No. 15 Texas entered Saturday’s game at Kansas State riding a seven-game win streak, with Rick Barnes’ team not only well on its way to earning an NCAA tournament bid also sitting just a game behind Kansas in the Big 12 standings. But the Longhorns ran into a buzz saw in Manhattan, with Marcus Foster going off and the Wildcats rolling to the 74-57 victory.
But the loss may not be the biggest problem for Texas moving forward. Junior forward Jonathan Holmes left the game in the first half with a right knee injury, and the severity of the injury won’t be known until he undergoes an MRI on Sunday according to ESPN’s Andy Katx.
To say the least, if Holmes were to be lost for a significant amount of time that would be a critical blow for Texas to absorb.
From Texas: Jonathan Holmes injured his right knee in loss to Kansas State and will have an MRI Sunday. Extent of injury is unknown.
— Andy Katz (@TheAndyKatz) February 9, 2014
Holmes is currently Texas’ leading scorer and second-leading rebounder, posting averages of 13.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per contest. In the Longhorns’ 59-54 win at TCU on Tuesday night Holmes put together one of his most productive outings of the season, scoring 20 points and grabbing 16 rebounds.
In the win over Kansas last Saturday he scored 22 points and even with the strides made by sophomores Prince Ibeh and Cameron Ridley, Holmes is a player Texas can ill-afford to lose. Texas hosts No. 19 Oklahoma State on Tuesday night.
