The biggest test for the young Texas Longhorns team lies just twelve hours away, in the form of the 21st-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs. Many casual observers of college basketball might think that the Zags (7-1) are rebuilding after losing superstar Adam Morrison to the NBA. But as their early-season NIT win over UNC showed, this Gonzaga team is ready for the spotlight right now.

The biggest problem for Texas (5-1) is going to be sophomore big man Josh Heytvelt. After the departure of J.P. Batista, Heytvelt needed to step up for the Zags inside, and he has performed admirably. The complete lack of an inside presence for Texas means that Heytvelt will likely have his way all game long. Hopefully the 2-3 zone that the Horns will likely implement will not lead to foul trouble for Kevin Durant. We are going to need minutes out of Connor Atchley and Dexter Pittman, but the double-edged sword is of course the fact that they are not yet seasoned players.

Point guard Derek Raivio is the leading scorer (18.9 PPG) for Mark Few’s Bulldogs, and has hit 21 of 46 three-point attempts so far this year. If Gonzaga gets good ball movement or successfully draws defenders into the lane before kicking it out, Raivio should get his share of decent looks from behind the arc. For Texas, it seems that Heytvelt’s success is inevitable. The key is to make sure that they don’t also allow Raivio to go off on them as they are trying to completely shut down Heytvelt.

In my opinion, the offensive key to this game for the Horns is going to be A.J. Abrams. Texas can shoot the three, and they are going to need to do so against Gonzaga’s zone. But A.J. is arguably our best three-point threat, and if he goes cold it’s going to be a long day.

The simple threat of Durant should open up the three-pointers for Abrams, and will hopefully allow Damion James some good looks under the basket. I fully expect Durant to get a chance at many assists as he penetrates, looks for a midrange jumper, and finds the zone has collapsed on him. As said earlier, Abrams will need to knock down his threes in those situations. But it’s also important for James to make the easy shots that have confounded him the past few games. Gonzaga seems to be susceptible to back-door cuts and dump-offs in the lane for layups. James has a chance to be huge on offense if he can take advantage of that apparent weakness.

One other glaring problem that I have avoided mentioning to this point is the difficulty Texas has had outrebounding real opponents. Against much smaller teams in Nicholls State and Texas Southern, the Horns were able to control the glass. But against Heytvelt and Sean Mallon, I’m not very confident that Texas will come out with more rebounds. While I’m conceding the overall rebounding edge, Texas can still help itself by limiting Gonzaga’s offensive boards and second-chance points.

For now, it’s time to catch up on a lot of missed sleep and head to the U.S. Airways Center for tomorrow’s doubleheader. Those of you not in Arizona can catch the action on ESPN at 2 PM central. I’ll be back with a breakdown on Saturday or Sunday. In the meantime, you stay classy, Austin.