Rodney Terry details the true impact of Timmy Allen's absence

Timmy Allen missed Texas‘ semifinal win over TCU Friday night due to an undisclosed ailment. Rodney Terry says the injury is day-to-day, but his absence didn’t stop the Longhorns from earning a Big 12 Tournament Championship berth.

Terry praised Sir’Jabari Rice for stepping up when his number was called in place of Allen, though it didn’t come as much of a shock to the interim head coach.

“Jabari has played starter minutes all year. He is the sixth man in our league and sixth man nationally as well today, but he’s played starting minutes all year. Could have easily been in the starting lineup for us this season,” Terry said postgame. “Again, it was a Next Man Up mentality. He had an opportunity and also an opportunity for Arterio Morris to see significant minutes as well, and both those guys have been working really hard to be prepared for this moment.”

Morris played 15 minutes and finished with 2 points and a rebound. Rice wasn’t any better on the offensive end, however, missing all seven of his 3-point attempts, finishing the game with 5 points and 6 rebounds.

Instead, Texas leaned heavily on forwards Dylan Disu and Chrisitan Bishop who combined for 30 points on the night.

Now, Texas will look to take down Kansas for the second time in the past two weeks. The only difference — this time it’s for the Big 12 Tournament Championship. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET live on ESPN. The Jayhawks have opened as 1.5-point favorites, according to Caesars Sportsbook. The over/under is set at 141 points.

The Longhorns are currently sitting at the two-seed line, according to the latest Bracketology update from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, but a win over Kansas could catapult Texas over the hump to earn a top seed in next week’s NCAA Tournament.