KU basketball coach Bill Self: Texas is terrific

By Gary Bedore Jan 21, 2011

Nick Krug

Kansas head coach Bill Self steers clear as Texas center Dexter Pittman (34) and Kansas forward Marcus Morris (22) crash into the Jayhawks bench going for a loose ball in the first half, Monday, Feb. 8, 2010 at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin.

Kansas University basketball coach Bill Self sat in front of his big-screen TV on Wednesday night and watched the Jayhawks’ next opponent, Texas, rout rival Texas A&M, 81-60, in Austin.

“Texas is very impressive,” Self said of the (15-3, 3-0) No. 10-ranked Longhorns, who meet the No. 2 (18-0, 3-0) Jayhawks at 3 p.m., Saturday, in Allen Fieldhouse.

“They played great against a one-loss team. I really like their talent. They’re a terrific team. They are playing awfully well together,” Self added.

On Wednesday, Jordan Hamilton scored 27 points and Tristan Thompson 18 as the Longhorns snapped the (16-2, 3-1) No. 11-ranked Aggies’ 13-game winning streak.

KU, which has an all-time record of 17-6 versus Texas, has won three consecutive games and six of seven versus the Longhorns.

These teams have met in three of the last five Big 12 tournament championship games with KU winning all three — 80-68 in 2006 in Dallas; 88-84 in overtime 2007 in Oklahoma City and 84-74 in 2008 in Kansas City.

KU, which has a 69-game homecourt winning streak, is 7-0 in Allen Fieldhouse against Texas since the Big 12’s inception. Five of the last six KU-UT battles have been decided by 10 points or less.