Almost as soon as the brackets were unveiled two weeks ago, pundits keyed in on today’s date. It was nearly fated, they all seemed to think. A dream match-up between Memphis and Texas, the 1-seed and the 2-seed. A showdown for D.J. Augustin and Derrick Rose. A battle on the blocks between Joey Dorsey, Robert Dozier, and Damion James. As it turns out, they were right.

This afternoon’s game in Reliant Stadium has all the makings of an exciting shootout between two of the best teams in the country. And although most of the players in today’s game weren’t involved, there is a fair share of recent history between the two schools. During the 2004-05 and 05-06 campaigns, Rick Barnes and John Calipari scheduled a home-and-home which the Longhorns swept. And until Tennessee came into FedEx Forum and knocked off the Tigers last month, the Longhorns were the last team to beat Memphis at home in over two years.

While revenge is always a nice motivating factor, the Final Four is a much larger prize. For Coach Cal and the Tigers, it’s been something of a white whale the last few seasons. This marks the third-straight Elite Eight appearance for Memphis, who has not reached the Final Four since 1985. For Texas, it is their third appearance in the round of eight since 2003, which was also the year of their last Final Four.

The starting five

The newest player on the Tigers is perhaps the biggest star, as freshman Derrick Rose runs the show at the point. Checking in at 6′4″, he’s going to have a few inches on the Texas backcourt, and he’s a physical player that also has a few pounds on the Longhorn guards. He’s incredibly quick off the dribble, which is a necessity in the Memphis offense.

Chris Douglas-Roberts is referred to most often by the acronym CDR, but his game is far too big for just three letters. He’s a 6-7 swingman who is the most consistent long-range shooter for Memphis at 41. But his quickness and length help him get to the rack as well, so teams can’t afford to play him too tightly on the perimeter lest they find themselves watching helplessly as he drives to the hoop.

Another tall guard in the four-out, one-in Memphis look is Antonio Anderson, a 30-minute guy who chips in nine points a game but gives his biggest contribution on the defensive end. He’ll get up in your face — not a tough task against the tiny Texas backcourt — and hustle all over the court. His 3.5 assists per game speak to his great court vision, despite not being the true point guard of the bunch.

Perhaps most famous for his run-in with a girlfriend and the resulting outfit of a UAB fan, Robert Dozier is an intimidating defender who also kills on the glass. His physical style could be a match-up problem for the Longhorns, but with their increasing depth at the post, Texas could afford to attack him and pile up a few fouls.

Joey Dorsey will have some sick dunks in today’s ballgame on what Calipari calls “rim runs,” and he’ll also get a nice share of putbacks waiting on the weak side of the Memphis offense. This man is an absolute beast, so seeing him tangle with James ought to be quite a treat. Texas will need to limit the easy buckets for Dorsey off of Memphis misses, as shutting down offensive rebounding has been a huge struggle as of late for the Horns.

Dribble-drive motion

We’ve alluded to the innovative Memphis offense as we introduced the starters, but now we can fully address “Dribble Drive Motion” (DDM), or “the Princeton offense on steroids,” as Coach Cal has been known to call it. At the core, it’s essentially a drive-and-kick offense based on the Attack-Attack-Skip-Attack-Attack (AASAA) offense of former Pepperdine coach Vance Walberg. Memphis will spread the floor to open driving lanes for their guards, typically moving their big man to the weak side in order to clear even more space for the penetration.

When Walberg was coaching, he would tell his teams to either take threes or take it to the rim. There was practically no mid-range game in the AASAA, which is one key difference between the DDM and its predecessor. Memphis has players who can knock down mid-range jumpers, and they are not afraid to do so if an open opportunity presents itself.

In addition, Walberg was a preacher of full-court, pressure defense, something that Coach Cal is hesitant to use. Calipari still has his players go for steals — particularly on backtipping as opposing players try to drive — but prefers to play lock-down half-court defense.

One big problem that the DDM is going to give Texas — beyond actually stopping it — is fatigue. This wide-open style demands that players continue to attack the basket if open threes aren’t there, causing defenses to have to constantly communicate and rotate. With a thin Texas bench, this could certainly cause some issues late in the game.

As mentioned earlier, the big man in the DDM will shift to the weak side to open up penetration lanes for the Tigers. If Texas elects to help on the driving man, it will open up either a three-point shooter on the wing or that big man on the weak block. One thing Memphis lacks is a roster full of three-point threats, so unless CDR is sitting in the corner, it would be wise for the wing defender to be the one to help. Leaving Dorsey or Dozier alone for easy dunks and lay-ups is not a recipe for success.

Free throw struggles

Both teams are really having a tough time at the line this year, and if this game is as close as many are expecting, it could spell the difference. The Longhorns are only 68% from the charity stripe on the season, and have a nasty habit of missing free throws when the game reaches its final minutes. Memphis is even more abysmal from the line, hitting only 59.8% of their attempts this year.

While Texas can generally rely on Augustin or A.J. Abrams to sink free throws when they are needed, the Memphis struggles extend all the way down the roster. The most consistent free-throw shooter on the team is CDR, who is still hitting at a 69.8% clip.

What to look for

Both of these teams are likely going to score a ton of points today, although a high-tempo game would favor the deeper Memphis roster. If the Longhorns can keep the Tigers in front of them and on the perimeter, the DDM will have a hard time getting started and Texas can keep the score and pace to a more manageable level.

Most teams throw a variety of zone defenses at Memphis to try to stop the DDM, but the Kansas Jayhawks quickly exposed the Longhorn zone in Kansas City two weeks ago. While the Jayhawks have more three-point threats than Memphis, they are the only other team in the country that is as athletic and talented as the Tigers, so it’s still a worrisome point to note.

One interesting thing to keep an eye on is if Dexter Pittman will be able to keep up with the pace of the game and provide any meaningful minutes. The zone defense usually allows him more of a chance to play, but Memphis may just be too quick of a team for the big sophomore.

All told, this is a game that has me very nervous heading into it. Coach Cal has been playing up the “Memphis as underdog” angle, but we all know that Texas fans are generally quiet and fail to adequately support their team. Reliant Stadium might be full of burnt orange, but unless it’s actually loud — something I doubt with the current seating arrangement — there isn’t an intimidating advantage for the Longhorns.

We’ll be back with the post-game later tonight or tomorrow afternoon. And hopefully after that we’ll have some Final Four previewing to do.

Other game previews
Barking Carnival
Burnt Orange Nation
Jim Masilak of Memphis’ Commercial Appeal
Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman
TexasSports.com

Luke Winn has a great Q&A with Ian Mooney in his tourney blog. Amongst the highlights are the locker room pranks, Dexter Pittman’s poor sense of geography, and Mooney’s future as the Texas point guard. Check, check, check it out.

Lute Olson is now back as the Arizona coach in a full-time capacity, and he gave an exclusive telephone interview to ESPN’s Andy Katz. If Coach Olson is correct about how many of his players will return next season, the state of Arizona is going to be a basketball powerhouse. The ASU/’Zona series could quickly gain traction as a top-flight rivalry with national implications.

In coaching news a little closer to home, on Thursday Jeff Capel signed a three-year extension with Oklahoma. Capel — whose name had been floated in the South Carolina coaching search — will also enjoy a $300,000 raise per season, bringing his total compensation above the one-million dollar mark. It looks like fans in Norman will get to enjoy angry stares and pouting sessions for years to come.

And you thought the Aggies hated the Longhorns? I’m sure that anyone reading this page has seen the Sheraton commercial where fans from nasty rivalries share elevators, computers, and even chicken wings. But you may have been confused by the juxtaposition of Lousville and Memphis, rather than the Cardinals and Kentucky Wildcats. But according to UK assistant athletic director Jason Schlafer, the Wildcats were asked first, but declined citing no prior relationship with Sheraton hotels. Or perhaps just an unquenchable fire of hate for the school just down the road?

If you just can’t wait for this evening’s Elite 8 games to start, the tubes of the interweb have more than enough content to hold you over. Luke Winn previews and predicts the Elite 8 games, while the folks at Rush the Court take a more detailed look at today’s doubleheader. But March Madness All Season breaks it down the most, with in-depth looks at both Carolina/Louisville in the East and UCLA/Xavier from the West region.

Longhorn fans and players were all smiles when the final horn sounded in Reliant Stadium on Friday night, as Texas pulled away late for a 20-point win over the Pac-10’s Stanford Cardinal. A quick glance at the stats showed what many pundits would’ve expected, as D.J. Augustin led the way with 23 points. But were it not for key contributions from a handful of Longhorn reserves, a game that had been a nailbiter with 10 minutes left could’ve had a very different ending.

In Little Rock last Friday, it appeared that Dexter Pittman might be finally coming into his own. And sure, Big Dex’s 10/11 line could be chalked up to facing an extraordinarily undersized Austin Peay sqaud. But tonight he played excellent second-half defense against Brook Lopez, shutting down the future lottery pick that had single-handedly drawn the Cardinal within a point.

While Connor Atchley was often getting worked all the way down to the blocks by the offensive-minded Lopez, Pittman forced the 7-footer to catch the ball further and further away from the lane. With his go-to hook shot suddenly out of the repertoire, Lopez threw up ill-advised jumpers with hands in his face. Frustrated, he didn’t make a basket for the last 13-plus minutes.

Not only was Pittman’s defense key in shutting down the biggest threat on the Stanford roster, it also came at a dire time for the foul-plagued Longhorns. In the midst of the Cardinal comeback, Damion James and Atchley both picked up their third fouls in a span of only eight seconds. Coach Rick Barnes was forced to play Gary Johnson and Pittman with 9:25 still on the clock and the Longhorns only up five. But with the reserves on the floor, Texas didn’t allow Stanford back into the game — they actually extended the lead to 13 points before James returned almost three-and-a-half minutes later.

In the first twenty minutes, it was Clint Chapman who was coming up big off the bench for Texas. The freshman from Canby, Oregon chipped in just four points and two rebounds in seven minutes of play. But his scant statistics don’t represent how incredibly well-timed his hustle was, as Chapman seemed to pop up out of nowhere for the key board or the quick tip.

Against an incredibly athletic Memphis team who can kill on the glass, Texas will need clutch performances like these from their post reserves. We’ll look more at those match-ups throughout the weekend, but the solid bench play is a great sign as the tournament reaches its midpoint.

With all of the top four seeds on the court in the South region, the stars were out in force at Reliant Stadium. Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway was on hand (sans Lil Penny), while former Longhorns Vince Young and Roger Clemens were in attendance. Pat Riley was in the house for a second straight weekend, having also scouted the Memphis and Texas players in Little Rock. And spotted in a T.J. Ford jersey was Scott Porter, better known as wheelchair-bound QB Jason Street on TV’s Friday Night Lights.

The seating set-up, however, was an absolute disaster. Walking down to our place in Section 104, it was an incredibly surreal feeling to be practically level with the court, yet still have 46 rows of fans and media tables in front of us. I checked out the “club level” during the second half of the doubleheader — the level where Memphis and Texas had their student seats — and was treated to a game that seemed to be played somewhere outside of Harris County. Of course, when considering how ugly Michigan State’s performance was, perhaps it was safer to stay as far away from the carnage as possible.

Texas fans were predictably quiet, even finding it difficult to stand and make noise as Stanford closed the gap in the second half. But when the burnt-orange faithful did decide to make noise, the ridiculous setup killed any kind of energy the building could’ve had. As someone who attended that incredible double-overtime regional final between Michigan State and Kentucky back in 2005, I’ve seen how electric a neutral court can be in the NCAA tournament. The move to this mid-field set-up in football arenas is a horrible, horrible decision, and it’s going to make future regionals and Final Fours feel distant and antiseptic.

We’ll be back tomorrow with some more notes and a quick look at the day’s Elite Eight match-ups. In the meantime, bask in the post-win glory and snap up your tickets for Sunday’s tilt with Memphis. No matter how craptacular the seating is, there’s no reason that arena shouldn’t be bathed in burnt orange with a trip to the Final Four on the line.

With tonight’s appearance in the Sweet 16 at Houston’s Reliant Stadium, the Texas Longhorns are making their fifth trip to the tournament’s second weekend in the last seven years. The opponent is an interesting one, as the guard-oriented Horns will be tangling with the Stanford Cardinal and their twin towers, the Lopez brothers. This game offers a complete contrast in styles, and it’s tough to predict which one will prevail.

The Cardinal faced a similar guard-oriented team last weekend in its second-round game with Marquette, a nailbiter that went to overtime after the Golden Eagles threw up an ill-advised three-pointer with six seconds left in the game. Stanford showed a lot of zone against Marquette for the first twenty minutes, but abandoned that strategy in the second half when the Golden Eagles started to heat up. Personally, I feel that the Longhorns have much stronger three-point shooters, so it could be a dangerous move for Stanford to try another zone look for very long tonight.

But the problem that Texas presents for Stanford and a man-to-man defense is the long-range shooting ability of big men Damion James and Connor Atchley. Both can knock down the three ball, which will require the Stanford bigs defending them to leave the paint quite often. This is going to open up the driving lane for D.J. Augustin and could also help the Horns with a very tough task on the glass against the Cardinal.

What I’d personally love to see a lot of in tonight’s game is Atchley or James floating out of the lane, drawing a Lopez brother away from the paint. Then, as a guard penetrates and the other Lopez shifts to help, dumping the ball for the dunk to whichever post has stayed behind. Memphis loves to do this with their dribble-drives, and if Stanford shows too much man tonight, it would be a sound strategy.

It seems like the Longhorn offense has a lot of options to attack the Stanford defense, but the prospect of shutting down the Cardinal bigs with the ball seems much more daunting. Trips Right of Barking Carnival has an in-depth look at the game, and does an incredible job breaking down the possible defensive looks.

I’ve mentioned the Lopez twins without really introducing them, because I feel it incredibly unnecessary at this point in the week. With five days of build-up to the game, this thing has been hyped about as much as it can, and the Lopez Bros. have earned a ton of ink. (And rightfully so.) In today’s Statesman, Kirk Bohls looked at how the Horns prepared for the twins, and makes the key observation that casual fans will want to remember tonight — Brook is the scorer, but Robin is a defensive machine.

Time is running short at this point, and I’ve got to hit the road for Houston. Fans stuck in Austin, Dallas, or far-flung corners of the U.S. can tune in to CBS at 6:27 PM CDT for the action. The coverage listings for the game will help those folks not in the Lone Star State, although it appears that CBS doesn’t find the match-up too appealing as they are beaming the game to only 38% of the country.

So, try to focus on your work for next five hours without checking the clock too often. And if you’re heading to the arena, get ready to scream your lungs out. We’ll be back with the post-game tomorrow.

As mentioned in the Greg Oden Video Spectacular below, I’m quite a bit behind this week. Of course, with only 16 teams left in the country, there’s a lot of coverage of the Longhorns out there that I’ve been missing out on. Mixed into all the burnt-orange love is a little news from elsewhere in the NCAAs, so dive in and get your fill as the first night of the Sweet 16 quickly approaches…

Pat Forde tells a story that many Longhorn fans are familiar with as he explores the winding path D.J. Augustin took to Austin and the tight family bond the Augustins share. This story actually had front-page play on ESPN.com earlier in the week, so it looks like the Burnt Orange Media Conspiracy has stepped from the shadows and into plain sight.

And speaking of the BOMC, how about Donald Sloan openly crying that the Aggies don’t get treated with the respect that the Longhorns get? If you happened to miss Sloan’s post-game interview with radio station KZNE, you’ve definitely got to check out the link. Regardless of what you think about the referees swallowing the whistle in that situation, you’ve really got to wonder why the first place Sloan’s mind jumps is a fantasy construct where he’s D.J. Augustin…

Students at Davidson are getting a free ride to see their team play in Detroit. Oh, and they’ll be getting free lodging and tickets, as well. Trustees at the small, private liberal-arts college decided to pay for the unprecedented trip, which will allow at least 300 students to make the journey. Just imagine what Longhorn Road Trip could be with trustees like these. Hint, hint.

Mike Freeman at CBS Sportsline combines all of the recent stories about Coach Barnes into a quick, enjoyable read. All the themes familiar to Longhorn fans are there — Barnes’ moratorium on cursing, his joking remark that set off Razorback fans, and the North Carolina native’s jocular nature. But most enjoyable are the anecdotes from Coach Haith, particularly one about the Final Four in 2003. Check it out.

The folks over at Gutty Little Bruins have a hilarious post about tournament upsets leading into the game with Western Kentucky. Hats off to the writers for this one, which was not only good for a laugh but also provided a great photographic trip down memory lane.

We’re a million miles behind this week, so a lot of what we’ll be posting this afternoon will probably be nothing new to those folks who keep up-to-date with Longhorn basketball news. But this video clip of Greg Oden shopping at the grocery store probably is new to you, so it has to be highlighted first.

Yes, I realize Greg Oden isn’t in college anymore and that he’s about three years from the NBA pension kicking in. But I love this clip for a multitude of reasons. Let me count the ways…

1) The soundtrack. It’s gold, Jerry! Gold!
2) People in Portland are apparently retarded
3) Greg understands the concepts of gravity and mass
4) The mohawk is ten times worse when not in the context of the sports world
5) Another shitty sideline reporter who can hardly speak and earned her job by looking (allegedly) pretty

Lest our readers think that we drove off of I-30 and into a ditch on Sunday night, here’s a quick hello to let everyone know we’re still alive. The brief two-day writing sabbatical we’ve enjoyed will be coming to a close tonight, as it’s time to start looking ahead to the round of 16 that awaits the Longhorns this weekend.

The ticket situation has been a bit crazy the last two days, with the secondary market seeming a bit like the floor of the NYSE. So if you’re a Texas fan considering a trip to the game(s) this weekend, have no fear. You’ll definitely get in the arena. Hell, I’ve got six extra tickets of my own that might not even sell.

So as you look for the best seats for the lowest price, we’ll enjoy the last few hours of our break from LRT. The content will back in full force later this afternoon.

After an easy dispatching of the 15th-seeded Austin Peay Governors in Friday’s first round, the Texas Longhorns advanced to today’s second-round match-up with the Miami Hurricanes. A trip to Houston and the Sweet 16 awaits the winner, which for the Longhorns would be only a couple of hours down Highway 290 from their Austin campus.

Last year’s Longhorn team was absolutely crushed in the second round, falling prey to the high pressure of Tim Floyd’s USC defense. The Longhorns trailed by double-digits most of the game and made only a weak comeback attempt in the second half. But this year’s Texas team remembers that flame-out all too well, and their goals are much bigger. First, though, the young Horns will have to top the Hurricanes, a team led by one-time Texas assistant Frank Haith.

Observers might notice that the two teams seem similar at times, and that is to be expected when both coaches spent so many years working together. But the differences are still noticeable. The Hurricanes have more of a post presence than Texas, while the Longhorns have more talented athletes to run the probe-and-react style that Barnes favors. Miami runs nine deep on the bench, but Texas only goes that far down the pine as a last resort.

By the numbers

According to Ken Pomeroy, the Hurricanes are in the top-third of the country in both offensive and defensive efficiency. On Friday, the Hurricanes’ defense certainly frustrated the St. Mary’s Gaels, who seemed resigned to only penetrating the perimeter by a few feet before kicking it out for threes.

The big men for the Hurricanes are particularly tough on the defensive end, locking down the paint with ease. Their 2-point field goal defense is 25th in the nation according to Pomeroy’s metrics, and a cursory glance at the Miami post players can tell you why. Anthony King and Dwayne Collins are imposing defenders at 6′9″ and 6′8″, but the two bigs can also clean the glass. The return of fifth-year senior King is a huge reason why the Hurricanes are enjoying the NCAA tournament despite the media’s prediction of a dead-last finish in the ACC.

Miami doesn’t run a particularly up-tempo game, just barely checking in the top-third of pace according to Pomeroy. But if Haith wants to try to exploit his advantage of a deeper bench, he may elect to have the ‘Canes try to outrun the Horns. Texas has certainly shown it can play this style, as the convincing win over Tennessee will attest. And when you recall that most of the Texas starters earned significant amounts of rest in the blowout win on Friday, the Longhorns should be able to hang with an up-tempo attack.

A look at the starters

The star for Miami is little guard Jack McClinton, who took over the second half of Friday’s game and willed the Hurricanes to victory. McClinton led the team in scoring all season, averaging 17.7 points per game coming into the tournament. He can score from just about anywhere on the court, but is particularly deadly from three-point range.

Despite his scoring threat, at times it seemed like he was a little out of control on Friday morning. It’s hard to argue with a 38-point performance that leads to a tournament win, but it seems that McClinton could shoot his team in the foot at times by taking ill-advised shots and forcing things. Thanks to his small size, he shouldn’t be too much of a match-up problem for the short Texas backcourt, and I’d look for Justin Mason to draw the assignment. Hopefully the Big 12 All-Defensive Team representative can shut down the explosive McClinton.

The other guard earning the start for Miami is Lance Hurdle, another small guy who is a definite scoring threat. While he only averages about eight points per game, he really turned it on during ACC play. Hurdle reached double-digits in scoring eight times in conference play, including a 20-point game against North Carolina. While Texas will certainly have its hands full with McClinton, if Hurdle has another breakout game this afternoon, the ‘Canes have a strong chance at the upset.

James Dews is a third guard for the Hurricanes, playing the position that Mason occupies for the Horns. Dews is taller than the two true guards and grabs a few more boards, just like Mason. He’s a 37% shooter from behind-the-arc, and his 10-plus points per game is second on the team. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Haith shy away from his typical three-guard look in this one, hoping to exploit the advantage that Miami has inside. But if he sticks to the game plan, the McClinton/Hurdle/Dews troika should match up nicely with the A.J. Abrams/D.J. Augustin/Mason combo for Texas. May the best backcourt win.

As mentioned earlier, Collins and King make a huge difference in the post defense for Miami. But on Friday, the pair missed a lot of point-blank looks, so hopefully their offensive futility will carry over to this afternoon’s games. Collins also demonstrated an awful shot from the charity stripe, making him one of the few Hurricanes who aren’t automatic at the line. If the Longhorns are going to pick up fouls down low, he is the man to send to the stripe.

Off the bench

Wing Brian Asbury started a ton of games at the beginning of the year, but is now relegated to a sixth-man role for Coach Haith. But despite that reduced role, Asbury is still a key player. He averages nine points per game and is a quality rebounder, grabbing nearly five boards in less than 30 minutes per contest. If Haith does go to that big lineup I mentioned earlier, sticking Asbury in with Collins and King could give them the edge or force Rick Barnes to play Alexis Wangmene or Dexter Pittman more than he had planned.

Down low, Jimmy Graham is a high-energy guy who sent one block on Friday into another county. While he doesn’t play a ton of minutes, he’s a good rebounder and scores a few points per game. He’s one of many guys for Coach Haith that gives the Hurricanes depth in the post that Texas likely can’t match.

Reserve guard Eddie Rios is also high-energy, but it seems to hurt his game. On Friday he was all over the place with ugly passes, uglier shots, and just all-around reckless play. St. Mary’s took advantage when he was on the court, and Texas will need to do the same this afternoon when Rios is giving the starters a blow.

Raymond Hicks is the other active Hurricane who is getting significant minutes, and he’s yet another forward that could create match-up problems for Texas. He’s a solid rebounder and will score occasionally in the paint, so the Longhorns can’t afford to give up the piles of offensive rebounds that they conceded to Oklahoma State and Oklahoma in last week’s conference tournament.

The big picture

While Miami is a much bigger team than Texas, the Longhorns are a more talented, more athletic club. They will be forced to crash the glass today in an effort to limit the Hurricanes in the second-chance battle. If the Texas defense is playing a good game and also preventing the Hurricanes from extending their possessions with offensive boards, the chances for upset are slim. But if Miami is picking up trash baskets off of misses, they will hang around and could be in a position to win late in the game.

One weakness of the Hurricanes is poor ball control, and while the Longhorns are not a high-pressure team, they could earn some free points off of turnovers. Their solid defensive play over the last two months will be needed this afternoon, as sound fundamentals will easily lead to a few Hurricane hiccups here and there.

All told, this game is certainly a trap, but one that the Longhorns should win on paper. If Texas can shut down McClinton, the Miami offense will struggle. But as the road win against Kansas State showed, the Longhorns can also allow one player to go off while completely shutting down the rest of the team. I wouldn’t recommend that approach this afternoon, but it’s a reassuring fact to remember if McClinton starts racking up the points early.

We’ll be driving back to Austin immediately following today’s two games in Little Rock, so any post-game will be on hold until tomorrow morning or afternoon. In the meantime, enjoy the eight games on tap today.

There’s not much point in writing game stories once the calendar reaches March and the mainstream media covers the tournament from every angle imaginable. But while Joseph Duarte of the Chronicle and Kirk Bohls of the Statesman both focused on Dexter Pittman’s big game and Pat Forde lamented the lack of upsets in Little Rock, I’ve got just a few notes from behind the Texas bench.

Much was made of the Barnes/Arkansas flap, and there were even t-shirts in the crowd referencing the interview. (Although one must wonder why Razorback fans would make burnt orange shirts with Barnes’ quote and an upside-down Longhorn on them.) But the quick start from Texas really killed any chance the crowd had to make a difference. By the time it was 9-0, the Razorback fans had mostly given up, and just a few minutes into the second half the arena had already begun to clear.

That’s not to say that the Arkansas fans didn’t get any chance to boo lustily. When the Texas band walked onto the court during the last few minutes of the St. Mary’s/Miami game, the boos rained down. And when the Longhorns ran out for pre-game warm-ups, it was even louder. But the most vitriol was saved for Barnes himself, who acted like he was cowering behind a police officer when the crowd started its razzing. Always the jester, Coach Barnes threw up his hands in mock confusion when his pre-game introduction induced another round of jeers.

Perhaps the most amusing part of the methodical dismantling of Austin Peay was the repeated attempts by Governor guards to drive the lane, only to stop on a dime when running into Connor Atchley or Pittman. Most often, APSU turned the ball back around and settled for poor looks outside, although the Longhorn bigs did combine for six blocks when the Govs decided to risk things in the lane. The Texas defense was so stifling on Friday that they held APSU to only 25% shooting in the first half and an abysmal 2-of-12 from behind the arc in the second.

While it’s tough to say that the Governors had much of a chance yesterday, it should be noted that key player Todd Babington was seen quite a few times coughing like a 40-year smoker. We’re not sure exactly what kind of bug Babington was trying to play through, but it’s reasonable to think it may have affected his game. Not that a healthy Babington would have singlehandedly made up a 20-point deficit, but it’s only fair to point out.

There’s still quite a few hours of basketball left on this Saturday, so we’ve got to get back to the River Market in downtown Little Rock to watch the nightcaps. Check back late, late tonight for your pre-game look at the Miami Hurricanes.

The Longhorns open NCAA play in less than eight hours, but this pre-game look at opponent Austin Peay comes to you from a hotel room in a dot on the map known as Mount Pleasant, Texas. In an effort to spend as little time as possible in the God-forsaken state of Arkansas, we made base camp here on the friendly side of the border before our pre-dawn invasion.

The metaphors may seem a tad excessive for a simple trip to a basketball game, but from all reports I’ve received from other Longhorns in Little Rock, it may be more reality than a literary device. Arkansas fans are still fired up over Rick Barnes’ sarcastic remarks to a Statesman reporter earlier in the week, where he demanded Hog fans “be nice.”

Texas fans are well-aware of Barnes’ dry delivery, but the Razorback faithful are taking things incredibly seriously. Of course, there’s so much history to this rivalry that most of the Arkansas faithful are probably just using this story as an excuse to recreate the hostile environment their team faced playing NCAA games in Austin. Regardless, having a huge contingent of temporary Austin Peay fans could certainly make things difficult for the Longhorns. But as D.J. Augustin reminded the media yesterday, this Longhorn team is definitely road-tested.

A look at the Govs

Austin Peay is led by longtime coach and school athletic director Dave Loos, who has 377 career wins heading into today’s contest. Loos is a disciple of defense, and the Governors’ numbers speak to his style. Austin Peay averages nearly 17 forced turnovers per game, and their 14.2% steal rating from Ken Pomeroy is first in the nation.

Last season, the strong APSU defense meant that opponents would need to score at least 70 points to win. Only Eastern Kentucky was able to defeat the Governors with less points, knocking Peay out of the OVC finals by a 62-61 count. This season, the 70-point mark is not quite as magical for Loos’ team, as they’ve dropped games against Valpo, Akron, and Samford when giving up 61, 64, and 63 points respectively.

The 2006-07 team that won the regular-season OVC title eventually lost in the tournament championship, keeping the Govs out of the NCAAs for a fourth-straight season. But that roster had five juniors and nary a senior, meaning that the current APSU squad is incredibly experienced and hungry for more post-season success in their first crack at the NCAAs.

Texas matches up fairly well with the Govs thanks to their undersized roster. Tiny point guard Derek Wright epitomizes the lack of size, checking in at only 5-foot, 9-inches. Their tallest player who grabs significant minutes is 6′6″ Ernest Fields, as both 6′8″ players on the Governor roster are being redshirted this season. Seven-foot Lithuanian Tomas Janusauskas only averages three minutes per game and should not make a difference today.

The flip side of the tiny roster is a team that is incredibly solid from long range. Wright is particularly lethal from behind the arc, hitting 41% of his three-point attempts so far this season. Senior guard Todd Babington is a bit of a ‘tweener at 6′5″, as he is one of the team’s top long-range threats but is also one of the taller guys on the roster. While Texas will have to keep him from making an impact inside, they also can’t afford to let him hang around the perimeter unguarded.

The third and final true three-point shooter is Kyle Duncan, a junior who has taken about half as many long-range attempts as the other two gunners, but is even more efficient. Duncan is hitting nearly 57% of his three-pointers on the season, so the Longhorns will have to keep a very close eye on him.

While we mentioned the Governors’ penchant for swiping the ball from unsuspecting opponents, it should be noted that they turn the ball over nearly 13 times per game themselves. We attended the Belmont/Austin Peay game in December and the thing that stuck out most — beyond their unconscious long-range shooting — was their sloppiness with the basketball. They shot over 60% in the first half and built a huge lead that ballooned to as many as 19 points. But they nearly let Belmont stage a massive comeback with poorly-timed turnovers, including a handful by Duncan.

What to look for

1) Dominate the glass - APSU is going to hit threes today, but Texas needs to turn those misses into one-and-done possessions for the upset-minded Governors. Austin Peay is only being outrebounded by 2.4 boards per game, but Texas is bigger than most OVC teams and they will need to take advantage of their size inside today.

2) Mind the perimeter - Sure, we’ve already conceded that the Govs are going to get a fair share of points from behind the arc. But Texas can’t play head-in-the-sand defense against long-range gunners as they did versus Kansas last weekend. Austin Peay scores 31% of their points on threes, so Texas simply cannot afford to have another lax defensive performance.

3) Win the turnover battle - While the Longhorns don’t pressure on defense nearly as much as APSU, they are one of the best teams in the country when it comes to controlling the ball. Texas can likely count on a few buckets off of Governor miscues, so if they can limit the Austin Peay fast-break points they will severly hamper the chances of upset.