Austin, Texas ? The Texas Longhorns are fitting all the pieces together again. Brad Buckman included.

The senior forward was back on the court Tuesday night, scoring 16 points and grabbing nine rebounds to lead the fifth-ranked Longhorns to an easy 80-46 win over Texas Tech.

“It was fun to be back,” Buckman said. “I haven’t played a full game in a while.”

Buckman has missed four games and parts of several others with various calf, ankle and hip injuries and his absence has hurt the Longhorns (15-2, 3-0 Big 12) at crucial times. He had six points and five rebounds in the first minutes of Texas’ 58-55 win over Villanova last Saturday but had to leave the game when he twisted the ankle again.

He was a big force early again, scoring 14 points and grabbing five rebounds against the Red Raiders in the first half. He hit two three-pointers.

“Brad’s a big piece of our team,” said Texas forward P.J. Tucker. “He brings a lot of versatility.”

Texas forward Brad Buckman holds a defensive rebound in front of Texas Tech's Martin Zeno.

Buckman’s solid return was a big reason Texas put together perhaps its most complete performance in a seven-game winning streak.

LaMarcus Aldridge added scored 19 points and seven rebounds and Tucker and shooting guard Daniel Gibson each scored 16 points in the rout.

“We just got our (butt) beat by a much better team, sometimes that happens,” Knight said.. “We made a lot of mistakes but a lot of them were forced.”

The Longhorns shot 55 percent in the first half. In one five-minute stretch, Buckman and Tucker combined for 13 points in a 15-6 Texas run that opened up a 26-13 lead.

For Buckman, the early scoring got him taking probably a few too many shots. After hitting those first two three-pointers, he missed his next five with a couple of airballs.

“I shot the ball way too many times,” Buckman said. “P.J. shot the ball real well and LaMarcus was killing them down low … I’m not the first option.”

But he is a big key to Texas’ success. The question is how long he can hold up and whether he can stay on the court and out of the training room.

“I don’t have any pain right now. When your adrenaline is running so much, you don’t feel anything at all,” Buckman said..

Iowa St. 88, Nebraska 75

Lincoln, Neb. – Curtis Stinson scored 27 points and Will Blalock 21 to lead Iowa State.

The Cyclones (12-5, 2-2 Big 12) used a 23-6 run to build an 11-point halftime lead, then held off Nebraska late in the game.