Texas may have a big problem.

Literally.

If the Longhorns are to defend their Big 12 championship, the paint has to be theirs.

It wasn’t on Saturday.

Tech took over down low when it mattered most and Texas dropped the Big 12 season opener to a team that shrugged off a major off-the-court development and won because their bigs were better overall than the host team’s.

More: If Quinn Ewers does come back to Texas, he should be ready for Arch Manning | Golden

The 78-67 loss was Texas’ first in a league opener since Kansas came to Austin and won 92-86 in 2018. That Texas team had a nice interior combo in Mo Bamba and Dylan Osetkowski, who combined for 39 points and 23 points that night and combined for 26.3 points and 17.7 rebounds a game.

Texas' Big 12 opener wasn't a good look for the Horns

Six seasons later, the Horns are team with questions when it comes to lane production because of the health of people they need to consistently produce. While Dillon Mitchell played his best Big 12 game ever, the Horns got nothing from resident OG Brock Cunningham, who fouled out in a scoreless 31 minutes.

Bohls: Texas football should continue to rise in 2024, ESPN analysts Davis and McElroy believe

Transfer Kadin Shedrick followed a 17-point outing against UT Arlington with only two points on 1-of-7 shooting in 29 minutes. That included a pair of point-blank misses at the rim at money time with his team trailing. Shedrick is no sky walker, but at 6-foot-11, you just have to try and throw it down, even if there is a 7-footer in your way.

Dylan Disu, who continues to work his way back from offseason foot surgery, came off the bench to score nine points, but battled foul trouble and was limited to only 17 minutes. He’s still working off the rust from not being able to work out during the summer but expect him to get revved up in time.

More: Texas center Jake Majors says the NFL can wait, decides to return to Longhorns football

Question is, can the Horns hold it down until he returns to form?

The closer to the basket, the more Texas struggled against Tech

Texas had a real problem with aforementioned Tech 7-footer Warren Washington, who scored 15 points with three blocks on a night when the school administration announced guard Pop Isaacs was in good standing after he become the subject of a civil lawsuit accusing him of committing sexual assault of a minor.

More: Texas tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders announces exit to NFL draft after record-setting career

Isaacs was booed every time he touched the ball but finished with a game-high 21 points. Teammate Joe Toussaint added 15, which was enough to play Texas guards Tyrese Hunter and Max Abmas even on the scoreboard.

As for the Horns, coach Rodney Terry shortened his front-court rotation for the opener, but don’t be surprised if he continues to tweak things on the interior which may mean the reinsertion of transfer Z’erick Onyema, who didn’t play. Terry makes no bones about demanding maximum effort from his guys and Onyema’s goose egg in the minutes column indicates the coach wants to see more before awarding him minutes in these money games.

This is no time to panic, but the reality is that Disu is still only five games into his return — it takes awhile to get your sea legs back in the middle of the season — and that Shedrick hurt his back after taking a hard fall late in the game has to be a concern with some tests coming up against Central Florida, Baylor and Oklahoma.

“We definitely need those guys, especially on the offensive end to pose some problems on the other team as well,” Terry said.

Of the two, Disu is easily the most dynamic with his ability to make perimeter shots and slash to the bucket. Defensively, he’s a solid rim protector who was second in the league in blocks last season. He was Texas’ best player in the postseason and that foot injury that occurred in the Sweet 16 win over Xavier was too much to overcome in the Elite Eight loss to Miami. The hope is he will regain his previous form which will make the Horns much more dynamic offensively.

If we’re talking big picture, Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said it best when he summed up the formula for winning the Big 12: hold serve at home and win on the road.  It’s easier said than done, but the Red Raiders were obviously the better team down the stretch. Their guards met the challenge of Hunter and Abmas while their big man held his own and then some.

“First of all, I just want to say Texas was a really good team,” Washington said. “They did a great job. I feel like the way I played on offense goes to show the work I've been putting it off the court.”

At 11-3, the Horns are just fine, but a deep league has a way of exposing deficiencies simply because of the step up in competition. You could chalk it up as merely a tough night at the office, but this team appeared to be much too reliant on its guards in only its second loss at Moody Center in 27 games.

There are no gimmes in this league. The interior has to play bigger for the Horns to get better.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas basketball drops Big 12 opener to Texas Tech