We’ve returned from Stillwater in full health, having survived the mushy weather and the other drivers. And what a freakin game we got to see for our efforts. We were rewarded with front row seats right behind the Texas bench, and saw the best regular-season college basketball game I’ve ever witnessed. But for now, let’s do a quick hit as we run through the Big 12 and I run out the door for another shift of making the money. As always, tip times are Central.

Nebraska (11-4 overall, 0-1 Big 12) at Oklahoma (9-6, 1-2), 7 PM
The Cornhuskers play their first game in a week after having their home date with OSU postponed this weekend. Oklahoma plays its second without the suspended Longar Longar Longar Longar Longar. In other news, Norman still sucks.
The pick: The Sooners bounce back from the trouncing delivered by the Horns this weekend and protect their home court.

Baylor (11-5, 1-2) at Kansas State (11-6, 1-2), 7 PM
K-State has not looked very good without injured star Bill Walker, but managed to take a road win in Columbia, Missouri last weekend. Meanwhile, Baylor knocked off Texas Tech at home for their first conference win. The crowd shouldn’t be a huge factor in this one, which should stay close throughout.
The pick: On the surface it’s a toss-up, but the loss of Walker is huge for the ‘Cats. I’ll give Baylor the tough road win in a chilly Manhattan.

Iowa State (11-6, 2-1) at Colorado (4-9, 0-3), 8 PM
The Cyclones hung with a great Kansas squad this weekend, finally falling short in overtime of their upset bid. Colorado also threatened their own upset, hanging with A&M for 35 minutes before the Aggies delivered the proverbial steel-toed facekick. The Buffs get to stay at home tonight as they search for their first conference win. Don’t hold your breath.
The pick: Dear Iowa State, I’m sorry for ever doubting you. Please forgive me, and don’t beat Colorado too badly. Love, Ryan.

TV: ESPN2, 8 PM Central

The road ahead to Stillwater looks to be a treacherous and icy one, so it looks like we’re going to have to get an early start and take it slowly. With that in mind, I’m going to save the Oklahoma post-game for later this week and do a double-dip with the Okie State postgame. Here’s a look ahead at tonight’s game.

The Longhorns (13-3 overall, 3-0 in Big 12) have moved up to #21 in this week’s AP poll, while they have once again cracked the USA Today Coaches poll, coming in at 23rd. Those rankings could be short-lived, however, as the team takes on its first real Big 12 test in the #12/#14 Oklahoma State Cowboys (15-2, 1-1).

Unfortunately for Horn fans, the Cowboys present a huge matchup problem. They have a very solid frontcourt that is going to get a huge chunk of points in this contest. The star is Mario Boggan, who is averaging 21.1 points per game and 7.4 rebounds. He is coming off of a very poor game against the Kansas Jayhawks, in which he had only eight points while turning it over five times and not securing a single rebound. Based on Boggan’s presence and our lack of an inside game, I would expect Texas to be running a lot of zone in this ballgame. Hopefully the Horns can keep him from having a huge bounce-back game, but I wouldn’t bank on it.

Joining Boggan in the Cowboys’ strong frontcourt is center Kenny Cooper. While he is only averaging 3.8 rebounds per game, he is an absolute beast on the offensive glass. He is grabbing 17.7% of his offensive rebounding chances according to Ken Pomeroy, which is good for seventh individually in the entire nation. Cooper’s numbers are actually a bit deflated because he was not the starter until Obi Muonelo went down in December. Damion James and Kevin Durant are going to have their hands full snatching their defensive boards from this vacuum.

JamesOn Curry is back for Sean Sutton’s Cowboys, and he’s looking much more like the budding star we saw back in 2004-05. He’s eating up the most minutes for Oklahoma State, playing about 35 a game. JamesOn Trial is also the team’s second-leading scorer, dumping in 18.5 a night, although that average has dipped to sixteen a game in OSU’s two Big 12 games.

Junior Marcus Dove is likely going to be shadowing Kevin Durant all night, as he is really only on the court for defensive purposes. On the offensive end, Dove is a huge liability, turning over the ball 37% of the time he touches it and only averaging 6.2 points a game. He is definitely going to have his hands full with KD, but he will also certainly be one of the best defenders that Durant has had to take on thus far.

Oklahoma State has two weaknesses — depth and ballhandling. In particular, sophomore guard Byron Eaton and Dove have a tendency to turn the ball over. Kansas exploited this in their 30-point pounding, forcing the Cowboys to turn it over 20 times. Texas should look to do the same and try to capitalize with a bunch of transition buckets.

The lack of depth on the Cowboys bench will be a bit harder to exploit because of the weakness of Texas’ own bench. The Cowboys only really run seven deep now that they have lost Muonelo, although Adarius Bowman joined the team after the football season and gives them a few extra minutes off the end of the bench. Texas has a severe drop-off in talent between the starting five and sixth man Connor Atchley, so while depth is a glaring problem for OSU, it is just as bad or worse for the Horns.

Texas needs to look to push the tempo in this ballgame and keep it from settling into a half-court affair. While Oklahoma State also tends to play an uptempo game, their big men would likely dominate on both ends of the floor if the offenses settle into their sets on a regular basis.

Personally, I’d love to see a win in Stillwater, especially considering I’ve witnessed Longhorn losses on the two visits I’ve made to Gallagher-Iba Arena. But having Boggan inside concerns me with the lack of an opposing post presence in the burnt orange and white.

Having seen this team survive against a rabid road crowd in Tennessee — the final two minute brain freeze notwithstanding — I think that they will hold their own in the noise machine of GIA. If they can dictate the pace and style, the Longhorns should have a shot. And on the road, that’s about all you can ever ask for.

The pick: The gut and the brain are pointing at Boggan and picking the Pokes. But the heart and its burnt-orange blood supply just can’t pick against Kevin Durant quite yet. Texas survives an incredible test, keeps an undefeated conference mark, and exorcises my own Gallagher-Iba demons.

A wrap on the OU game and a preview of the Okie Lite game will be coming late, late tonight when I return from work. For now, a quick look at the Big 12 game tonight.

Missouri (11-5 overall, 0-3 Big 12) at Kansas (15-2, 2-0), 8 PM on ESPN
Mike Anderson’s Tigers dropped a close one at home to the K-State Wildcats this weekend, while the Jayhawks needed overtime to discard Iowa State’s upset hopes. The Cyclones forced sixteen Kansas turnovers, including seven alone by Brandon Rush. Missouri is known for its pressure defense, so that may be their only hope in this one. Matt Lawrence also needs to snap out of the 1-for-6 three-point slump he’s been in over his last two games.
The pick: The Jayhawks’ immense talent and deep bench hold off a pesky Mizzou team for the first half, but pull away in the second.

This Saturday marks the first day that the entire league is playing, so let’s take a look around the conference before things get tipped off. As always, games are listed in Central time.

Kansas (14-2 overall, 1-0 Big 12) at Iowa State (11-5, 2-0), 1 PM on ESPN
The two games I’ve predicted incorrectly have both been Cyclone victories, but I don’t think they stand much of a chance at home in this one. The Jayhawks are firing on all cylinders, as displayed in an absolute beatdown of Oklahoma State on Wednesday night. Don’t expect this one to be a miracle upset.
The pick: Iowa State’s perfect conference season only lasts a week. Kansas thumps them soundly.

Oklahoma (9-5, 1-1) at Texas (12-3, 2-0), 2:30 PM on ABC
My OU-Texas breakdown can be found in the preceding post.
The pick: Texas wins going away, while somewhere in Indiana….Kelvin Sampson flings a denim sports coat in disgust.

Kansas State (10-6, 0-2) at Missouri (11-4, 0-2), 3 PM
Both teams have failed to live up to expectations early in Big 12 play. Mizzou desperately needs a win with Kansas looming next on their schedule. An 0-4 start could be absolutely deadly for Mike Anderson and the Tigers.
The pick: Stefhon Hannah and Mizzou right the ship on their home court…just in time to get pounded by the Jayhawks.

Texas Tech (13-4, 2-0) at Baylor (10-5, 0-2), 3 PM
Baylor played both Oklahoma State and Texas A&M tough, while Texas Tech comes in as winners in seven of their last eight. Everybody knows that Aaron Bruce can play, but not many people know of Baylor freshman Tweety Carter. The man’s name is Tweety for Christ’s sake! Where’s the media attention?!?
The pick: My “upset” special of the week — Baylor pulls off their first conference win in front of a lackluster crowd more interested in the free pizza giveaway.

Texas A&M (14-2, 2-0) at Colorado (4-8, 0-2), 6 PM
Billy Gillispie takes his defensive-minded Aggies on the road to Boulder for a high-altitude meeting with scoring machine Richard Roby. Unfortunately for the Buffs, there’s not much more going on for them offensively. This could be quite the snooze-fest in front of less than 3,000 bored Colorad….ians?
The pick: Texas A&M wins with a score good enough for the PGA tour.

Oklahoma State (15-2, 1-1) at Nebraska (11-4, 0-1), 7 PM
This has the potential to be a letdown game for the Cowpokes after getting manhandled by KU just a few nights ago. Then again, they are playing a middle-of-the-road Nebraska team in a state where basketball gets the apathetic treatment. Mario Boggan is looking to get back on track after scoring eight points in that Kansas game, and he shouldn’t have a problem doing so in Lincoln. Of course, the game is a question mark at this point, as Oklahoma State is having issues getting out of Stillwater and the game has already been pushed back six hours already.
The pick: Oklahoma State gets back on track with a win….if they actually play.

TV: ABC, 2:30 PM Central

This update comes from a very dry tent outside a very wet Frank Erwin Center, where the hardiest of O-Zoners are counting down the minutes to tipoff. Pre-game campouts are a great tradition at UT, and although they are not to the degree and scale of Duke’s Kasoisuoaiuofiueskyville, they are hopefully a step towards a more dedicated student fanbase. Or we could just continue to not fill our arena when we have one of the best players in the country. I could see how that’s more appealing……when compared to a screwdriver to the testicles.

Oklahoma comes to town in about thirteen hours, and they’ll be playing without their favorite elbow assassin, Longar Longar. Sans Longar — whose middle name is unfortunately not Shortar — the Sooners will be effectively losing four inches of height on the floor. In addition to being a lanky freak-of-nature, Longar is also one of the nation’s best offensive rebounders. His two-game suspension will hopefully allow the Horns to force OU into more one-and-done situations in their half-court set.

After having already lost freshman Keith Clark to injury at the end of December, Longar’s absence will leave Jeff Capel’s Sooners with a shortened bench. After coming off the pine for much of the season, senior forward Nate Carter will likely see his minutes increase. Oklahoma already starts three guards, and I can’t see Capel going to the four-guard look that Villanova toyed with last year when facing their own injury problems.

Sophomore Taylor Griffin may be the toughest assignment inside for Texas. While he only averages seven points a game, he is statistically one of the best defensive rebounders around. He snatches nearly one out of every four defensive rebound opportunities, which could present a problem if Texas is taking quick shots from outside that aren’t falling.

Senior guard Michael Neal has not been having a good season so far, but if the past is any indication, the Longhorns need to be wary of his three-point stroke. He’s only hitting at a 22.4% clip this year, but was knocking down threes over 44% of the time last season.

Joining Neal in the backcourt is freshman standout Tony Crocker. The first-year star dropped fifteen points on a tough Alabama squad in a road loss earlier this month and is taking about a quarter of his team’s shots when he’s on the court. On a Sooner team that spreads the ball out pretty well, that is actually the highest rate on the squad. If Oklahoma is going to pull off an upset without their big man, they may need a big game from this diaper dandy.

For Texas, this game should likely be an easy win. The Sooners are no longer the Big 12 powerhouse of past years, although it will not take Capel long to rebuild the program to that point. That being said, there are still a few stats that fans can keep an eye on. Oklahoma typically goes to the line less than their opponents while committing less fouls. This means that they are very prone to picking up their fouls while the opponents are shooting. As a result, Texas should look to attack the basket, especially without Longar’s flailing elbows in the lane.

The Sooners also have one of the lowest adjusted tempos in the country, while the Longhorns generally have a very high number of possessions per ballgame. Oklahoma has a top-five defense rated by efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions), while Texas has the sixth-most efficient offense in the country. Will the Sooners be able to grind the pace down and play their style of basketball, or will Texas force transition and run the score into the 80’s and above?

Of course, one thing we can always count on is a solid game from Kevin Durant. Through the first two conference games, KD is averaging 35.5 points and 14.5 rebounds. While he certainly can’t keep up that insane pace for all sixteen games, he should still see some pretty hefty numbers in this contest. I’m confident in predicting a fifth-straight double-double for the kid.

Texas Box Office announced that there were 1,600 tickets available as of 9:30 AM on Friday. Any student seats not used in the mezzanine will also go on sale at tipoff. So, if you’re in the Austin area and don’t have plans yet, give TBO a call and grab a pair upstairs. Otherwise, tune in to ABC at 2:30 central for all the action.

Kevin Durant led the way as the Longhorns cruised past the Missouri Tigers last night, earning their second conference win by an 88-68 score. The game was never in doubt, as Missouri only led the game for a total of 33 seconds. Texas quickly took their own lead on a Damion James three-pointer at the 19:11 mark in the first half and never looked back.

Durant scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Longhorns (12-3, 2-0), giving him his fourth consecutive double-double. He’s averaging 28.3 points and 15.3 rebounds per game over that stretch. At this point, the discussion has to move beyond simply freshman of the year and you have to give the kid serious consideration for the Naismith award. Of course, there’s still another fifteen games to go and anything can happen, but he seems to be a man playing among boys every time he steps on the court.

Missouri (11-4, 0-2) brought the high intensity and pressure that new coach Mike Anderson has been famous for since his days at Alabama-Birmingham. They forced Texas into fifteen turnovers, but failed to capitalize upon them all night. In fact, Texas actually won the points-off-turnovers battle by a 19-7 tally.

Mizzou showed a zone against the Longhorns for much of the game, and Texas had no problem shooting over it. The Horns hit 8-of-15 from behind the arc in the first half, and nailed their first two in the second half as well. The hot shooting led to a massive 27-point advantage for Texas with 12:33 to go in the game.

The Longhorn offense ground to a halt over the next five minutes and Mizzou put on a little run of their own, closing the gap to 69-55 with just over seven minutes left. During that stretch, Texas seemed content to work the ball around the three-point line, failing to attack the zone. This team is very good when D.J. penetrates and finds the open man amidst the collapsing zones, and it’s crystal clear how bad our offense can be when we don’t. It looked like the team got a little too comfortable shooting over the zone and didn’t know what to do when that didn’t work. But you simply can’t overlook the fact that they moved the ball around very well for much of the game in order to get themselves those open three-point shots.

Augustin put forth an amazing effort, playing 37 minutes in the contest. He only turned the ball over twice against the pressure defense of the Tigers, and logged six assists to go with his thirteen-point night. A.J. Abrams joined the point guard in the double-digit club, adding sixteen points on a night where he went 4-for-7 from behind the arc.

J.D. Lewis continued to see significant minutes, a testament to how much his defense has improved since last season. While J.D. can hit the three, he’s not the team’s only three-point threat. He’s needed to spell our three starting guards, and the less of a liability he is on the defensive end, the more playing time Barnes gives him. Lewis made a couple of bad turnovers against the Tiger defense, but did knock down two three-pointers.

One of the best moments of the night came in Dexter Pittman’s one minute on the floor. He blocked a Mizzou shot and Texas was heading back on offense. But the ball was lost in transition, and Pittman turned around just in time to see it. The scene looked like a lineman noticing a fumble, as Big Dex lumbered back to the ball and completely laid out to cover it up. The Erwin Center erupted, the bench jumped up and celebrated, and Pittman was all grins. It was only a moment in a much longer game, but it really highlighted the kid’s energy, work ethic, and determination. I can’t wait until he’s ready for significant playing time, because he’s going to be something special.

Connor Atchley had a very quiet sixteen minutes, picking up four rebounds and getting to the line for four free throw attempts late in the game. He still can’t finish when somebody fouls him next to the basket, but the fact that he’s down there fighting is a huge step forward from his play last year. What I found most important about Atchley’s defense was the fact that he did not pick up a single foul in those sixteen minutes. You can usually count on James and Atchley to combine for seven or eight fouls a game, so it was great to see the opposition on the charity stripe a little less in this one.

Mizzou’s Matt Lawrence only gets a few sentences. His horrible defense was definitely on display, as he showcased the flashy footspeed of a quadraplegic. But his three-point shot was left somewhere back in Columbia. The kid knocked down just about every shot he took during warmups, but whiffed on all three during the game. Que triste.

The Horns have one more home conference game before a three-game road swing, so be sure to come out to the Erwin Center this weekend. Tip is at 2:30 central on Saturday against hated rival Oklahoma (9-5, 1-1). Kelvin Sampson might not be there, but they still wear crimson, they still don’t have teeth, and they’re still Sooners. So let’s fill the drum and watch Kevin Durant drop another 30-plus on that trailer trash.

Conference play is in full swing around the country, which means that the Big 12 has a nice lineup of four games tonight. Once again I’ll bring you a rundown of the games going on around the league. This one comes to you from my tailgate chair outside the Erwin Center, so you know it’s extra-special. Like the little bus I rode to elementary school.

(All listed tips are in Central time.)

Nebraska (11-3 overall, 0-0 Big 12) at Iowa State (10-5, 1-0), 7 PM
Iowa State is coming off of an amazing comeback victory on the road in Columbia, Missouri. Nebraska has won four in a row, including a road win over Frank Haith’s Miami Hurricanes. Other than that, I know nothing about either team. Helpful writeup, eh?
The pick: I’m going with Nebraska, based solely on their win over Creighton. I might as well flip a coin.

Colorado (4-7, 0-1) at Oklahoma (8-5, 0-1), 7 PM
It’s Richard Roby vs. the Sooners in this one. Jeff Capel is doing good things with a tough situation following the departure of Kelvin Sampson in Cingulargate. Rumor has it that all CU players will be wearing full body armor to avoid the flailing elbows of Longar Longar.
The pick: OU evens their conference record with a home win over the scuttling Buffs .

Missouri (11-3, 0-1) at Texas (11-3, 1-0), 7 PM
My game preview can be seen in the previous post.
The pick: Texas handles the pressure and earns another home win.

Oklahoma State (15-1, 1-0) at Kansas (13-2, 0-0), 8 PM on ESPN2
This is the marquee game of the night, not only in the Big 12, but in the entire NCAA. Kansas gets the first of its three home games with the best of the Big 12 “South.” Is Oklahoma State for real? As tough as it is to play in Allen Fieldhouse, it might not even matter. Hopefully this game lives up to the billing and the hype.
The pick: Kansas takes a close game in the final minutes and Darrell Arthur rips off his face post-game to reveal he is actually Satan.

The Missouri Tigers (11-3) come to town tonight as Texas plays its first home game in the Big 12 this season. Unfortunately for fans of greasy, curly hair, Quin Snyder will no longer be at the head of the Mizzou bench. But for Tiger fans, they are feeling fortunate to have a new, highly-heralded coach in Mike Anderson.

Missouri comes in off of a bad loss against Iowa State where they blew a sixteen-point lead in the second half…..at home. Their offense completely shut down, as they scored only seven points in the last seven minutes of the game. While Texas probably won’t be lucky enough to see that level of futility from the Tigers, it is reassuring to know that this up-tempo team does occasionally go cold.

The Tigers run fairly deep on their bench, with nine players giving at least 14 minutes a game. But it’s freshman Stefhon Hannah who is the driving force of the team. Hannah leads the team in both points (16.1 PPG) and minutes (30.4 MPG), and is also averaging 3.4 steals per game. While that leads the nation, he is also fifth in the nation when the steals are adjusted by the minutes each player is on the court.

In addition to Hannah, the Missouri offense also likes to run through center Kalen Grimes. While Grimes only plays seventeen minutes a game, he gets a ton of touches down low. He’s not the most efficient player on offense, but he will clean up on the glass. He is particularly great at offensive rebounding, but manages to secure his share on the defensive end as well. When Grimes is in the game, it will be interesting to see who the Horns use to match up with him, and whether or not they can successfully keep him off the glass.

My favorite player on Mizzou is Matt Lawrence. While he’s a horrible defender and will repeatedly get beaten off the dribble tonight, he’s going to make up for it by nailing a ton of threes. Coming into the game, he is hitting from behind the arc at an incredible 53% clip. If the Horns try to run a 2-3 zone against this guy, he is going to make them pay.

Missouri is going to play a high-tempo, pressure style of basketball. They average over 75 possessions per game and are second in the nation at forcing turnovers, making their opponents cough it up on 29 percent of their possessions. For a comparison you can easily grasp, Tennessee forces opponents to turn it over on 25.5% of their possessions, so the intensity will be even higher tonight than it was in Knoxville.

For Texas, we can of course look for a huge game from Kevin Durant. At this point, it’s a lot like saying the sun will come up in the morning. But, as always, the fun comes in seeing who else steps up and has a great night or a key bucket. I’ll also be interested in seeing if Damion James can follow up on a great performance in Colorado and also keep his foul trouble in check.

Tip is at 7 PM tonight at the Drum, so please come on out. Missouri is no slouch, yet there are a ton of tickets available and many students are still away on break. If the FEC is as empty and dead as it was for the conference opener against Baylor a year or two ago, there will be almost no home-court advantage. And this team definitely deserves a big, energetic crowd.

If my guilt trip didn’t work, you can catch the game in the state of Texas on FSN. But you’d better text message me scores from the OSU/Kansas game if you’re going to be sitting on your couch.

My preseason pick for Big 10 champs took one step closer to that title with a huge 72-69 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes last night. That team is, of course, the Wisconsin Badgers, an experienced squad that has flown below the radar for much of the season. But after making a massive second-half run and then holding on in the final seconds against the preseason Big 10 favorite, there may finally be some national media attention heading Madison’s way.

When I worked in Belmont, I had a co-worker who was a Wisconsin grad and a huge fan of their coach, Bo Ryan. I saw a couple of games last season and was impressed. But last night I saw a perfect display of what made him so excited about having Ryan at the head of the bench. The Badgers moved the ball around with speed and precision, oftentimes finding open layups in the half-court set with only a dribble or two. Of course, as I watched I couldn’t help but think about great the Horns would look with a crsip offense instead of constant ball screens on the perimeter. But I digress.

The game also allowed me my first collegiate look at Greg Oden. His offensive performance left a lot to be desired, but who’s to say how much of that was a result of his wrist injury? Of course, it doesn’t help that for the first twenty minutes the Buckeyes were jacking up threes faster than A.J. Abrams and Kevin Durant in the final seconds of the Tennessee game. But defensively, Oden is an absolute monster. His presence inside alters shots so easily and disrupts the offense, although Wisconsin’s ball movement and Oden’s foul trouble essentially negated that for much of the second half.

Wicsonsin and Ohio State will meet again in Columbus on February 25th in a game I believe will be televised on CBS. If you missed last night’s great finish, be sure to tune in for the rematch.

So we’re back from Colorado and still alive, although we certainly were hit by about every winter condition short of a blizzard that you could think of. I’ll get to all of that in the trip wrap, but for now we’ve got a game to break down.

Nothing makes 30 hours spent in a car seem more worthwhile than a solid, convincing win. And after a battle from the Buffs in the first half, that’s exactly what Kevin Durant and the Horns had, pulling away for a 102-78 victory in Boulder.

Texas (11-3, 1-0 Big 12) jumped out to an early lead and it looked like all was going according to script. But Colorado (4-7, 0-1) quickly stormed back and took its own lead. The first half was a see-saw affair, with the Horns unable to shut down Buffs star Richard Roby. He was hitting from outside, and getting open looks inside with Texas constantly losing him away from the ball. They even allowed him easy shots on the offensive glass as he would crash from the outside and no one picked him up.

That all changed in the second half, as Texas came out with added pressure on Roby. The double-teams and help defense frustrated him, as he scored only eight points in the second half after dropping a massive 22 in the first frame. Meanwhile, Texas went on a 22-11 run at the 16:24 mark and never looked back. The surge was fueled by threes, with Texas hitting what I think was four in a row.

Kevin Durant was the star for the Horns, scoring 37 points and grabbing 16 rebounds. He was hitting from absolutely everywhere, going 5-for-7 behind the arc, throwing down some monster dunks, and knocking down the mid-range jumpers, too.

It has reached the point where we know that KD is going to be the standout player in each and every game for the Horns. Which leads me to the newest feature of Longhorn Road Trip — the Player-Not-Named-Kevin-Durant of the Game Award. And for Colorado, I have to give the PNNKDOTGA to Damion James. Enjoy the alphabet soup.

Damion continued his stellar play on the defensive end, despite picking up four fouls. You could tell that the altitude was getting to him, as he’d stand around and grab at his shorts on the offensive sets late in the game. But even with the added exhaustion from playing over a mile above sea level, James gave his best game of the year — fifteen points, nine rebounds, and a block.

A.J. Abrams and D.J. Augustin also added fifteen points each, with the latter just missing out on a double-double. Augustin dished out nine assists while turning the ball over only once and had four steals.

Connor Atchley again provided valuable minutes for Coach Barnes. And while he picked up one dumb foul that I can distinctly remember, his added contribution in playing time is huge. Now if we can just get him to actually finish those layups when he’s fouled….

Texas heads home for its next pair of conference games, starting with Mizzou at 7 PM on Wednesday night.