No. 7 Texas showed up for business against Grambling State at the Moody Center, walking away with a commanding 93-62 win on Monday night. It wasn’t just a win, it was a statement, especially with junior center Matas Vokietaitis exploding for a game-high 26 points, including a monstrous 15 points in the second half alone. He shot 8-of-12 from the floor and 10-of-12 from the line, just a complete force, adding four boards.
Sterling and the Bench Got the Party Started
Freshman guard Joe Sterling wasn’t playing around either, dropping 13 points in the first half on an insane 4-of-5 overall shooting, including 3-of-4 from deep, plus 2 assists and 2 steals. This dude was overlooked in recruiting, but he’s making high-major programs regret it already. Seriously, his career start is *strong*. He wasn’t alone in lighting it up: freshman forward Marcus Spears Jr. added 12 points, junior wing Elyjah Freeman put up 11, and junior forward David Punch chipped in 10. The Longhorns as a squad shot a solid 50.8 percent from the floor, even though they hit a few bumps at the free-throw line, finishing at 64.3 percent. What really stood out? Texas dominated fast-break points 14-0, points in the paint 46-18, and the bench outscored Grambling’s reserves 41-26. Talk about depth!
Defense Locked Down, Grambling Had No Answers
From the jump, Texas was in control. On the very first possession, Vokietaitis drew a foul on Grambling State’s seven-footer Isaiah Miranda. Then, Freeman, the Auburn transfer, turned a steal by Punch into a transition slam, drawing another foul on Miranda! Miranda stuck around, but after Vokietaitis recovered his own miss and drew a *third* foul on him at the 16:57 mark, Grambling’s big man was headed to the bench. That set the tone. Even with Texas starting 4-of-9 from the free-throw line, the defense was just suffocating. They rolled into the first media break with a 10-3 lead, forcing Grambling to rack up six fouls just a little over four minutes in. Sterling drained a transition three after getting into rhythm with some free throws, pushing the lead to 16-3 and forcing a Grambling timeout at the 13:39 mark. Did that timeout work? Nope! Sterling just hit *another* three, making it look easy. Grambling was overwhelmed, scoring only two baskets compared to *six* turnovers by the under-12 timeout. They were literally three times more likely to give the ball away than score. That’s relentless pressure.
What a performance! Texas head coach Sean Miller’s crew is firing on all cylinders early in the season, showing off deep scoring, dominant paint play, and a defense that completely choked out Grambling State. If this is the kind of consistent, businesslike effort they bring every night, the rest of the league needs to pay attention. We’re talking about a squad that can go deep into the season if they keep this up. Big things are coming from Austin.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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