Matas Vokietaitis erupted for a career-high 28 points and perfect free throws, showcasing resilience and a path to consistent dominance.
Texas center Matas Vokietaitis had a career night on Monday, scoring a personal best 28 points, including a 14/14 night from the free throw line, tying a program record for most free throws made without a miss.
His performance helped the Longhorns ease past Southern, 95-69.
This is on the heels of Vokietaitis' worst game of the season against Virginia, where he scored just seven points on 2/7 shooting and a subpar 3/9 from the charity stripe. Talk about an improvement.
Vokietaitis has had opportunities from the line all season long. His eight free throws per game rank tied for 22nd in college basketball. However, Monday night's game was the first time Vokietatis took advantage of his freebies since Texas' first game of the season against Duke.
If he can continue to build confidence from the line, his 69% free-throw percentage will only grow, meaning nights like this will happen a lot more frequently.
"He went 3-9 against Virginia, (he) obviously felt bad, and even leading into that game, (he) just wasn't shooting the percentage he's capable of," Texas head coach Sean Miller said after the game. "Nobody's getting fouled in the country more than him... I'm really happy for him, proud of him. He works at it, he really does."
Many players grow frustrated when they are fouled, but not Vokietaitis. In fact, he's "happy" when he hears the refs whistle blows.
"When they foul me I'm happy, because I can help the team win by making free throws," he said.
Vokietaitis' bounce-back performance also speaks volumes to his mental strength and fortitude. The 21-year-old from Lithuania showed that even with his back against the wall, he's not afraid to come out swinging the next game.
"It's a reminder about Matas that he's a young player," Miller said after the Longhorns' game against Virginia. "I thought he had two or three shots tonight I couldn't believe he missed. When that happens to a player that's young, it can lead to now I can't make a free throw, now you miss a couple of free throws, now I can't do anything right."
"I think Matas experienced some of that tonight."
But those experiences lasted only one night.
Now, Vokietaitis faces another test when Texas travels to Hartford, Connecticut, on Friday to take on the No. 5 UConn Huskies.
If he passes it with flying colors, there's no reason his production can't continue entering conference play.