Texas’ Tre Johnson shatters Kevin Durant’s freshman scoring record, but Ohio State cruises in season opener 80-72

On its face, it sounded ludicrous. Texas coach Rodney Terry said he wasn’t afraid to compare freshman Tre Johnson to Kevin Durant.

What? You’re kidding, right? Comparable to KD? Well, yes.

In Monday’s season opener against Ohio State, Johnson smashed Durant’s freshman scoring record by pouring in 29 points on 10-of-20 shooting at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Durant had only 20 points in his burnt-orange debut against Alcorn State on Nov. 9, 2006.

Johnson’s sizzling debut was the only highlight for No. 19 Texas, though. Both teams took 28 3-point shots each. The Buckeyes hit 14 of theirs while the Horns hit only seven in an 80-72 loss.

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This game tested the extremes. Ohio State tied for the most 3-pointers Texas has allowed under Terry, and it was the fourth-worst team shooting performance (.368) of his short tenure. 

Ohio State (1-0) led from the opening tip to the final buzzer as four Buckeyes finished with 14 points or more. Texas (0-1) simply couldn’t match that type of offensive firepower, not with a 0-for-10 shooting slump in the first half and an 0-for-7 streak in the second.

The Buckeyes opened the game with an 8-0 run and never let the Horns get any closer than three after the break. The way Bruce Thornton (20 points), Micah Parrish (17), Devin Royal (16) and freshman sensation John Mobley Jr. (14) were scoring, the Horns should feel lucky it wasn't a total blowout. 

“Tre's a gamer,” Terry said. “Tre played well. We’ve got to give him a little bit more help in regards to getting some things done around him. And we will. Our guards will play better than what we played tonight.”

It was a bad omen before the game when UT announced that Tramon Mark would be held out with an injury. Mark rolled his ankle in the preseason scrimmage against Colorado. It's not considered serious, but at least it was serious enough to miss the opener.

Mark, a 6-foot-5 fifth-year senior, averaged 16.2 points and led Arkansas in scoring last season. No judgements should be rendered about Texas' offensive ability until he's on the floor wearing burnt orange and not in a walking boot.

But it's clear the Horns will need to figure out a way to help Johnson, who will quickly become No. 1 on every defensive scouting report if he's not already. Jordan Pope, who shined at Oregon State last season, was 2-for-8 shooting. Veteran returner Chendall Weaver was 3-for-10. 

In the paint, Arthur Kaluma and Kadin Shedrick combined for 20 points on 8-of-19 shooting with just 10 rebounds total. That's not going to be enough glass work. In fact, the Horns were minus-2 on the rebounding total compared to the Buckeyes' numbers. 

Texas returns to Austin for Friday's home opener against Houston Christian. It's the first of three games against lesser opponents to work out the kinks. The next major test comes against Syracuse on Nov. 21. 

“Basketball is full of adversity,” Terry said. “We’ve got a young team that is still a new team. Rather, they’re still trying to put it together a little bit and stuff. But we’ll get better as we continue to battle through this season.”