At times last night, Texas looked very good in their win over the Rice Owls. But there were also some points of concern for Longhorn fans, despite the lopsided outcome. We’ll get to all of that late tonight in a wrap of this week’s games. For now, onward with our look around the country.

A couple of upsets in the middle of the Top 25, starting with Louisville stumbling against the Dayton Flyers, 70-65. The Flyers are quietly building a solid resumé, with a 7-1 record against the current RPI Top 50. In addition to beating Louisville, they’ve challenged themselves with some tough mid-major opponents, which should help after the A-10 sked hurts their SOS. In the other upset of the day, Wright State knocked off Butler, 43-42. It’s the second straight win for Wright State over the Bulldogs, as they also captured the Horizon League tournament in March by beating them in front of a raucous home crowd.

Davidson keeps playing well against good teams, but still doesn’t have any quality wins to show for it. They blew an 18-point lead to UCLA in Anaheim yesterday, falling by a final of 75-63 and dropping their record to a painful 3-5 this year. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute led the way for UCLA with 21 points.

The Big 12 looked pretty good on Saturday, if you can overlook OU losing at home to Stephen F. Austin, 66-62. The Lumberjacks are now 7-1 on the year, but have done so against the 279th-toughest schedule. Things aren’t going to get any easier for Oklahoma after this one, as their next three games are against Arkansas, Gonzaga, and West Virginia. Quality loss there, Sooners.

Elsewhere in the conference, Iowa State topped Iowa, Kansas pounded DePaul, Oklahoma State pulled away from East Tennessee State, Mizzou pressured Purdue for the win, and Texas A&M face-raped Texas State. (Thanks, Dave Lapham.) Colorado was the second Big 12 loser on the day, dropping one in Wyoming, but they are playing respectably for one of the worst teams in the conference.

FSN has a doubleheader in HD today, but otherwise not a lot on tap as many schools lighten their schedule in the midst of final exams. George Washington heads southwest to take on Virginia Tech (4:30 PM CST), followed by an early ACC matchup between BC and Maryland (6:30 PM). Over on ESPNU, Villanova and Temple renew their Big Five rivalry (6 PM). In action happening without TV coverage, Kansas State is currently facing off with Cal.

The Texas Longhorns head to Houston tonight for another game in the Toyota Center, this time with the reeling Rice Owls. The last time these two teams met was in the same building back in 2005, when the Longhorns won by an 85-58 count. All-time, Texas leads the series by a lopsided 130-59 margin.

Rice comes into this one without their top two point guards and their top three-point threat. Jasen Williams was the team’s leading scorer, but is not playing this week so that he can focus on finals. It’s unclear whether Williams is dangerously close to an eligibility situation, but his absence certainly won’t make things any easier on the Owls. Chris Hagan was the backup at the point, but ruptured his patella tendon and is out for the season. Behind the arc, Cory Pflieger was the biggest threat, but is currently out until January with an ankle injury.

The rash of injuries and study breaks leaves Rice with only eight scholarship players for tonight’s game. And for a team that was already struggling to replace the huge hole left by Morris Almond and Lorenzo Williams — both who now play in the NBDL — this bad luck makes the mountain even tougher to climb.

By the numbers

Texas is still holding strong to the 3rd-highest RPI in the country, according to Ken Pomeroy. This game with Rice won’t help that ranking, as the Owls check in all the way at 256th. They also run one of the slowest offenses in the country, and that will certainly be the case with such a short bench tonight. Rice cannot afford to get into an up-and-down contest with a more athletic and more talented Texas team.

The starters

Without the top two point guards, the job at the one falls to Bryan Beasley, a former Aggie who was allowed to transfer and immediately play for Rice during the Billy Gillispie/Mark Turgeon changeover. With an inexperienced, third-string guard at the point, the Longhorns could force a good share of turnovers and earn some easy fast break points. Beasley is a pretty quick guard, however, so on defense he might be able to stick with Augustin a little better than most third-stringers would. We all know it’s impossible to hold D.J. down all game, but Beasley could make things a little more difficult.

Sophomore Rodney Foster will likely start at shooting guard, although he is having a rough start from the floor this year. While he is averaging nine points per game, his three-point percentage is an abysmal 21% after sitting above 35% last season. While the Owls have a solid inside game, their offense is not nearly as effective as that of the Longhorns. If they want to stay in this game, they will need some three-point buckets, and that means Foster will need to break out of his slump.

Aleks Perka will probably be slotted at the three tonight, and he is going to be a bit of an oversized one. If he matches up with Justin Mason, he should try using his five-inch height advantage to post up and earn some buckets. Jay Mase is a much quicker player, so Perka won’t be slashing from the wings for any layups.

In the paint, Patrick Britton comes in riding high after a career-best 24 point game against Texas State on Wednesday. While he’s not the biggest threat on the glass, he could definitely create a problem inside for the Horns. Damion James is a much more athletic player and can match up well with him, but Britton might get a few extra baskets when the Longhorn freshmen forwards are in the game.

Paulius Packevicius is a double-double machine for Rice, having reached that plateau in four of his games so far. Last season, he didn’t achieve that statistical feat even once, so it’s quite clear that the kid has made some huge strides in the offseason. He is averaging 11.3 PPG and 10.1 RPG so far this year and should provide another good challenge for Connor Atchley inside. Much like Atchley, Packevicius is not a flashy player, but is fundamentally sound and is easy to coach.

Key reserves

With the bench so thin for Rice, their options are incredibly slim. Lawrence Ghoram is a solid defender in the backcourt and will likely be called upon to stick Augustin and A.J. Abrams when Beasley and Foster need a breather. Freshman big men Suleiman Braimoh and Scott Saunders may also see an increase in minutes if Rice is unable to control the tempo.

What to look for

The deck is extraordinarily stacked against Rice in this one. With the short bench, their only true hope is to slow this one down into an ugly slopfest and limit the potent Texas offense. The Owls will be forced to run a lot of zone to keep their team from getting too fatigued, so this will likely open Rick Barnes’ dangerous three-point shooters. If by chance Rice is still able to frustrate the Texas offense, they will also need a few timely threes to threaten a much better Longhorn squad.

I finally graduate in about nine hours, which means that I’ll be missing a lot of great hoops action this afternoon. But the good thing about a noon ceremony is that it leaves enough time afterwards to travel to Houston for the Rice game, which tips at 7 P.M. tonight.

And speaking of the Rice game, two people out of the eleven in our group will no longer be able to make the trip. They are really great seats only four rows up from the baseline beside the Texas bench, and I’m being asked to try to resell them at face ($16 each). If you’re interested, leave me a comment with your phone number as they are moderated and will not be made public. I leave town at 3ish, so that will have to be the cut-off.

Not much going on in NCAA hoops last night, but UTA won on a running jumper with 6.3 seconds at Wichita State to move to 8-0 on the season. The Mavs are one of only 17 undefeated teams left in Division I hoops, and are certainly one of the most surprising ones. In the other game of interest to Texas fans, UC-Davis was embarrassed at home by Oregon State, 73-59.

Today the television is full of quality hoops action. Arizona kicks things off at Illinois (11 AM CST, ESPN), while Duke hosts Michigan and new coach John Beilein (1 PM, CBS). Duke will roll, but it’s a chance to see how Beilein’s style translates to a new, troubled team. DePaul faces Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse with Brandon Rush on the court (1 PM, ESPN), with Pitt and Washington tipping just an hour later way out west (2 PM, FSN). Kentucky also faces IU (3 PM, CBS), Purdue travels to Mizzou (3 PM, ESPN2), and Texas A&M hosts Texas State (7 PM, FSN). But perhaps the most interesting televised matchup of the day is the grudge match between Marquette and Wisconsin, airing at 5 PM on ESPN2.

Some more games of note not on TV today: Michigan State faces their last real test before Texas when they travel to BYU (3 PM CST) and Colorado looks for a road win in Wyoming (3 PM). While I mentioned that UTA was one of the most surprising undefeated teams remaining, the other two shockers are Ole Miss and Sam Houston State. Both are in action today, with the Bearkats facing Ian Mooney’s old school, St. Louis (7 PM) and the Rebs traveling to Central Florida (6 PM).

If you’re going to that Texas/Rice tilt and want to catch some high school hoops action, your ticket also gets you into a doubleheader starting at 1 P.M. Fans can get a preview of some future Big 12 action when two class of ‘08 recruits face off in the first game. Baylor commit Anthony Jones plays for Yates, who will square off with Texas verbal commit J’Covan Brown and his Port Arthur Memorial team. The second half of the high-school doubleheader features Madison against Duncanville and highly-touted ‘09 prospect Shawn Williams.

While it’s not basketball, the fantastic Texas volleyball team will be televised in their Elite Eight match against USC at 3 PM CST on ESPNU. And if talented girls in spandex beating the crap out of the Trojans isn’t enough to entice you, then I’m just not sure what else I can throw out.

There’s disappointing news today coming out of Lawrence, Kansas, where Brandon Rush was arrested yesterday for failing to appear in court. He had two separate traffic incidents in October of this year and December of 2006 which led to charges for speeding, driving on the wrong side of the road, having no proof of insurance, and driving with a suspended license. After posting $500 bond, he was released from custody.

Clearly the kid thinks he is above the law, and maybe this will slap a little bit of sense into him. I highly doubt it, though, and that’s why I’m incredibly disappointed in Bill Self’s decision to not suspend Rush. Do I think this incident is actually worth a full suspension? Probably not. But the alternatives — keeping him out of the starting lineup or sitting him for a half — really won’t make much of an impact with the way his year is going. Rush hasn’t been starting thanks to the injury he suffered this summer and is only averaging 22 minutes per game since he rejoined the team. It’s not like they are going to lose to DePaul without him; the Blue Demons lost to North Carolina AT&T, after all.

If you think back to 2006, you might remember another traffic incident involving a Jayhawk under Self’s watch. Senior guard Jeff Hawkins had the munchies one night, and decided to drive to the McDonald’s for some food. But he just couldn’t wait in that long drive-thru line, so he thought he’d try to cut ahead. After hitting another car, he sped off and was ultimately suspended one game — against Baylor. Personally, I think the four charges against Rush plus failure to appear is a little bit worse than leaving the scene of a car accident. Yet Hawkins was suspended a game while nothing will happen to the future NBA pick. Could it have anything to do with the fact that Hawkins was a reserve guard who only averaged 19 minutes per game that year, while Rush is a star on this loaded Kansas squad?

Brandon Rush is only back in Lawrence because he hurt his knee. Without that poorly timed injury, he’s playing on an NBA team right now. I’m sure he feels that college and even NCAA basketball are beneath him, and that he’s just wasting some time until he hears his name called next June and starts cashing the checks. The apology he made today smacks of half-heartedness as he blames a mix-up in dates. Could his license have been suspended because he never cleared up the charges from his traffic stop twelve months ago? That oversight takes a little more than a mix-up in dates, don’t you think?

I realize Texas fans don’t have much room to talk thanks to the moronic football players who decided to get arrested 793 times this offseason. But the Longhorn basketball program has always run things the right way, while Bill Self doesn’t really seem to care. I’m not asking the guy to suspend a star player for a post-season game or even a conference one. But the message that he’s sending to Brandon Rush is just reinforcing the kid’s warped worldview — he’s already a big star, and Lawrence is just small potatoes.

John Brady and the LSU Tigers held a 20-point lead with 8:51 to play last night…and still ended up losing to Villanova, 68-67. After seeing Brady’s talented teams come up short again and again the last two years, I still wonder how they overcame his ineptitude to beat Texas in the 2006 Elite Eight.

No Pete Campbell, no problem for Butler. The Bulldogs stayed perfect and grabbed their first conference win last night, taking out Detroit on the road, 53-46.

Some of you may have already discovered this (or have even come to this website thanks to the coverage), but I was featured in a Q&A by San Antonio Express-News sports columnist Lorne Chan. You can check out the article in his appropriately titled Chanifesto.

Lute Olson announced today that he won’t be returning to the Arizona bench this season. Olson does plan to patrol the sidelines again next year, and Kevin O’Neill will continue his duties as interim coach. Later in the day, news outlets began announcing that Coach Olson had filed for divorce from his second wife. The two stories may be connected or his “personal issues” could turn out to be something completely different, but in all honesty, it’s nobody’s business but Lute Olson’s. We wish him the best in the meantime and look forward to seeing him in action again soon.

There’s pretty much nothing on TV tonight, even for those with the ESPN Full Court package. Despite that, there are still a couple of games of local interest which will be worth score-checking in the morning. UC-Davis hosts Oregon State in a matchup that will have a slight impact on the Texas RPI, while undefeated UT-Arlington faces their biggest test yet in a road game against Wichita State.

Texas moved up to 3rd in the latest Ken Pomeroy RPI approximations after thumping North Texas last night, just one slot behind St. Mary’s, who the Longhorns face on January 5th. With Michigan State (19th) still looming and the Big 12 sporting the third-best conference RPI, that final SOS should be looking mighty solid for Texas.

In meaningless polling news, Texas also ascended to 2nd in this week’s Power 16 at ESPN.com. These rankings are so pointless, I don’t even have a follow-up sentence.

The Big 12 had fun with some creampuffs last night. Oklahoma State handled a fiesty Texas A&M Corpus Christi squad 60-46, while their rivals from Norman crushed Tulsa by 26. Kansas got in some worthwhile practice against Eastern Washington, cruising to an easy 85-47 win. The most lopsided win of the night came from Texas Tech, however, who demolished Lousiana Tech by an 86-31 count. Iowa State fell on the road to Drake, 79-44, while Nebraska lost in overtime to a solid Western Kentucky team, 69-62.

Tonight’s TV lineup leaves a bit to be desired, with LSU/Villanova being the “highlight” at 8:30 PM CST (ESPN). South Carolina and Providence play a little earlier on the Deuce, tipping at 6 PM CST. And on ESPNU, there’s a mind-numbing matchup between Jacksonville State and Samford, two teams with a combined 4-9 record. It’s faaaaantastic!

The lack of good hoops on the tube gives you all the more reason to tune in to Longhorn Sportsline with Coach Barnes at 7 PM CT tonight. It broadcasts live from the brand new Pluckers location in West Campus, so if you’re in the Austin area and haven’t been by the new digs, you owe it to yourself to check it out. Thursdays are usually Mexican night at Pluckers, meaning specials on Tecate, margaritas and other booze that I’m forgetting. So swing on by, have a few drinks, and chat hoops with Rick. And if you’re elsewhere in Texas but want to tune in, take a gander at the affiliate list from TexasSports.com.

The Texas Longhorns return home following a monumental victory over UCLA on Sunday, now sitting at fourth in the AP Poll and fifth in the Coaches Poll. Beginning tonight, they settle into an easier two-week stretch of the schedule, although this crop of non-conference opponents isn’t filled with as many patsies as in years past.

North Texas is one of those stronger mid-major teams that Coach Barnes scheduled this year, and they comes to town just a few months after earning their second NCAA berth in school history. The Mean Green has an experienced roster with five seniors and four juniors, all who are looking to go dancing again this March. When you couple that seasoned squad with the fact that Texas historically comes out flat following big games, this is the recipe for a dangerous game. Let’s hope Rick has them fired up.

By the numbers

North Texas will provide another boost to the strong Longhorn SOS, as they come into this one ranked 19th in Ken Pomeroy’s RPI approximations. After defeating UCLA, the Longhorns moved up to 5th in those same rankings, with their schedule slotted as 34th-toughest in the nation.

UNT has two wins over D-2 schools that won’t be on their resumé come Selection Sunday. They did beat Oklahoma State at home early in the season, and defeated New Mexico State last week on the road in Las Cruces. That victory over the Aggies was the largest comeback win in school history, as the Mean Green overcame a 21-point deficit.

North Texas plays an up-tempo style of ball, as indicated by their 20th-ranked possession numbers. They average 76.1 possessions per game, which is much faster than nearly every team the Longhorns have played this year. Only Tennessee is in the same neighborhood, with 76.6 per game.

The starters

The Mean Green are led in scoring by Josh White, a guard who has started all six games as only a freshman. On a team that generally shoots very poorly from behind the arc, White is one of the few weapons from long range. He is hitting at over 52% from three-point range and gets to the line an average of six times per game.

At only 5′10″, White won’t have the height advantage that most guards do against the Horns, so he will likely have to try to use his speed to beat Abrams, Mason, or Augustin off the dribble. And when you consider that he has 18 turnovers compared to only four assists, the Texas backcourt could certainly force some errors from this guy.

Big man Keith Wooden is already making an impact after transferring from Arizona State. He is third on the team in scoring with twelve points per game and is second on the glass with five boards per contest. Checking in at 6′9″ and 245 pounds, he’s a bit thicker than most of the Longhorn post players, but on Sunday they proved themselves as adept rebounders against bigger, stronger opponents.

Quincy Williams is the other senior forward for Coach Johnny Jones. He leads the team in rebounding, including a 19-board night against the Indiana State Sycamores. He is especially strong on the offensive glass, but is prone to turnovers and has been absolutely abysmal from the line so far this year. Judging from his numbers and size, one would expect him to be matched up with Damion James, who is really hitting his stride lately. This should be an excellent battle on the glass.

At the point, senior Ben Bell is a calm and collected leader. He holds a 2.75:1 assist-to-turnover ratio so far, but is struggling from the floor. He is averaging only six points per game on 28% shooting, including an awful 1-for-12 start from behind the arc. It will be interesting to see how the experienced guard handles the Texas pressure.

The third starting guard for the Mean Green is Tristan Thompson. A teammate of Dogus Balbay at Brewster Academy, Thompson is averaging 8.2 PPG and 4.3 RPG. For a guard, it is troubling that he has more turnovers (7) than assists (5), but those numbers certainly look good for the transition-minded Longhorns. If they can rattle this guy into a fair number of turnovers, the fast break points should follow.

Key reserves

Collin Dennis is the second-leading scorer on the team, despite not starting a single game. The junior guard transferred to UNT from South Florida after his freshman season, and has immediately made an impact in Denton. He is hitting at a 53% clip from behind the arc and is averaging just shy of 15 points per game.

Another transfer for Coach Jones is guard Dez Willingham, who came to the Mean Green from SMU. Willingham is generally a poor shooter, but is often relied upon to relieve Bell at the point. At only 6′0″, he will be a good matchup for the short Texas backcourt.

What to look for

Expect an exciting track meet where the Texas transition game gets a chance to shine. The Mean Green are a better defensive team than most up-tempo squads, so the Longhorns will need to make their possessions count. Of course, if Texas returns to its lights-out shooting from three-point range, they could put this one away early.

After proving themselves against a much larger UCLA team, the Longhorns look to maintain their presence on the glass in this game. North Texas is outrebounding their opponents by roughly nine boards per contest, so this won’t be a walk in the park for the Longhorn frontcourt. Will they take a step backwards or win another war on the glass?

Keep an eye on the minutes for freshmen Clint Chapman and Alexis Wangmene. Both played a good chunk on Sunday, and Chapman had a particularly gutsy performance. Dexter Pittman will not likely see much time in this high-tempo game, so look to see what the freshman forwards can do in their time on the floor.

The big finish

Tonight’s game is on FSN only in the state of Texas, and not in the Dallas or Houston markets. Elsewhere, the game can be seen on the ESPN Full Court package.

For those folks in Austin, free admission can be gained simply by donating a new, unwrapped toy to the Orange Santa program. The free seats are in the general admission section, but since this is the last week of classes and many students are busy with tests and papers, those GA seats could get you into the upper reaches of the sections behind the baskets.

So grab a Cabbage Patch Doll or whatever the kids are playing with these days and come on out to the Erwin Center. We’ll save you a seat.

A few scares in the Top 10 last night, but no upsets. Memphis survived USC in overtime, 62-58 by holding the Trojans to 28.8% shooting on the night. Michigan State trailed Bradley by nine in the second half, but stormed back for a 66-61 win. If you tuned in looking for the Spartans to be playing Butler…oops. That’s what I get for writing these at four in the morning.

If you’re one of the folks who likes to play the transitive game when it comes to early season non-conference games, you’ve got to be riding high on Baylor in the Big 12 right now. Baylor beat Notre Dame, who beat K-State, 68-59. You can’t put too much stock in comparing results, considering teams have off nights or play out of their minds, but the Wildcats sure looked like a one-trick pony with Michael Beasley struggling for much of last night’s game.

Bumped from yesterday’s comments, Damion James was tabbed Big 12 Player of the Week. DaMo logged a double-double in both of the wins over Texas Southern and UCLA, finishing with 38 points and 20 boards for the week.

On the tube tonight you’ve got your very own Longhorns against North Texas (7 PM CST, FSSW/ESPN Full Court). The big game of the evening is Washington State at Gonzaga (10 PM CST, ESPNU). The Kennel should be absolutely rocking for this one, so be sure to tune in if you get the U.

Leave town for a weekend to watch the biggest regular-season upset in your school’s history, and you miss all sorts of shit. It was a fun couple of days though, and I’ll eventually get over the fact that the DVR fried sometime on Saturday, leaving me with part of a Gonzaga/UConn game and none of the Big 12/Pac-10 games. Ouch.

We lead with the best news of all, which would be that Bill Walker pissed in a towel on the sidelines last Thursday. Yes, that’s right. Stuck a towel down his pants, drained the snake, and then soiled a second towel just for good measure. And all of this occurred in front of a sold-out arena and a rightfully disgusted equipment manager. Oh, did we mention that the Wildcats still lost?

Friday night, Baylor jumped out to a big halftime lead against #6 Washington State, but ultimately couldn’t hang on. The Cougars fought back behind a suddenly-hot Derrick Low, escaping Waco with a 67-64 win. Meanwhile, I was drinking alone in a DFW airport bar while waiting for a 10 P.M. flight to Los Angeles. Still want to do what I do?

Bob Knight continues to baffle with his scheduling, as the Red Raiders dropped another road game to a horrible team. This time, Tech lost to Centenary, 70-66. Knight left the game at halftime, returning to the team hotel because he was feeling ill. But that didn’t stop him from lecturing some students who made a joke about his recent hunting accident as he left the court. I can’t help but feel that these road games against Sam Houston State and Centenary were nothing but a cheap way to earn a little more RPI credit while beating the bottom-feeders, but it’s certainly not working out that way for the Techsters.

With the last Big 12/Pac-10 game coming on December 22nd, the current standings are 6-5 in favor of the Pac-10. That doesn’t include the Kansas win on Sunday over USC, which was scheduled separately from the challenge. Of course, this is for nothing more than bragging rights, as there are no official tallies for this showcase and no trophies awarded. It’s really a shame that Baylor and A&M let their games get away from them, as this was certainly a chance for the conference to change some perceptions. Regardless, the Big 12 is currently ranked 2nd in Ken Pomeroy’s RPI approximations, which is a nice change of pace from the top-heavy league of years past.

Class of ‘09 recruit John Henson was spotted enjoying himself at the UCLA/Texas game on Sunday night. And considering he was also seen at the Texas/Arkansas-Monticello game a few weeks back, I can’t help but think the talk of him not reciprocating Texas’ interest is nothing but white noise. The kid’s still looking at a lot of schools and he’s only a junior, but here’s to hoping that exciting upset win and the hometown draw keeps Texas high on the Round Rock Dragon’s list.

Beat #1 and #7, and people start to take notice. The Longhorns have climbed yet again in the polls, this time moving to #4 in the AP and fifth in the Coaches Poll. Texas actually snagged two first-place votes from the writers, as did Kansas. And if #9/10 Michigan State can get past tough games with Bradley and BYU this week, we’ll be looking at another top-ten battle when the Spartans and Horns face off on December 22nd.

What to watch tonight? Bill Walker brings his Depends to New York City when Kansas State and Notre Dame face off in the Jimmy V Classic (6 PM CST, ESPN). Later, the senior-laden Butler Bulldogs host Drew Neitzel and Michigan State (8 PM, ESPNU) while Memphis shows USC frosh O.J. Mayo how its done (8:30 PM, ESPN).

At halftime last night in Pauley Pavilion, I sat down to tap out a text message to a fellow LRT traveler who was stuck in Austin for the weekend. “I have a sinking feeling this could be another Kansas or Tennessee,” the message said. Just minutes later, I felt unfortunately prophetic as the Bruins had erased a twelve-point halftime deficit and grabbed the lead with twelve minutes to play.

But this Texas team handled it differently than last year’s squad did in squandering huge leads to the Vols and Jayhawks. They took every punch that the Bruins threw in a brutal heavyweight fight and came back swinging. The Longhorns refused to let UCLA get further than four points ahead down the stretch, putting themselves in position for a game-winning Damion James dunk with only eight seconds left. This team not only weathered the storm; they came out on top for the first-ever road victory over a #1 team in school history.

The blue stars are aplenty in this one, as it seems in retrospect that every player came up with a big moment. Connor Atchley continued his emergence as a breakout star, grabbing four rebounds and scoring nine points — three of them on a clutch trifecta to tie the game with 64 seconds left. But even more importantly, he frustrated Kevin Love on the low blocks and ran a fantastic game in transition. Yet again, Atchley’s performance was so solid and well-rounded that it’s hard to believe this is the same nervous kid from the Elite Eight team.

D.J. Augustin was again the maestro, scoring 19 points and dishing out four dimes in a game with 39 scouts in attendance. While Darren Collison may have been the bigger name coming into this one, Augustin’s stock rose tremendously with those critical eyes watching a gutsy performance that underscored his icy nerves. With roughly three minutes left in the game, the Longhorns trailed by four following a Luc Richard Mbah a Moute layup. Augustin led the Horns down the floor, called out an offensive play, and then quickly drilled a three-pointer over a stunned Collison.

Throughout the second half, Ben Howland had the Bruins increasing their defensive pressure, meeting the Longhorn guards well beyond the perimeter and forcing the issue. At first, Augustin struggled with it, and UCLA clawed their way back into the game. But he remained calm and adjusted, leading Texas through a nerve-wracking final twelve minutes to victory.

Although Damion James will be long-remembered for his dunk off of a missed Augustin shot — or was it a pass? — the sophomore from Nacogdoches quietly kept the Horns in the game with jumper after silky jumper. DaMo has been occasionally utilizing his mid-range game early in the season, but when the UCLA contest became dicey, his 16-foot jumper was the go-to play. James finished the night with 19 boards and ten rebounds in 37 minutes on the floor.

Justin Mason did the little things right in this one, as it seemed like his extra hustle was always the determining factor in a loose ball or a team rebound. Jay chipped in four assists on the night and scored seven, including a big three that kept the Horns in it when UCLA tried to jump out to a commanding early lead.

Combo guard A.J. Abrams had a quiet night by his standards, scoring only seven against a Bruins D that did an excellent job locking down on the hot shooter. A.J. kept them busy though, constantly racing around the court in an effort to get free, which consequently kept the floor spaced out. He did hit a trey in the midst of a 17-0 Texas run in the first half, extending his streak of consecutive games with a three-pointer to 45.

Abrams was especially quiet during a long stretch in the second half, one which further highlighted the importance of Atchley to this ballclub. One of the most important things that Connor does for Coach Barnes is set really solid screens, especially when A.J. is cutting along the baseline to get open in the corner. With Atchley out of the game due to foul trouble, it became even more difficult for a tiring Abrams to outrun defenders and find space. While A.J. might get a ton of the points, just as much credit has to go to Connor for freeing him up.

Clint Chapman had an excellent game in limited minutes, fighting hard for four rebounds in front of his family. Chapman played his high school ball in Oregon, and there were quite a few smiling faces that made the trip and greeted him after the victory. While Clint is still struggling with his role in the offensive sets, his work defensively and on the glass were incredibly important when Atchley’s fouls started to mount.

Even when taking a step back from the individual accomplishments, the picture still remains rosy. An incredibly undersized Texas team took it to the Bruins in this one, actually winning the rebounding battle by a 34-27 count. They limited freshman stud Kevin Love to eleven points and five rebounds, and rendered him so ineffective that he sat the final two minutes of the game.

The Longhorns also pushed the tempo against the slow-down Bruins, which allowed them to build a twelve-point halftime lead behind ten fast break points. But even when UCLA adjusted their defense in the second frame, the Longhorns adapted on the fly and found a way to score buckets. Even with no second-half points on the fast break, Texas managed to win in a half-court battle.

Coupled with a neutral-court win over #7 Tennessee last week, the Longhorns currently have the strongest resumé in the NCAAs. And while there are still two tough tests ahead this month with Big 10 powers Michigan State and Wisconsin, this victory gives Longhorn fans a lot to be excited about. Rick Barnes and his team have shown that they’ve got what it takes to win, no matter what style of game you throw at them. And in a sport with as much parity as college basketball, that’s about all you can ask for on any given night.