An unlikely hero came to save the day for the Kansas Jayhawks against the Texas Longhorns. Sophomore guard Marcus Garrett, a player who is well-known for his defense, exploded in the first half against Texas to help keep the Jayhawks competitive throughout.
Heading into the matchup, Garrett was shooting a mere 34% from the field and an atrocious 18% from behind the arc. On the season, Garrett was only averaging 5.8 points per game as well.
” Every time we go home letting me know to not let those missed shots affect me and just keep shooting,” Garrett said. “The only way the ball will go in is if you keep shooting.”
Somehow, despite the poor shooting through the season, Garrett carried Kansas throughout the entire first half against Texas. At halftime, Garrett was a perfect 7-of-7 from the field and hit 3-of-3 from behind the arc.
“ played great, he carried us the first half when I was in foul trouble,” Kansas forward Dedric Lawson said. “We know he’s capable of making shots, he just needs to keep shooting the ball.”
Garrett had 17 points at the half, which at that point was a career high for him. Garrett went on to finish the matchup with 20 points and was arguably the most important player for the Jayhawks throughout the majority of the contest.
“We knew we were going to have to give Lawson some extra attention so we chose to do so off of ,” Texas coach Shaka Smart said. “He made us pay off of those three threes. He was a huge difference maker.”
Garrett went quiet for quite some time throughout the second half, beginning to miss shots and found his way back down to Earth. Even with his typical offensive woes, Garrett made potentially the most important defensive play of the game by forcing a steal against Texas forward Dylan Osetkowski.
Osetkowski took the ball down low where he was met by Lawson and forced to pick up the ball. At that moment the defensive instincts of Garrett kicked in and he double teamed Osetkowski and forced a steal with 1:44 left on the clock, which then lead to a LaGerald Vick three-pointer to make it a five-point game.
At that point in the game, the Texas guards were hot and decreased the double-digit deficit down to two.
The steal and a late free-throw by Garrett secured the victory for the Jayhawks and gave them their 15th victory of the season.
The game against the Longhorns should give Garrett confidence moving forward and if he can consistently be an offensive threat, there is no reason Garrett should not be a first-team All-Big 12 candidate.