Austin, Texas ? All my ex’s, country singer George Strait warbled, live in Texas. So do Bill Self’s X’s.

Strait was singing the blues about former wives, while Self crooned similar soulful strains about all the missed shots his Kansas University men’s basketball team bounced Monday night around the Erwin Center.

Monday’s 82-67 loss to Texas will go on record as the Jayhawks’ third straight road defeat by a double-digit score. Yet this one wasn’t like the 20-point pounding at Oklahoma State or the 19-point stinging at Nebraska.

In this one the Jayhawks absolutely, positively played as hard as they possibly could for as long as they could, and the ball just wouldn’t go in the hole.

Look at Wayne Simien’s numbers. I’ve never seen Simien perform at a higher intensity level, but he was throwing X after X at the hoop. Eleven X’s in 16 attempts. Frustrating. But he wasn’t the only one.

Keith Langford was off (7-of-15 shooting). So was J.R. Giddens (5-of-13). And David Padgett maddeningly missed so many inside shots. Curiously, point guard Aaron Miles, the worst shooter among the starters at 38.3 percent, was the only Jayhawk who had a decent shooting night.

I don’t need to mention the bench, do I? Yep, it was nearly a void again. If it weren’t for Jeff Graves’ two free throws, the Jayhawks would have had as many points off the bench as a team with only five players.

Speaking of Graves, ESPN’s rocket-tongued Dick Vitale mentioned that a technical foul called on Graves with 12:48 remaining turned this one around.

It’s true Kansas lagged by only six points at that stage, then missed its next eight shots, and the Jayhawks were never in it after that. But KU had a stretch in the first half when it also missed eight shots in a row. And no technical foul triggered that drought.

Kansas University's J.R. Giddens (15) gets airborne for a rebound as teammate Michael Lee (25) tries to hold off Texas' Brandon Mouton. KU fell to Texas, 82-67, Monday in Austin, Texas.

Did Graves’ gaffe cost the Jayhawks the game? Self didn’t think so, and neither do I, although Graves two-handed soft shot-put of the ball at Brian Boddicker while the UT senior lay under the basket was unsportsmanlike at best and stupid at worst.

Self called it a “very, very bad play,” so let’s just leave it at that.

More than anything, those Kansas dry spells were the direct result of the Longhorns’ well publicized depth and the Jayhawks’ glaring lack thereof. Four KU players logged more than 34 minutes on the floor. Only one Longhorn played as many as 33 minutes.

“They got tired, I know,” Texas guard Royal Ivey said. “In the second half, they didn’t have any answers for us.”

Still, if someone hadn’t seen this one in person or on television and had to rely strictly on the stat sheet to make an analysis of the Longhorns’ 15-point victory, the difference would be, believe it or not, free throws.

Each team shot 65 times. Texas made 28 shots and Kansas 25. The Jayhawks and Longhorns had six three-point goals apiece, and the rebounding was basically a wash with UT owning a 39-38 edge. You wouldn’t think Texas would have won by 15 based on those facts.

But the Longhorns converted 20 of 24 free-throw attempts, while Kansas made only 11 of 17. Toss in the three more field goals Texas made, and there you have it.

Lopsided loss for the ages Woodling: Jayhawks played hard, but shots just didn’t fall Texas seniors finally beat Kansas Langford: Jayhawks ‘have to make shots’ ISU coach Morgan seeks Big 12 explanation for official snafu in loss to KU 6Sports video: Texas takes care of KU Hear Bill: KU-Texas postgame comments See the photos: KU-Texas photo gallery Get the stats: KU-Texas box score

So while everybody was talking about the Longhorns’ depth wearing the Jayhawks down, UT’s atypical charity shooting was an unspoken factor, because the Longhorns ranked ninth in the Big 12 in free-throw shooting going in at 67.8 percent.

Few teams win on the road, though, shooting 38.5 percent from the floor as Kansas did. When you consider the Jayhawks’ starters took all but five of the 65 shots, fatigue had to have been a factor.

Monday’s loss virtually eliminated any chance Kansas had of winning a third straight Big 12 championship. The Jayhawks’ chances of finishing second are slim, too.

Still, with two home games (Oklahoma and Nebraska) and a road trip to Missouri remaining, Kansas still can finish third in the conference — and that would be really something for a team with a bench that’s virtually in a vacuum.