AUSTIN, Texas — Freshman Tre Johnson recorded a career-high 32 points, while graduate guard Tramon Mark added a season-high 26 points to lead Texas (16-10, 5-8 SEC) to an 82-78 win over No. 15/18 Kentucky (17-8, 6-6 SEC) on Saturday evening before a sellout crowd inside Moody Center. This marked UT’s third victory over an AP Top 25 opponent this season, as the Longhorns previously defeated No. 22 Missouri and No. 13 Texas A&M.
Johnson converted 11-of-26 field goals and 9-of-10 free throws while adding a career-best nine rebounds (five offensive) and three assists in 36 minutes. Mark hit a season-best 9-of-14 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from three-point range, and 5-of-6 free throws while posting two assists, two steals and two blocked shots in 33 minutes.
The back-and-forth contest featured nine ties and seven lead changes, and neither team led by more than eight points during the game. Texas limited Kentucky to 41.9-percent (26-62) from the floor, including a 25.0-percent mark (6-24) from three-point range. The Longhorns converted 19-of-23 (.826) from the free throw line and posted a 21-12 advantage in points off turnovers.
Kentucky jumped out to a 9-2 cushion after a Travis Perry three-pointer at the 16:34 mark. The Longhorns answered with six straight points to cut the margin to a 9-8 after a Jordan Pope jumper with 15:10 left. After an Otega Oweh dunk gave the Wildcats a 15-12 advantage at the 12:27 mark, Texas went on a 12-4 run over the next three-and-a-half minutes to grab a 24-19 lead following a Johnson layup with 8:50 remaining.
A Johnson dunk provided the Longhorns with a 30-26 cushion at the 5:33 mark, but Kentucky responded with an 11-2 spurt over the next three minutes to take a 37-32 advantage after an Oweh layup with 2:26 left. Texas tallied five straight points to even the score at 37-37 following a Mark layup at the 1:41 mark, before the Wildcats scored the final four points of the half to take a 41-37 cushion into the break.
Kentucky increased its lead to 48-41 after an Ansley Almanor three-pointer at the 16:58 mark. The Longhorns answered with a 13-3 run over the next four-plus minutes to grab a 54-51 advantage following a Mark three-point play with 12:39 remaining. A Jayson Kent dunk gave Texas a 58-55 lead at the 10:26 mark, but the Wildcats used a 10-2 spurt to take a 65-60 advantage after an Andrew Carr layup with 5:43 left.
An Amari Williams put-back gave Kentucky a 69-64 lead at the 3:51 mark, before the Longhorns went on a game-sealing 14-1 run over the next 3:17 to build a 78-70 cushion after a pair of Johnson free throws with 34 seconds left.
Texas Basketball Postgame Notes
Texas 82, #15/18 Kentucky 78
February 15, 2025
Moody Center (Austin, Texas)
Attendance: 11,060
Team Notes
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