The University of Texas released the non-conference schedule for the men’s basketball team yesterday, and the Longhorns once again have a top-flight list of opponents before Big 12 play. Use the drop-down menu at the top of the page to check out the full season schedule, or simply click this handy-dandy hyperlink.

Texas opens the season with the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament, which culminates in a pair of games at Madison Square Garden against two of the tournament’s other three regional hosts — Illinois, Maryland, and Pittsburgh. The Terrapins and Panthers were both NCAA tournament teams in 2010, and both advanced out of the first round. While the Illini did not make it into the Big Dance, hopes are high for their 2010-11 campaign, and ESPN’s Andy Katz even ranked them 15th in his first preseason poll.

The Longhorns also face a trio of perennial powers in this season’s non-conference slate. Texas first travels to Greensboro, North Carolina to tangle with the Tar Heels on December 18th. As we reported on Twitter last week, the two schools were in talks to move this year’s game to the Bahamas. With this year’s contest staying Stateside, it fulfills North Carolina’s “semi-home” game in the current contract and now leaves the two schools free to revisit the Nassau option in future seasons.

While the Tar Heels were sent reeling following their loss to the Longhorns last December, they seemed to put the pieces together in the post-season and surged to the NIT finals, where they lost to Dayton. With another year under the belts of the young and talented Carolina team — plus the addition of freshman stud Harrison Barnes — the Tar Heels are set for a solid 2010-11 campaign.

Just four days later, Texas heads to East Lansing for an on-campus match-up with Michigan State. The Spartans are coming off their second-straight Final Four, and return all of their key players outside of Raymar Morgan. Although the Longhorns escaped with a victory against MSU in Austin last December, they have historically had trouble with Tom Izzo‘s teams. A true road game against a preseason-Top 5 squad will certainly be a challenge for the Horns.

In early January, Texas hosts Connecticut at the Frank Erwin Center. Like the Tar Heels, the Huskies had an abnormally mediocre season last year. Unlike North Carolina, however, Connecticut managed to knock off the Horns in the midst of their struggles. The Huskies are bringing in a pair of 4-star guards and return Kemba Walker, so expect coach Jim Calhoun to have his team ready for another exciting match-up.

The Longhorns will also face two more major conference opponents in Southern Cal and Arkansas. Texas knocked off both of those teams in 2009-10, and are looking for another clean sweep this year. The Trojans are still embroiled in NCAA drama, as their school’s lawyers are fighting sanctions that were handed down earlier this month. Coach Kevin O’Neill certainly has his hands full rebuilding the program, but his squad matured nicely at the end of last season.

The Razorbacks, meanwhile, will be without star guard Courtney Fortson, who declared for the NBA draft and signed with an agent in April. Arkansas fans are lamenting the decision, as Fortson went unselected in Thursday night’s draft. They can take solace in the fact that sharpshooter Rotnei Clarke will still be on the court for Coach John Pelphrey, though.

In addition to the major names, the Longhorns filled the remainder of their non-conference slate with a slew of mid-major opponents. Navy and Louisiana Tech are Texas’ opening round opponents in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, while in-state foes Lamar, Rice, and Sam Houston State are all making trips to the Frank Erwin Center. North Florida and Coppin State round out the non-conference sked for the Horns with match-ups in December.

Submitted for your approval, without commentary, this gem from Maryland blog Testudo Times.

Some of you will enjoy this one. There’s a John Calipari impersonator on Facebook, who sent this (100% fake) message to Marquis Teague, the five star point guard and recent commitment to Kentucky.

Teague’s response, though, is 100% honest and true. Which, to me, is hilarious. As fans of one of the last “honest” coaches in the NCAA, I thought some of you would get a kick out of it.

Source: Testudo Times – Some of you will enjoy this one

Finally, a bit of positive news for Texas basketball fans.

ESPN is reporting that Cory Joseph committed to Texas this afternoon, giving Rick Barnes a scoring point guard to compliment the defensive-minded Dogus Bablay. Joseph, tabbed by Rivals as the 3rd-best 2010 PG in the nation, joins his Findlay Prep teammate Tristan Thompson in the Longhorns’ small, but talented recruiting class.

We’ll explore next year’s lineup in more depth once the May 8th early-entry withdrawal deadline has passed.

The question grew rather tiresome throughout the course of the season. “Is this the last year you’ll be making all the games?”

I’d heard it each of the previous two seasons, but this year it came with a bit of assumption tied to that curly question mark. As if my friends and acquaintances simply expected the 2009-10 year to be the big finish.

And why not? When writing about a college team, four years feels like a natural length, a fitting time frame to follow one group of players around the country and document their trials and growths. Throw in the fact that this year was supposed to be magical, that this team could finally be The One……well, you could almost feel like my inquisitors hoped I’d be witness to a storybook ending.

Somewhere along the way, that all went to hell. It was certainly long after the team’s brief stay at No. 1 in the national rankings, but also well before they crashed and burned in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. But while those hopes and dreams were plummeting to Earth, that damned question changed, too. No longer were people asking me if I was going to end things at a natural stopping point. Now people were asking the question as if they thought I needed to be put out of my misery.

It seemed a bit fitting that the season ended with a buzzer-beater loss that left me staring blankly at the court in New Orleans Arena. After all, the third contest in this crazy 150-game journey ended with Kenton Paulino‘s three-pointer at the horn in the 2006 Sweet Sixteen. So while that buzzer-beating win and this buzzer-beating loss weren’t quite perfectly-mirrored bookends to a four-year quest, they were certainly close enough.

Standing in that ugly arena, with absolutely nothing to look forward to, I suddenly started to laugh. I couldn’t help but picture Rick Barnes as a poor, beleaguered soul, helplessly bailing water out of a tiny rowboat that kept springing leaks. For whatever reason, my mind latched on to this image as the metaphor for the season, and the interminable nine-hour drive back to Austin gave me ample opportunity to flesh it out.

Peter Bean of the fabulous Burnt Orange Nation tried pinning down the team’s troubles sometime in mid-February. I remember reading it on a tiny cell phone screen in the wee hours of the morning as I traveled to Missouri, back from Lubbock, or on the way to some other equally-thrilling locale. The details are murky, as this Season of Suck eventually blended together into one bloody mess.

The thrust of that rambling paragraph, however, was supposed to be that Peter tried to chronologically chart the different problems Texas had faced and he couldn’t even make it past November before his fingers fell off. As he tried to document, the Longhorns were simply unable to play two consecutive games without having something go wrong. Fix one issue, and something else would crop up. Remedy that problem, and an older one would enter the picture again.

This constant juggling act was the storyline of the season, and it left fans with little confidence and little optimism. When the team finally started making free throws, the offense was otherwise useless. They would play good defense, and suddenly the team couldn’t rebound. Sometimes, all the issues even came together to make a beautiful disaster like the 732-0 run the Longhorns allowed Kansas to piece together on February 8th.

It’s been nearly impossible for me to sit down and get any words written that have any flow whatsoever. I’d even make the case that this exercise in summation is failing miserably, as well. Now, more than a week since the bitter pill of 2009-10 was finally crammed down our throats for the last time, I still haven’t been able to swallow the damned thing. How can one possibly be expected to encapsulate such a messy, enigmatic season in 1,000 words or less?

The confounding nature of this season has led to hundreds of theories from fans and pundits across the country. Texas fans — always known for bellowing loudly anytime their team isn’t playing for championships — immediately latched on to the “Fire Rick Barnes” bandwagon. Others blamed an overwhelmed freshman class and its alleged “me-first” attitude. Still others laid it at the feet of senior leaders Damion James and Dexter Pittman. The only people who seemed to escape the barbs and vitriol were Shawn Williams and Varez Ward, who spent most of the season in sweatshirts and jumpsuits.

That uncertainty is spilling into the offseason, and it leaves the outlook cloudy and questionable. Which of the freshmen will return to the team? Is Dogus Balbay going back to Turkey after another knee injury? Will Texas actually land point-guard prospect Cory Joseph? Add in the restless fanbase with its itchy trigger finger, and 2010-11 seems like it will be a bellwether year for the Longhorn program.

So that brings us back to The Question. The damned, incessant question that I’ve had to hear for the last three years. And to be quite honest, I still don’t have an answer. I’m planning on making it to L.A. and New York for the games in November and December. I wouldn’t miss another trip to Allen Fieldhouse. And if the road game at the Breslin Center actually happens, it would take an act of God to keep me out of the arena.

But the truth of the matter is that I’m getting older, the bank account is getting smaller, and it gets a little harder each time I see a random Wednesday trip to the middle of a cornfield in Iowa or Nebraska. I’ve got designs on spinning this site into something with a little more national appeal, but funding issues and “real world” concerns are but a few of the hurdles standing in my way.

So, go ahead. Ask me that question one more time. We both know that my heart will always belong in the gym. We’ll just have to see how much longer I travel down this burnt-orange road.

It’s been a tragic fall for the Texas Longhorns this year. From the school’s first No. 1 ranking back in January, to its nearly-unprecedented slide out of the Top 25, the journey to the bottom has been long and arduous. Texas lost nine of its last sixteen games this season, including a three-game sweep at the hands of the Baylor Bears, a team the Horns had beaten 24 consecutive times prior to March of 2009.

But all of that means nothing in the grand scheme of things. That’s because the champion of NCAA men’s basketball is crowned at the end of a tournament. A tournament that levels the playing field and makes the last three weekends of the year the most important of the entire season. From 16-seed Vermont to overall No. 1 seed Kansas, every team has championship dreams. All it takes is six straight wins.

While the chances are slim for the Longhorns to put together a run like that, there’s certainly no denying that this team has the talent to at least be in the conversation. So, for the most optimistic members of the burnt-orange faithful, this could be seen as the first step in a larger journey. It’s win-and-advance, time, my friends. And so, with that in mind, our keys to earning that win……and advancing.

1) Maintain composure – The Longhorns are facing a Wake Forest team that has an excellent defense, particularly on the interior. Big man Chas McFarland and sophomore center Tony Woods are well-disciplined post defenders who play tall without leaving their feet. The Longhorns will have a hard time scoring inside, especially if they are relying on whistles to bail them out on poorly-chosen shots inside.

In the past, Texas has often become frustrated against good interior defenses and settled for a ton of outside shots, most of which were misses. The Longhorns must attack the inside with dribble penetration and good ball movement, and can not simply wait on the perimeter. If Justin Mason, J’Covan Brown, and Jordan Hamilton can force the Wake defense to react, and then actually make the extra pass, things should open up inside. Settle for outside shots, however, and the Longhorns will be playing right into the hands of the Deacs.

2) Pressure the ball – Senior guard Ishmael “Ish” Smith is not an exceptionally quick guard, but he’s a guy who confuses defenses with his hesitation dribble. His strength lies in pull-up jumpers and floaters, which is especially bizarre when you consider that he’s just a 50% free-throw shooter. Smith isn’t a big guy who finishes strong at the rim, so if he manages to force his way inside, Texas must make him earn the points. In addition, he loves to leave the ball just hanging in the air on his hesitation moves, so if the Longhorns defense has active hands, it could equal extra possessions and points.

That extra pressure shouldn’t be exclusively applied to Smith, however, as Wake Forest turns it over on more than 21% of their possessions. If the Longhorns can force Wake Forest into mistakes, it not only limits the Deac’s opportunities to score, but it ties in nicely with our first key of the game. The best way to score against a well-coached defense is to get it in the bucket before they even set up. If Texas can get down the court and score in transition before Wake sets up the half-court D, it will greatly increase the chances of a Longhorn win.

3) Limit the boards – Wake’s offensive efficiency is in the top third of the nation, but their field goal percentage is near the bottom. The reason behind the disparity? Strong offensive rebounding allows the Demon Deacons a ton of extra possessions, which typically allows them miss a ton of easy looks before finally scoring on a tip. (Sound familiar, Texas fans?) If the Longhorns can secure the defensive rebounds, it will force Wake to be much, much more efficient with the basketball.

One final stat

As we head to the arena, here is one final stat to chew on during the night sessions. The Longhorns are one of just three teams in this year’s NCAA tournament to have won a first-round game in each of the last four seasons. When things get dicey tonight, as they likely will, keep that fact in mind. And if that stat doesn’t give you confidence, just watch this video of McFarland getting tackled by a Clemson student…

As always, you can follow our Twitter updates from the arena during tonight’s games. We’ll be back in the A.M. with a post-game…and hopefully a look ahead to a second-round opponent.

This is the third match-up this year between the Bears and Longhorns, so fans should be well-acquainted with what both teams bring to the table. If not, you’ll want to revisit the game preview from the first meeting. If you are familiar with the Bears, let’s jump right into what will matter when the game tips in roughly three hours.

1) Who will win the turnover battle? – It seems like quite a simple key to the game, but turnovers have truly been the difference in the series this season. At the Frank Erwin Center, Texas played a fairly ugly game that they would have won if not for a putback just milliseconds before the buzzer. The reason the Longhorns were still in that position was that the Bears coughed it up 20 times on the afternoon.

On Saturday, however, Baylor was the perfect example of steady ball control. While Texas had 18 turnovers and gave up what seemed like 108 fast break points, the Bears had just eight turnovers of their own. These are two very good teams with very little differential in talent. Something as glaring as a -10 turnover margin will certainly spell doom for the Longhorns tonight.

2) Can the Texas frontcourt score against Baylor? – The lengthy, athletic Baylor defense makes it very, very difficult for opponents to score. With Dexter Pittman often struggling to finish at the rim and with the lack of an explosive ballhandler in the backcourt, the Longhorns could find it very difficult to pile up the points tonight. Fortunately, Gary Johnson has had a string of great games down the stretch, including a 25-point, 8-rebound performance against Baylor on Saturday.

Whether it’s Pittman, Johnson, or another workmanlike night from Damion James, the Longhorns simply must score inside against Baylor’s solid 2-3 zone. If they fail to do so and rely on three-pointers and long-range Js, chance are slim that the Horns can survive to the semifinals.

3) Do the Longhorns know how to prevent an alley-oop? – As facetious as this question is, it certainly needs to be asked. Texas conceded approximately 72 rim-rattling alley-oops to Baylor on Saturday, and even allowed two more against the Cyclones last night. Quincy Acy — a man whose only reliable shots are dunks and layups — scored 24 points for Baylor in their win on Saturday. There is almost no chance for Texas to win if they give up that many easy buckets again tonight.

Post-game react will be headed your way in the morning, but for in-game updates from tonight’s quarterfinals, you can follow LRT on Twitter.

Not a ton of time to write about last night’s win, as the quarterfinals tip off in a little over an hour. With that time constraint in mind, let’s quickly hit some of our key thoughts about last night’s game.

1) Damion James and Dexter Pittman looked like leaders – While Texas struggled to put the Cyclones away for the entire ballgame, Damion James tried his hardest to do it single-handedly. Midway through the second half, he became a human vacuum, grabbing practically every board in sight. When Iowa State went over seven minutes without a single field goal, a huge cause of their offensive ineptitude was James’ dominance on the glass. The Cyclones were simply unable to get second chances.

Meanwhile, Dexter Pittman finally showed some swagger as the Longhorns started to put it together. While Big Pitt still had some early issues with making weak moves to the basket that resulted in missed shots, his 19 minutes on the court were extremely efficient. Pittman scored 16 points and grabbed five boards on the night. Having a confident Dexter in the middle instead of a frustrated one makes a huge difference in not only the team’s performance, but also its entire demeanor.

2) Gary Johnson doesn’t have to be the sixth man – There was some theorizing that Gary Johnson didn’t work his way into the starting lineup very often this season because he just felt more comfortable coming off the bench. But after posting a 15/10 double-double against the Cyclones, Johnson seems right at home as a part of the starting five. The junior forward played 39 minutes, including the entire first half. With Pittman’s performance still unpredictable from night to night, Gary’s emergence as a breakout star has been the most exciting storyline down the stretch.

3) J’Covan Brown is back in the doghouse – When Justin Mason picked up his second foul just six-and-a-half minutes into the game, Jai Lucas hopped off the bench to take over point guard duties. Lucas responded well, truly playing the role of bus driver. He didn’t do anything flashy, but didn’t make any mistakes either. He simply made sure the team ended up where it needed to be.

What’s worthy of a raised eyebrow, however, is the fact that J’Covan Brown stayed on the bench until the final three minutes of the half. Brown certainly struggled against Baylor on Saturday — but honestly, which Longhorns didn’t? — and it seems that put him firmly back in Rick Barnes’ doghouse.

While Lucas has shown his ability to be a serviceable point, he lacks the slashing ability that Brown can bring to the table. Texas settled for a lot of threes and long jumpers, something that could have been avoided if there was a guard on the floor with strong driving ability. And, of course, there’s no reason that both Lucas and Brown couldn’t have been on the floor at the same time.

Texas moves on to face Baylor in the quarterfinals tonight. The Longhorns are hoping to avoid a third loss to the Bears this season, and a fourth consecutive one. We’ll be back with a brief game preview in between the afternoon and evening sessions. In the meantime, keep up with all the action from the Sprint Center by following the LRT Twitter.

So this is the actual March Madness. Trying to uphold your “real world” responsibilities somewhere in between three-day jaunts to Oregon, day trips to Waco, and five-day vacations in Kansas City, all while desperately searching for the time to actually write about those trips and college basketball.

I’m sure I’ll be faced with the same dilemma early next week, as another few days of travel to the NCAA Tournament will necessitate cramming as many hours as possible into an incredibly short workweek. And I believe that nature dictates that at some point I have to try to sleep. Ack! (Yes, I just quoted the comic strip Cathy. You’re going to have to deal with it.)

I’m not sure when the time will actually present itself in the next 40 hours that allows me to sit down and write my thoughts on that disaster at the Ferrell Center, but considering the Longhorns and Bears could meet again in Thursday’s quarterfinals, it’s something that must be done. If post-game thoughts don’t make their way to this fine website sometime this afternoon, look for it in the waning hours of Tuesday night before we hit the road for KC. For now, it’s off again to the McJob and a litany of TPS reports.

As Big 12 play heads into its final day, there is absolutely nothing that is settled. Outside of four seeds — No. 1 Kansas, No. 7 Oklahoma State, No. 11 Iowa State, and No. 12 Nebraska — everything is up for grabs on the last day of the regular season. For the Longhorns, there still remains the possibility of the No. 4 seed and the first-round bye that goes with it. Of course, a loss this afternoon means that Texas is locked into the 6-seed and will open the tournament with Iowa State late on Wednesday night.

If Texas does happen to beat Baylor this afternoon, things get a little more interesting. If the Longhorns win and the Aggies lose to the Sooners in a game that is currently underway, Texas would ascend to the No. 4 seed, with Baylor and A&M following up in 5th and 6th. If Texas wins, but the Aggies also win, the Longhorns clinch the No. 5 seed and Baylor takes No. 6.

Of course, none of that matters if the Longhorns lose today, so the team must build on their strong showing in Monday night’s win over Oklahoma. Unfortunately, Baylor and their imposing frontcourt provide a very big challenge for the Longhorns to overcome in pursuit of that goal. If you’re not familiar with the Bears or their style of play, you’ll want to check out our brief preview from the first time these two teams met.

Despite horrid free throw shooting, Texas was within milliseconds of a victory over the Bears in that game. But after Ekpe Udoh airballed the game-winning three-point attempt, an Anthony Jones putback with 0.3 seconds on the clock sent the game into overtime. Baylor pulled ahead in the extra five minutes, and escaped with a three-point win as Avery Bradley‘s game-tying attempt clanged off the iron at the buzzer.

Check back Sunday evening for post-game reaction, or follow us on Twitter for in-game updates from the Ferrell Center.

With the final regular season game just a few hours away, let’s dive right into our notes from Monday night’s win over Oklahoma…

1) The Longhorns did not fold down the stretch – For a Texas team that has often found itself trailing by large margins during the last two months, it was refreshing to see the Horns respond despite OU’s hot start. The Longhorns were down by thirteen points just eight minutes into the game, thanks in large part to Oklahoma’s 7-of-11 three-point shooting in the first half. But Texas did not fold, and slowly chipped away at the lead. When the Sooners came out strong again in the second half, the Longhorn deficit climbed to eleven once again. But something changed in the team at that point, like their competitive switch had finally been flipped to “on.”

The Texas players really fed off of the crowd down the stretch, with Jordan Hamilton imploring the fans to get louder when OU was forced to take timeouts. J’Covan Brown even taunted the Sooner players by flashing his biceps after he sunk a floater in the lane. While it’s incredibly satisfying to see the team finally wake up and show some fire, the concern is that it seemed like the players needed the crowd energy to do so. The rest of the games this season will be on the road or at “neutral” sites, so the Longhorns have to be able to show that same level of effort and determination when the crowd is not on their side. Chances are very, very good that the fans of the old Big 8 will be rooting against Texas next week in Kansas City, particularly those fans in blue or purple.

2) Backcourt roles were more defined – For the first time in ages, each member of the Texas backcourt seemed to contribute exactly what was required of them. Justin Mason made the start and provided solid defense, along with a few strong, slashing moves to the bucket. Jai Lucas was also in the starting lineup, and although he ultimately only played seven minutes, his offensive contribution came the way it needed to. Lucas drained a three in the first half on a simple kickout. He is only a catch-and-shoot guy, so having him play off the ball allowed him to make a small, but useful contribution to the offense, as opposed to forcing him into the point guard role where he is ineffective.

While Avery Bradley had a rough night from the floor, he once again provided solid defense once Texas started rotating and helping. J’Covan Brown was the big story in the backcourt, though, playing 33 minutes off the bench. He showed leadership and poise down the stretch, and his willingness to attack the rim led to 15 points on the night, including a perfect 6-of-6 from the line. If Brown can give that kind of performance the rest of the way, the blow from the loss of Dogus Balbay will be much, much softer.

3) Free throws are improving – For the second-consecutive game, the Longhorns made at least 80% of their attempts from the charity stripe. For much of the season, the team’s average has hovered in the low-to-mid 60% range, so this drastic change is certainly worth noting. While the 6-of-6 line from Brown is not a shocker, seeing Damion James go 8-of-12 and Dexter Pittman sink all four of his attempts is certainly reassuring. Statistically, the two players should be expected to miss more shots this afternoon, as their percentages naturally regress to the mean. But what if they’ve actually been practicing and improving over the last week or so? Then perhaps the physical inside play could finally pay off in the post-season, as the Texas big men actually make the free throws they work so hard to earn.

4) Texas has two offensive identities – Not only did the Longhorns show two different offensive styles on Monday night, but they both actually worked. It was reminiscent of the early part of the season, when Gary Johnson famously said that Texas could “beat you any way you want it.” When the Longhorns can play different styles of basketball with equal success, it makes it incredibly hard for opponents to gameplan and defend. Of course, this is just one game against a team that has struggled all season long. But if this newfound offensive duality can continue this afternoon and into the postseason, there is reason for optimism.

The two offensive looks from Texas differ when it comes to the post presence. In the first look — the traditional one we’ve seen all season — the Longhorns are built around Pittman. The team focuses on getting the ball inside, where the big man is expected to either make a quick move to the basket, or kick it back out to rinse and repeat.

Early in the season, defenses sagged off of Mason and Balbay to create more pressure inside on the big man and deny those entry passes. On Monday night, having a backcourt involving Bradley and Brown meant that the OU defense couldn’t sell out to help inside. In addition, after a rusty start, Pittman finally began to make quick moves with the ball, so the defense didn’t have time to react. If these factors hold as the season winds down, the “big” lineup should be quite effective.

When Dex isn’t on the floor, the Longhorns go with the fiesty Gary Johnson down low. He’s five inches shorter than Pittman, and is versatile enough to mix in a midrange game. That added threat spreads out the floor and allows Brown and Mason to slash to the rim for easy points or to draw the foul and get to the line. Johnson’s ability to pull the defender away from the paint also makes it easier for James to get offensive boards and putbacks. And, of course, the pure hustle and determination that Gary brings to the floor leads to extra possessions and second chance points.

Again, it should be noted that all of this happened against a Oklahoma team that will likely finish in the bottom quarter of the league when today’s game are through. But for once, Texas fans had something to be excited about after Monday’s game. Now, we just must wait and see if those things carry over to a game against a very, very good Baylor team this afternoon.