AUSTIN, Texas — For 40 minutes, Texas made life hard for the nation’s leading scorer.
Overtime, however, was Kemba Walker’s time.
Walker made a desperate, from-the-hip 3-pointer, then nailed the game-winner from about 15 feet with five seconds left in overtime Saturday to lift No. 8 Connecticut to an 82-81 victory over the No. 12 Longhorns.
“I felt like I owed it to my team,” Walker said of his effort in overtime. “I felt like I would get my shot and make it.”
Walker, who came in averaging 26.1 points, finished with 22 against Texas on 8-of-27 shooting. He scored seven in overtime. The 3-pointer came with a second left on the shot clock and put the Huskies ahead 80-77.
Texas (12-3) had a final chance to win, but after getting the ball to midcourt and calling a timeout, freshman Cory Joseph juggled the inbounds pass and misfired a 3-point attempt at the buzzer. Joseph had made the winning shot in the final seconds to beat North Carolina this season.
Alex Oriaki had a career-high 21 rebounds for Connecticut (12-2), which exploited Texas’ focus on stopping Walker to score 42 points in the paint. The Huskies also ended the Longhorns’ 27-game home winning streak against nonconference opponents.
“In my mind, I keep playing through the easy ones they got,” Texas coach Rick Barnes said. “Defensively we did some good things . . . but when you give up 23 offensive rebounds, you can’t feel good about that.”
