No. 20 Longhorns upset No. 8 Kansas 79-76 behind Timmy Allen's 24 points

The Texas Longhorns came into Monday's night Big 12 showdown against Kansas with an underwhelming 2-4 record vs ranked opponents. 

But behind an electric home crowd at the Erwin Center, the Longhorns (18-6, 7-4) pulled off their biggest win of the season with a 79-76 upset over the No. 8 Jayhawks. 

Texas forward Tre Mitchell injured his ankle in practice leading up to the game against Iowa State on Saturday. The UMass transfer didn't seem the least bit bothered though,  as he came off the bench and scored 12 of his 17 points in the first half. 

Longhorns' forward Timmy Allen dominated in the midrange and in the paint all night long, leading all scorers with 24 points on 11 of 17 shooting. He hit the jumper that gave Texas the lead for good with 24 seconds left. 

Kansas' Jalen Wilson was an efficient scorer throughout the game to counter Texas' front-court efforts. He posted 18 points and 11 rebounds in an all-around effort. 

Both teams jumped out to high-energy starts for the primetime matchup with defensive intensity and an agenda to get into the paint. 

Texas' front-court dictated the energy of the first half. Christian Bishop had an impressive block and drawn charge, while Mitchell and Allen orchestrated the offense.

The air in the Erwin Center started to change around the 10-minute mark. Texas guard Andrew Jones took a steal all the way for a dunk that put the crowd in a frenzy. Jase Febres found his way into the lane soon after to cap a 10-0 Texas run as the Longhorns led 21-20 with eight minutes to play. 

Texas guard Marcus Carr ended the half in electric fashion with a deep 3 over three Kansas defenders that fell through right at the buzzer to give Texas a 40-35 lead heading into the locker room. It was there Horns' first made 3 of the half after missing the previous 10 attempts. 

But the biggest stat through the first 20 minutes? The Longhorns had just three turnovers while forcing 10 Kansas turnovers. Texas had 17 points off these takeaways.

Mitchell led the way for Texas at the half with 12 points on eight made free throws. The Horns shot 13 of 15 at the line in the half compared to just 9 of 12 for Kansas.

Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji, the Big 12's leading scorer (20.8 points) was held to just seven in the first half, but Wilson led the way for the Jayhawks with 10 points and six rebounds.