Five Longhorns earn All-Big 12 men’s basketball honors

By Steve Lansdale

IRVING, Texas — Five members of the University of Texas men’s basketball team have been honored for their standout performances this season by earning all-conference honors from the Big 12.

Center Prince Ibeh was named the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year, while junior point guard Isaiah Taylor was earned first-team all-conference honors. Senior guard Javan Felix earned honorable mention all-conference recognition, while Kerwin Roach, Jr., and Eric Davis, Jr., earned two of the six spots on the conference’s All-Newcomer team.

Ibeh has been a force in the middle this season for the Longhorns, ranking second in the Big 12 with 60 blocked shots, and is second on the team in rebounds with an average of 5.2 per game. Since taking over the starting center spot in December, Ibeh has started 20 games and leads the team over that stretch in rebounds (6.3 per game) and blocked shots (2.6 per). He as the only player in the Big 12 to be voted unanimously on to the Big 12’s All-Defensive team.

Taylor leads the Longhorns in scoring (15.0 points per game), assists (4.8 per), steals (28) and minutes (30.6 per). He scored at least 10 points 24 times this season, reaching at least 20 points six times and 30 points once.

Felix is averaging 11.0 points per game — the second-highest average on the team — and has scored in double figures 19 times.

Davis is UT’s third-leading scorer, with an average of 7.5 points per game, while Roach is second on the team with 27 steals and fourth in scoring with an average of 7.4 points per game.

The No. 23-22 Longhorns (20-11 overall, 11-7 against Big 12 opponents) will play No. 19/17 Baylor at 11:30 a.m., Thursday in the quarterfinal of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship in Kansas City, Mo., in a game that will be televised nationally on ESPN2.