Tyrese Hunter scored 18 points and No. 19 Texas shot 60.4 percent from the floor on the way to an easy 80-64 victory over Rice on Wednesday in a matchup between former Southwest Conference rivals in Austin, Texas.
The Longhorns (3-0) led by nine points at halftime, by 18 points 6 1/2 minutes into the second half and never let Rice get closer than a dozen points the rest of the way.
Texas hit 10 of its 22 3-point attempts (45.5 percent) and dominated despite committing 16 turnovers and missing 10 free throws.
Kadin Shedrick added 15 points and Max Abmas put up 11 for the Longhorns, who forged a 37-27 edge on the glass. Texas’ Dillon Mitchell grabbed 13 rebounds.
Anthony Selden led Rice (1-2) with 17 points. The Owls were held to 38.3 percent shooting and made just 4 of 22 from beyond the arc (18.2 percent).
The Longhorns never trailed, roaring out of the gate and taking a 17-8 lead on an Abmas jumper at the 13:23 mark of the first half. Texas pushed its lead to 12 points on two occasions before the break.
The Owls chipped away, whittling the deficit to 36-32 when Seldon canned a 3-pointer with 2:21 left in the half. Texas answered with a basket from beyond the arc from Hunter and then a pair of free throws by Chendall Weaver to build the lead back to 41-32 entering intermission.
Hunter led all scorers before halftime with 10 points while making all three of his shots (all 3-pointers) and canning a free throw. The Longhorns shot 60.9 percent from the floor in the half but also committed eight turnovers that led to 11 points for Rice.
Selden’s nine first-half points paced the Owls, who were only 11 of 30 (36.7 percent) on field-goal attempts and 2 of 10 from beyond the arc over the first 20 minutes.
The Longhorns increased their advantage to 18 points when Abmas poured in a 3-pointer with 13:37 to play.
–Field Level Media
