Texas’ hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament took a drastic hit last week with losses to Arkansas and Georgia. One of the lone bright spots during a disappointing season has been the standout play of star freshman Tre Johnson, who scored a career-high 39 points against Arkansas.
The 39 points Johnson scored marked his third game with at least 30 points this season and broke Kevin Durant’s record for the most points scored in a single game by a freshman. Durant scored 37 points on four separate occasions during his lone season with the program.
“He’s one of the best players in this league,” Texas coach Rodney Terry said after the loss to Arkansas. “… We knew that when we signed him, he was the number one player in his class for a better part of his career in high school, until Cooper Flagg reclassified. He’s one of the top players in the league.”
Freshman of the Week: Tre Johnson, Texas
Welcome back to the Frosh Watch, our weekly ranking of the five most impressive freshmen in college basketball. CBS Sports has once again teamed up with the United States Basketball Writers Association and its Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award to present this every-Tuesday feature. Each week we’ll start by announcing the national Freshman of the Week honoree. The cycle for FOTW runs Tuesday-Monday.
Johnson had a performance to remember in Texas’ 86-81 loss to Arkansas in overtime last week. Johnson broke Kevin Durant’s single-game freshman scoring record by finishing with 39 points against the Razorbacks. Johnson scored all 12 of Texas’ points in the overtime period.
The former No. 6 overall player in the 2024 recruiting cycle by 247Sports has been one of the best scorers in the country. Johnson is averaging 20.6 points points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 33.9 minutes per game.
Previous Freshman of the Week winners
- Nov. 12: Tahaad Pettiford, Auburn
- Nov. 19: Joson Sanon, Arizona State
- Nov. 26: Labaron Philon, Alabama
- Dec. 3: Dylan Harper, Rutgers
- Dec. 10: Cooper Flagg, Duke
- Dec. 17: Liam McNeeley, UConn
- Dec. 24: Jeremiah Fears, Oklahoma
- Dec. 31: Ian Jackson, North Carolina
- Jan. 7: Cooper Flagg, Duke
- Jan. 14: Cooper Flagg: Duke
- Jan. 21: Tahaad Pettiford, Auburn
- Jan. 28: Tre Johnson, Texas
- Feb. 4: Robert Wright, Baylor
- Feb. 11: Derik Queen, Maryland
- Feb. 18: Liam McNeeley, UConn
- Feb. 25: Dylan Harper, Rutgers
Frosh Watch: Ranking top five freshmen
1. Cooper Flagg | G/F | Duke
Stats: 19.5 PPG | 7.7 RPG | 4.0 APG
In what could be his final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, Flagg finished with 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Duke’s blowout win over Wake Forest clinched at least a share of the ACC regular season title with one game remaining against North Carolina this weekend. Last week: 1
2. Dylan Harper | G | Rutgers
Stats: 19.3 PPG | 4.5 RPG | 4.0 APG
After earning Freshman of the Week honors for the second time this season, Harper scored 17 points in a close loss to Michigan on the road. With two games to go in the regular season, Rutgers will look to improve its seeding before the Big Ten Tournament begins. Last week: 2
3. Ace Bailey | G/F | Rutgers
Stats: 18.2 PPG | 7.3 RPG | 1.0 BPG
Bailey recorded a near double-double (13 points, nine rebounds) in an 84-82 loss to Michigan. Bailey knocked down a go-ahead jumper with 44 seconds remaining before Michigan responded with a basket of its own 13 seconds later. Last week: 3
4. Tre Johnson | G/F | Texas
Stats: 20.6 PPG | 3.1 RPG | 2.6 APG
Texas may be trending toward missing the NCAA Tournament, but Johnson keeps delivering electric scoring performances. Johnson dropped a career-high 39 points in an overtime loss to Arkansas on the road. He scored 12 points days later in another loss to Georgia that may have ended the Longhorns’ hopes of receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Last week: 5
5. Kasparas Jakučionis | G/F | Illinois
Stats: 15.4 PPG | 5.6 RPG | 4.8 APG
Jakučionis scored 17 points and added six rebounds and four assists during a 93-73 win over Michigan on the road. After suffering its worst loss of the season to Duke at Madison Square Garden last month, Illinois looked sharp in back-to-back 20-point wins over Iowa and Michigan.
Last week: 4
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