and it’s what everybody says. But we’ve really got to figure out what kind of team we want to be, how we want to finish off conference." Senior guard Kerwin Roach II leads Texas in scoring at 14.3 points - 10th in the Big 12 - and freshman forward Jaxson Hayes (10.5 points, 5.1 rebounds) leads the Big 12 in field-goal percentage at 74.3 percent and blocked shots at 2.7 per contest.

TIP-INS

1. The Jayhawks lead the all-time series 32-8, including a 10-6 record in games in Austin.

2. Kansas is 88-11 following a loss in the Bill Self era, including 3-0 this season. Since 2013-14, the Jayhawks are 38-3 following a loss - the resulting 88.9 win percentage is best in college basketball.

3. Lawson, a Wooden Award Midseason nominee, has six double-doubles in his last eight games, leads the Big 12 in double-doubles (14) and rebounding (11.1) and is ninth in shooting percentage (52 percent) and blocks (1.1).

PREDICTION: Kansas 87, Texas 71