Not a lot of action around the country yesterday as most of the sports world was focused on NFL action. North Carolina crushed Rutgers 93-71, but the real story was Tyler Hansbrough leaving the game after suffering a mild concussion. The Aggies whipped Arkansas-Pine Bluff by a 64-37 count, although hook-nosed Mark Turgeon was irritated by his team’s inability to close out the patsies when they should’ve.

New polls are due out today, but there won’t be much action near the top. In the bottom half, Oregon, Xavier, Lousville, and Saint Mary’s all suffered losses and should slide down the rankings — if not completely disappear from them. With everybody staying put in the top of the ranks, it sets up three huge top-ten match-ups this week, with Duke and Pitt meeting on Thursday and the Michigan State/Texas and Georgetown/Memphis games slated for Saturday.

Chatter on the court at Saturday’s game with Texas State revealed that the new hardwood in the Frank Erwin Center is a little slippery, particularly down in the blocks. It’s also kind of ugly to be honest, with the orange more “bright” than “burnt,” and the Big 12 logo in the lane being replaced by a new one that reads as “Texas 12″ rather than the conference name. Interesting.

With Monday Night Football on the “family of networks,” tonight’s TV slate is again a little weak. Duke hosts Albany at 6 PM CST (ESPN2), with a handful of games on the ESPN Full Court package. Big 12 fans who ponied up for ESPNFC can check out Bethune-Cookman at Iowa State (7 PM) and North Carolina A&T at Mizzou (7 PM).

In the long college basketball season, teams inevitably have off nights. Shots aren’t falling, the defense isn’t rotating, and the players all just seem a little bit flat. Fortunately for the Texas Longhorns, their first poor game came against a vastly inferior team. The Horns overcame a rough, sloppy start and poor shooting from its three-point specialist to move to 10-0 on the year, defeating their I-35 rival Texas State last night, 96-81.

The Horns struggled coming out of the gate, turning the ball over three times in the first three possessions on errant passes by D.J. Augustin, Connor Atchley, and Damion James. The first-half defense was particularly poor for a Rick Barnes-led team, with Texas State able to shoot 42.4% from the field in the first twenty minutes. A.J. Abrams had a tough time getting going, making only one of his five first-half three point attempts, while the team was a paltry 3-of-12 from behind the arc. Despite the poor defense and long-range shooting, Texas still headed to the locker room with a 42-40 lead.

The second half was a story of foul disparity, as Texas went to the line 21 times over the first thirteen minutes of the second frame, while the Bobcats shot only 20 free throws all game. The Horns used the charity stripe to their advantage, building a 21-point lead with just under seven minutes left to play. They fell into a harsh drought the rest of the way, though, scoring only ten more points on two field goals and five free throws.

A win is a win, but this was certainly the ugliest one of the season so far. Besides Connor Atchley, each of the Horns had their struggles. Augustin played a little reckless and out of control in the first half, trying to force drives and shots when they weren’t available and making some poor passes at high speed. He settled down in the second stanza, getting himself to the line as the team pulled away. The breakneck pace of the game clearly had an effect on the sophomore point guard though, most evident when his late free throw attempts constantly hit front iron. This is one of those games where the loss of Dogus Balbay was clear, as tired legs were getting to The D.J.

James had a rough game as well, settling for threes and long jumpers on a night when they simply were not falling. It’s clear that he will need to play more on the wings if Texas is ever going to “go big” and get the guards some rest, but on a night when the long-range Js aren’t going down, Damion needs to attack the rim and try to get himself jump-started with some easy buckets. He was an ugly 3-of-13 for the game, but made up for it with fourteen rebounds. A careful observer would note that twelve of those boards were on the defensive end, as he was almost always out of position on the offensive glass thanks to his inexplicable marriage to the perimeter.

Coach was also pretty hard on DaMo during the time outs, especially in regards to the inbounds play. Against the Texas State pressure, James would wait along the baseline for a teammate to give him the ball, even if they had all run to get into position for the play. Letting the ball dribble to a stop a few feet from the baseline allowed the Bobcats ample time to set up their press and really killed the Texas transition game. James also was harped on for repeatedly trying to bring the ball up the floor by himself, which led to some scary moments for Texas fans as he flirted with disaster.

Justin Mason had an incredibly difficult night shooting, constantly missing wide-open looks. Jay was only 2-of-8 on the night, including an 0-for-3 showing from long range. Mason still constantly hustled though, grabbing five rebounds and scrambling for all the loose balls. And on a night when the Texas D was looking a little hairy, Mason played fairly well on the defensive side.

Like Mason, there was also a bright spot to be found in the game that Abrams had. Despite his struggles from long-range, the local kid created off the dribble and finished the night with 20 points. When Abrams would drive the lane and throw up a floater last year, Texas fans cringed. Those shots hardly ever went in, and his momentum usually took him across the court and out of the play. This season, the runners are falling, and it allows A.J. the opportunity to still help the team when he isn’t knocking them down from outside.

Freshman Clint Chapman again put in some solid work on the glass, although a few of his five rebounds came off of his own misses at point-blank range. He still looks really stiff down low and he fouled out of this one, but you can’t help but notice the talent the kid possesses. With the staff Rick Barnes has on board, there’s no doubt he is going to be a beast before he leaves the Forty Acres. Now if only they can get him to stay straight up on the defensive end…

While it was a bumpy night all around for the Longhorns, you can’t forget that they still had a 21-point lead with seven minutes to go. Despite playing their poorest game all season, they had the Bobcats right where you would expect them — down by a lot late in the game. That bodes well for the future, when Texas is bound to have more games that don’t go quite according to script. Although the UCLA game was an infinitely tougher gut-check win, this was yet another chance for the players to prove to each other that they can fight through and win on a sub-par evening.

Last night

The Cavs can’t seem to get off their slide, falling to Philly 92-86 last night. Daniel Gibson missed the contest after being knocked in the face on Friday, further inflaming the extraction point on his wisdom tooth.

Royal Ivey only saw five minutes of action in Milwaukee’s 95-92 victory over Minnesota. Ivey missed the only shot he took and did not otherwise impact the stat sheet.

Mo Evans earned the start for the Magic and played 27 minutes in the 123-119 loss to the Grizz. He struggled from the floor, finishing with eight points on 3-of-11 shooting, although Mo did grab five rebounds.

The Sonics ran into a buzzsaw last night in Utah, losing 96-75 to the Jazz. All five Sonics starters were held to eight points or less, with Kevin Durant only chipping in six.

Today

The Raptors host the unstoppable Celtics, although T.J. Ford likely won’t see any action in this one. (12 PM CST)

LaMarcus Aldridge and the Trail Blazers hope to reach the .500 mark when they travel to Denver. (7 PM NBA TV)

Chris Mihm looks for some playing time as the two L.A. teams tangle at Staples. The Clips will use the visiting locker room in this one. (8:30 PM)

College hoops was back in full swing yesterday, although most of the top teams had cupcakes on the menu. Texas improved to 10-0 on the year, holding off Texas State in a barnburner. Post-game breakdown on that one is due after a long day looking for Christmas gifts. Only nine shopping days left…

Louisville lost to Purdue in Indianapolis, going down by a 67-59 final. At this point I’m hesitant to call it an upset, as the Cardinals’ ship is sinking faster than Star Jones in the deep end. Three losses in their last five games and an indefinite suspension of Derrick Caracter leave me wondering where exactly Louisville will fit into the murky Big East picture. After Georgetown, Pitt, and Marquette the league is wide open — can the Cards right the ship in time to take advantage?

Nebraska fans stormed the court at the Qwest Center in Omaha after Big Red knocked off #16 Oregon, 88-79 in overtime. It’s only the second year for Doc Sadler, and while I don’t think anyone is considering the Huskers for an NCAA bid quite yet, the work he is doing in Lincoln is certainly great for the league.

Elsewhere in the conference, Pitt pounded Oklahoma State 85-68, giving the Pokes their 14th-consecutive road loss. In a battle of two teams with multiple personality disorder, OU took out Arkansas, 83-72. I’ve yet to watch the DVR on this one, so I’m not sure if the solid Arkansas team or the turnover-prone one showed up in this contest. Tech stumbled yet again, falling in New Mexico by a nasty 80-63 count. Missouri and Baylor both notched easy wins, while Kansas finally got their starting five back together and routed Ohio, 88-51.

On national television today, UNC faces Rutgers (7 PM CST, ESPN), while Texas-area fans can watch the Aggies face McNeese State on FSN Southwest (1 PM). ESPNU also has replays of yesterday’s games running all day starting at 10:30 A.M.

After a long week without Texas basketball, the Horns return to the court this evening with a game against some guys from just a few miles down the interstate. Texas State comes to town on a two-game losing streak, having fallen to Texas A&M and Rice prior to the finals break. The Longhorns, meanwhile, are off to their best start in 26 years and look to cruise easily to their 10th-straight win.

By the numbers

With two wins versus D-2 schools removed from the resumé, the Bobcats sit at 238th in Ken Pomeroy’s RPI approximation. They play a ridiculously up-tempo game, with both their raw and adjusted pace ranked tops in the nation. The Bobcats average 83.5 possessions per game, so expect an absolute track meet in this one.

Fortunately for Texas, that tempo plays right into their hands, especially when considering how piss-poor the Bobcat D is. Their defensive efficiency is slated at 205th in the nation, but that ranking plummets when it is adjusted to reflect the weak opponents Texas State has played. Their adjusted dEf is only 313th in the country, so when combining this info with the high-tempo game plan, we will likely see another 100+ point effort from the Horns.

Know your foe

Lanky junior guard Brandon Bush is the man for the Bobcats, leading the team in both scoring and rebounding so far this year. Bush has 15.5 points at 6.8 boards per game so far this year, and dropped twelve points on the Longhorns in Austin as a sophomore last year.

Six-foot, ten-inch freshman center Ty Gough is the second-best rebounder for the ‘Cats, although he is only grabbing 5.4 per game. Even though Texas State is going to have the height advantage in the backcourt, they are generally not a huge team. The Horns should control the glass in this one, and will hopefully keep the Bobcats from pushing the transition game off of offensive boards.

This game is a bit of a homecoming for senior guard Brandon Thomas, who played his high school ball just up the road at Pflugerville. Thomas has started seven of the eight games for Texas State this year and is averaging just over 20 minutes per contest. It’s tough to say how the homecoming will affect the kid, as some players get nervous in front of family and friends, while others seem to thrive under the pressure. Unfortunately for Thomas, he has to do it against a much more talented Longhorn team.

Brent Benson is the key reserve for Coach Doug Davalos. Benson has not started a single game, yet is the second leading scorer on the team with 13.5 points and only 20 minutes per game. He is their only true long-range threat, as he’s hitting at a 42.6% clip from behind the arc.

The big finish

This game should be nothing but a full-speed scrimmage, as the Horns outmatch Texas State in every facet of the game. The only way I forsee the Bobcats hanging with Texas in this one is a perfect storm of stupid turnovers and poor shooting. Barring that incredibly slim possibility, the Longhorns should run away with this one as they pad the scoring stats.

While this game is only being shown in the state of Texas on FSN Southwest, folks with the ESPN Full Court package will be able to pick it up. ESPN360 is also listed as a way to watch the game, but I’m really not at all familiar with how that online viewing option works. For those of you in Austin, you can save $2 on your ticket by printing this coupon. The deal is only for mezz tickets, but you should easily be able to move down as the Drum should be pretty empty for this one.

A huge update this time, considering there hasn’t been a Horns in the League report since the UCLA trip…

T.J. Ford averaged 12.3 points per game over the last six Toronto contests, including 26 points against the Hawks prior to his injury in the final minutes. T.J. also had 29 assists over the last two weeks, although Jose Calderon still saw a solid chunk of time at the point following Ford’s neck stinger. The Raptors went 3-3 over Ford’s six games, putting them solidly in second place in the Atlantic division. And with Boston playing out of their minds, that’s about all the Raps can ask for at this point.

Kevin Durant and the Sonics have really put things together since our last update, going 5-3 over the last two weeks and passing Minnesota as they vacated the Northwest Division cellar. KD averaged 21.8 PPG over that stretch, including three games of 30 points or more. He is currently the leading rookie scorer in the league and 27th-best overall, checking in with 20.2 points per contest.

Plantar fascitis has knocked LaMarcus Aldridge out of commission for at least a week, but the former Horn was playing solid ball prior to the injury. L.A. had two dub-dubs in the five games since our last update and averaged 18.2 PPG and 7.6 RPG. The Trail Blazers moved slightly closer to .500 over these last two weeks, winning their last four games after dropping the first two. Portland’s 11-12 record has them only 3.5 games back of the Nuggets.

Daniel Gibson also missed a game this week, but it was a sore wisdom tooth that sidelined D-Gib. He returned last night, however, and scored twelve points while shooting 3-of-4 from behind the arc. Gibson averaged 14.8 points over his last six games, although the Cavs lost every one as they struggled without LeBron James in five of them.

Royal Ivey has seen a lot more playing time in December, averaging 18 minutes per game this month. Royale With Cheese is putting up modest numbers with his increased playing time, chipping in 4.5 points, two rebounds, and two assists per game. The Bucks are on a skid, though, having lost nine of their last eleven games.

The Lakers are sitting at second in the Pacific Division, having won four straight until last night’s close loss to Golden State. Chris Mihm hasn’t played for the Lake Show since December 5th, however, and there is no injury news that explains his absence. Mihm was struggling prior to his disappearance, averaging only 4.8 points in 19 minutes over his last four games.

Maurice Evans is seeing more playing time with the Magic than he ever did with the Lakers, averaging 21 minutes per game this month. Mo has logged 6 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in December and has helped defensively with seven steals and four blocks. Orlando is still the second-best team in the Eastern Conference at 17-7, sitting a half-game ahead of the Pistons.

Tonight

D-Gib and the Cavs look to break out of their funk when they host the 76ers. (6:30 PM CST)

It’s a battle in the frozen north when the Timberwolves visit Royal Ivey and the Bucks. (7:30 PM)

The Sonics and Kevin Durant hope to keep their momentum going as they travel to Utah. (8 PM)

We’re baaaaaack! I’ve completed my very last final — ever — which opens up a huge chunk of extra time to work on the website and continue bringing you Longhorn and national basketball news. Next week we embark on a road trip that may even top the epic journey to Spokane last March, and with a few bonus stops scheduled along the way, it’s going to provide a lot of great post-Christmas content for everybody. I’ll have more details on Monday, but it’s something you’ll definitely want to check back for.

Checking in on meaningless poll movement, Texas slides a spot to #3 in ESPN’s Power 16, while Luke Winn has yet to update his power rankings this week.

If you happened to catch that Vanderbilt game on Wednesday night, you were treated to one of the best second-half comebacks in recent memory. The Commodores clawed back from an 18-point deficit on the road at DePaul, forced overtime, and then iced away another win to remain perfect. DePaul shot a ridiculous percentage coming out of the halftime break to build that huge lead, but Vandy just remained calm and continued to play their game. Watch out, SEC. These guys are definitely not finishing 5th in their division.

Don’t look now, but former Texas assistant coach Frank Haith has the Miami Hurricanes playing some great ball so far. The U is 9-0 on the young season and sport the best RPI ranking in the nation according to Ken Pomeroy’s number-crunching. They still have a couple mid-major threats left on their December schedule, but there is a very distinct possibility that the Hurricanes could start ACC play with a 14-0 mark when they host Georgia Tech on January 12th.

Horns in the League returns tonight with a massive update on how each player has done the last two weeks. Also look for a piece on the big step backwards Bellmont is making with the student ticket situation at the Drum and, of course, the Texas State game preview.

A scary, scary moment in the Raptors game in Atlanta last night when T.J. Ford was fouled hard by Al Horford and fell straight to the court, slamming his head. T.J. was carted off on a stretcher, but has since been released from the hospital and is cleared to play. I’m guessing he won’t be right back out there, but it’s good to know things are looking up after seeing that frightening footage last night.

So much for St. Mary’s being ranked when they come to town. The Gaels ran into Southern Illinois on the wrong night, losing 71-56 to a team that had almost no offense over their first six games. All this really does to Texas is give a slight ding on the RPI later in the season, but it’s better to be playing a tough, one-loss St. Mary’s squad than a 16-loss Prairie View A&M.

Don’t ask me how I missed this in SI’s weekly power rankings last week, but apparently the Penn students brought their A-game for Tyler Hansbrough and UNC. They blew up pictures of his mother, who was a former Miss Missouri, and waved copies of this horrible senior picture collage. I pulled the photo from Tyler50.com, the official website of Mr. Hansbrough. Why, oh why would you put something this hilariously awkward on the internet when you are a college athlete? I half-expect to find Uncle Rico’s glamor shots if I keep clicking around long enough.

Chris Low at ESPN.com has a good feature on A.J. Ogilvy over at Vanderbilt. After seeing the Commodores shock a lot of folks last year, I thought they just needed a good inside presence to help out Shan Foster and get them over the hump. There was some below-the-radar buzz on the Aussie before he hit the college hardwood, but I wasn’t sure he’d be the answer as only a freshman. It turns out that Ogilvy is just as good as advertised, if not better, and has Vandy poised to be one of the top three or four teams in the SEC.

Finally, some more action on the tube for hoopsheads tonight. Cincy takes on Xavier and former OU guard Drew Lavender in the Crosstown Shootout (6 PM, ESPN2). Check out the 7-1 Musketeers if you haven’t had a chance yet, as they should absolutely school the ‘Cats. If you don’t believe me or Chris Low about the Ogilvy kid, watch Vandy hunt for a road win at DePaul (7 PM, ESPN Classic). And if you remember when UMass was solid and the A-10 was a part of the Big Monday package, reminisce as the Minutemen host BC (8 PM, ESPNU).

Apologies for the lack of a daily update on Monday, but this week finds me mired in a couple of finals and a lot of writing. It’s a cruel set-up to have students walk before they finish their exams, but by this time Friday I will at least enjoy a sudden spike in free time. Content on the site might be a bit on the lighter side between now and then, but with most teams taking it easy during their own final exams, it works out pretty well.

New polls came out yesterday, and Texas stayed in the 4th and 5th slots of the AP and Coaches Polls. Not much movement near the top, as most teams took care of business last week. Texas fans will take note of St. Mary’s, who cracked both polls at #24 this week. If the Gaels can get past Southern Illinois on the road tonight, it looks like there will be a Top 25 match-up in Austin on January 5th.

Another week, another honor from the Big 12 Conference. This time, D.J. Augustin was named Player of the Week, while Kansas State’s freshman Towel Pisser was named Rookie of the Week. After both Damion James and A.J. Abrams have claimed the award this season, this thing might just be renamed Big 12 Player of the Week Presented by The University of Texas.

Want to watch some basketball on TV tonight? Good luck, buddy. While folks would likely enjoy that great mid-major match-up between St. Mary’s and Southern Illinois, fans will instead be treated to a scintillating game between Prairie View A&M and New Mexico State…on ESPN Full Court. Hope that new episode of Nip/Tuck captures your fancy.