The only thing missing from Saturday’s circus at Allen Fieldhouse was the clown with a frown — but the Texas men’s basketball team certainly appeared to be a worthy substitute.

Cable television titan ESPN hyped up Kansas University’s showdown with the Longhorns more than any other game in the 50-year history of the Jayhawks’ home barn, devoting three live shows, passing out souvenirs and signs, bringing all its big-name personalities and inviting KU fans to come and scream endlessly in the background.

Now, as they pack up their lights, cameras and action and leave Lawrence today after a 90-65 KU blowout, the national media on hand surely must wonder how such an intriguing matchup on paper could turn to pudding so fast.

Texas has a guess: turnovers.

The Longhorns had 20 of them Saturday, leading to 29 Kansas points — and a 25-point Kansas victory with the whole nation watching.

“We were just silly,” UT forward Jason Klotz said. “You’ve got to be smart with the ball. That wasn’t us out there.”

To be fair, Texas (15-5 overall, 4-3 Big 12 Conference) has been hampered by injuries and off-court issues recently, leading to the absence of LaMarcus Aldridge and the ineligibility of P.J. Tucker.

But, still, a better effort was expected Saturday — and nobody in the Longhorns’ camp would dispute it, no matter how sharp KU looked.

“We really didn’t give ourselves a chance in the first half,” Texas coach Rick Barnes said. “We helped them some. Fourteen points off turnovers in the first half is a lot.”

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Saturday’s slop was the worst conference loss Barnes has endured in his seven years at Texas.

With no Tucker and no Aldridge, the Longhorns needed others to create offense in their place.

The only one who did, though, was freshman guard Daniel Gibson, who led the Longhorns with 19 points.

But even Gibson’s shiny stat came with a dim asterisk — 15 of his points came after halftime, when Texas already was trying to climb out of a deficit so steep, it nearly was vertical.

“Coach told us that the game wasn’t over,” Gibson said of his second-half surge. “He told me not to let them see me quit. We needed to let them know that we weren’t going to lay down.”

Texas didn’t, but it didn’t matter. After the whupping, the national media swarmed to chat with the KU players, while Texas was left licking its wounds and looking ahead toward its next game against Iowa State.

“When Kansas clicks, they are a pretty tough team to beat,” Gibson said. “Kansas has great fans. They really give the team energy. Sometimes, I couldn’t even hear myself talk.”