Texas
Freshman Booker leads No. 5 Texas past Iowa State 81-60
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Freshman Madison Booker had 18 points and 10 assists and led a fourth-quarter serge as No. 5 Texas overwhelmed Iowa State 81-60 on Saturday for its sixth straight win.
Booker also made three steals. Shaylee Gonzales added 18 points for Texas (24-4, 11-3 Big 12), which outscored Iowa State 23-10 in the fourth quarter.
Shay Holle had 16 points, six assists and three steals. Taylor Jones grabbed 13 rebounds and made three blocks. Aaliyah Moore produced 12 points and seven rebounds, most of her contributions coming in the second half.
Freshman Audi Crooks scored 24 for Iowa State (14-10, 8-6). Addy Brown scored 11.
The 6-foot-3 Crooks scored 13 in the first half — 12 inside — enabling Iowa State to take a three-point lead midway through the second quarter. But Texas responded with a 15-2 push to finish the half with a 43-33 lead. Booker scored six of the 15 for Texas.
The Cyclones trailed by eight after three quarters, but Booker took over again. She made four free throws in three assists in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter. Holle scored seven in the period.
Big picture
Iowa State: After an inspiring victory over No. 7 Kansas State in double overtime on Wednesday in Ames, the Cyclones faced a big nemesis — the road. They’ve lost five straight road games. Texas was only the third opponent to outrebound Iowa State this season, and the Longhorns did it in a big way — 38-27. Brown lead Iowa State with five rebounds.
Texas: The Longhorns’ win left them tied with West Virginia for second place in the Big 12 one game behind Oklahoma. West Virginia beat Oklahoma on Saturday in Morgantown. Texas plays at Oklahoma on Feb. 28.
Up next
Iowas State hosts Houston on Wednesday.
Texas hosts Texas Tech on Wednesday.
The Texas Longhorns entered the 2025 season with more expectations than any team has had to deal with in recent memory.
Many among the media were ready to crown the team and quarterback Arch Manning before they even played one game. Of course, those unrealistic expectations were never met, even though the team finished with a 10-3 record and a Citrus Bowl win over the Michigan Wolverines.
2026 is heading in the same direction for the Longhorns. Many believe head coach Steve Sarkisian has the most talented team in the country. But in order to fix the issues from this past season, the Longhorns needed to fix one issue that has cost them in the past.
Changing The Narrative
One of the biggest issues the Longhorns had last season was the play of the offensive line. It was apparent in the first game of the season against the Ohio State Buckeyes that Manning didn’t have the pocket time needed to make big plays.
This offseason, Coach Sarkisian went out and found two massive transfer portal additions that should completely change the narrative on this offensive line.
It starts with potential starting right tackle Melvin Siani. Siani has spent time with the Temple Owls and last season with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
The Longhorns are set at left tackle with Trevor Goosby, who could play himself into being a top 10 pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. If the team can get competent play from Siani, the offense will be able to open up the playbook, and the world may finally see Manning at his college peak.
The Longhorns also went out and found a potential fix at left guard for the 2026 season. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers transfer Laurence Seymore could be another strong patch for the holes in the offensive line.
After spending the first two seasons of his college career with the Miami Hurricanes, Seymore made stops with the Akron Zips and the Hilltoppers.
Of course, the one concern with Seymore is wondering if he can compete at the SEC level coming from the C-USA.
This season for the Longhorns starts and stops with the play of Manning. Coach Sarkisian and the rest of this coaching staff understood that protecting their quarterback was the most important goal when building the 2026 roster.
The Longhorns are going to be leaning on veteran talent to protect their quarterback, and it may very well be the best decision they made this offseason.
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