Texas finally showed the fortitude coach Rick Barnes was seeking.
The 17th-ranked Longhorns try to duplicate that effort Monday night at TCU, which finally ended its lengthy Big 12 skid.
Three losses in five games had Barnes questioning his team's toughness, but Texas (13-4, 2-2) displayed some against then-No. 16 West Virginia in a resounding 77-50 home victory Saturday.
"We didn't compete like we had to. There's no excuse for that, and that was our message to them," Barnes said.
Cameron Ridley had a team-leading 19 points after scoring a combined seven in back-to-back defeats to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Jonathan Holmes had 16 points and 11 rebounds after totaling four points and 12 boards in the prior two games.
"We have some toughness in us," Holmes said. "The big thing now is doing it every night."
Texas will seek to build on that victory by winning its 10th straight against the Horned Frogs (14-3, 1-3).
TCU snapped a 23-game conference skid - including two defeats in the Big 12 tournament - with a 62-42 rout of Texas Tech on Saturday. The Horned Frogs are 3-37 in regular-season conference games since joining the Big 12.
Leading scorer Kyan Anderson (13.9 ppg) had 19 points to tie his most in the last eight contests as TCU earned its first Big 12 road win.
The Horned Frogs lost by 11 in their league opener against the Mountaineers on Jan. 3, fell by five at Kansas State four days later and lost in overtime to No. 21 Baylor on Jan. 10.
"It's been a long time coming in league play for us this year," coach Trent Johnson said. "We don't have time to worry about what's happened in the past as opposed to moving forward to the future."
Texas leaned on its defense to win last season's two meetings against TCU. The Longhorns held the Horned Frogs to a combined 29.2 percent shooting and 54 points in each contest. That helped them overcome overcoming their 35.3 percent shooting and 20.6 mark from 3-point range. Texas shot 50.0 percent or better in each of its three wins over TCU in 2012-13.
It could be another low-scoring game Monday with TCU allowing a league-low 54.9 points per game, just ahead of Texas at 56.8. The Horned Frogs are also first in opponents' shooting percentage (33.8), with the Longhorns second at 34.4.
TCU has a chance to reach 15 wins for just the second time in 10 seasons with an upset Monday. The Horned Frogs went 18-15 in 2011-12, their final season in the Mountain West.
While his team struggled offensively against Texas last season, Anderson had 28 points - fourth-most in his career - in a 66-54 road defeat March 5.
Isaiah Taylor led the Longhorns with 21 points in that game, and Holmes had 20 points and a career-best 16 rebounds in a 59-54 victory at TCU on Feb. 4.
Taylor is still struggling since returning from a 10-game absence due to a wrist injury, averaging 8.3 points on 25.0 percent shooting in four games.
