Texas Crushes Gardner-Webb 98-50

The 2026-27 college basketball season continued with a stark display of talent disparity in Austin on Thursday night. No. 7 Texas dismantled Gardner-Webb by a score of 98-50, extending the Longhorns' winning streak to two games.

Matas Vokietaitis led the offensive charge for the host team. The 7-foot junior, who celebrated his 22nd birthday during the contest, finished with 16 points and seven rebounds in just 20 minutes. He shot 6-for-8 from the field, continuing a recent stretch where he has converted 15 of his last 17 attempts across two games.

Texas controlled the interior battle overwhelmingly. The Longhorns outscored Gardner-Webb 54-10 in the paint. This advantage was compounded by a 21-0 scoring run to close the first half, which built a 54-20 lead. During that final stretch of the half, the visitors failed to score for six straight minutes.

Gardner-Webb struggled significantly from the perimeter. The Runnin' Bulldogs went 12 minutes without a field goal across the first and second halves. Texas outscored them 33-2 during that specific span. The visitors shot 33% from the field and 5-for-23 from three-point range. They also committed 23 turnovers, which Texas converted into 31 points.

Isaiah Johnson contributed 15 points for Texas, while freshmen Marcus Spears Jr. and Joe Sterling each added 13. Sterling made three three-pointers, following four successes in the season opener against Chicago State. Austin Goosby scored 11 points and recorded five of the team's 13 steals.

Mikhail Pocknett and Jamias Ferere were the top scorers for Gardner-Webb with 12 points each. The team was picked to finish last in the nine-team Big South Conference by league coaches. They will now host Erskine on Wednesday, while Texas welcomes Grambling State on Monday.