A three-game losing streak coming into a key Dec. 9 matchup at home at the Frank Erwin Center hung over the heads of the entire Texas basketball coaching staff and locker room. Texas basketball needed a win to get back on track as home underdogs to cap the weekend against the Purdue Boilermakers.
Heading into this meeting against Purdue, Texas basketball was trending in the opposite direction than its opposition. Purdue was coming off a gigantic win over a conference foe, and top 25 ranked team in both polls, in the Maryland Terrapins. Texas basketball was coming off three losses against the Michigan State Spartans, Radford Highlanders, and VCU Rams.