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

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.

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.

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.

One of the most interesting thing about the first round of the NCAA tournament is usually the intriguing match-ups it creates between teams who hardly — if ever — play each other. Last year, the Longhorns were scheduled to face New Mexico State for the first time in 16 years, so we decided to put out our own scouting report to familiarize fans of the (other) Aggies with their opponents. And considering how big football is in Texas, it’s safe to say that the LRT scouting report might even be useful for Longhorn fans who were a little late joining the basketball party.

The big picture

At first blush, the scariest thing about the Longhorns is their high-powered offense, which finished 2nd in the nation in adjusted efficiency. For much of the season, Texas sat atop those rankings, propelled by an absolutely insane performance in the Legends Classic. The Longhorns dismantled New Mexico State and Tennessee by a combined 199-165 tally and logged mind-boggling efficiency ratings of 141.4 and 132.4 in the two games.

But as Texas fell from its perfect 12-0 mark to a troubling 14-3 in the span of only three weeks, defense was the huge culprit. The Longhorns were allowing teams to torch them from anywhere on the court, but particularly from behind the arc. The poor defense came to a head in an embarrassing road loss to Texas A&M on January 30th, where the Aggies ran roughshod over a porous Longhorn D en route to an early 19-3 lead and eventual 80-63 victory.

The loss was a turning point of sorts for Texas, as Rick Barnes’ team ran off eight straight wins in a perfect February. The key in many of the victories wasn’t the highly-efficient offense, but rather a suddenly stiff defense that held three opponents under 54 points during the streak. While that defense was non-existent in last weekend’s shootout with Kansas at the Big 12 Tournament, teams who may face Texas in the big dance can no longer focus on just stopping the Longhorn scorers.

The players

As most fans of college basketball can tell you, it all starts with point guard D.J. Augustin. The All-American can blow by defenders off the dribble, or drill a three-pointer when the defenses sag too far off. Most of the Longhorn offense is based on Augustin testing the opposing D with quick penetration and finding the weak spots for shots or assists. Although D.J. can hit from anywhere on the floor — his ability to stop on a dime and hit a fadeaway is particularly frustrating for coaches — Texas is best when he’s not carrying the offense. As Pat Forde pointed out in his column today, the Longhorns are 20-1 when Augustin takes less than 16 shots, but only 8-5 when he takes more.

A.J. Abrams is a fairly one-dimensional player, but the tiny shooting guard is incredibly good at that one dimension. Abrams has a lightning-quick release and is usually lights-out from long range. The Longhorns love to use bigs to free him up as he cuts across the lane, and often open up enough space for him to shoot with ball screens on the perimeter. The biggest knock on Abrams is his knack for becoming too confident after hitting a few shots and forcing ones that he should not be taking. While he’s improved his running jumpers this year, he is still not a great shooter inside off the dribble, but you will see him jacking those up if he thinks he’s hot.

The most overlooked player on the Texas roster is probably Justin Mason, a glue guy who plays incredible defense and hustles all over the floor. His constant motor gets him a lot more rebounds than fans would expect from a guy his size, and he’s often able to match up with bigger guys. Mason is not a high-scoring threat, but does have three-point range and will pick up quite a few trash buckets inside after those hustle rebounds.

Damion James has become a breakout star in his second season on the Forty Acres, as the departure of Kevin Durant allowed DaMo to move to his more natural position on the wing. While Texas needs his presence on the glass, James is a hell of an outsider shooter that often knocks down the long-range Js without even nicking the iron. Don’t be confused by the fact that Damion hangs out on the perimeter a lot — he still gets his share of rebounds, and is a threat for a double-double every night. His dual-threat game is also key for the Longhorns, as it pulls big defenders out of the paint and opens up the penetration game for Augustin and Mason.

The other starting big for Rick Barnes is Connor Atchley, a skinny white kid who has really grown in his third season. Atchley has gained a lot of confidence this season, and it has resulted in more points and a ton of blocks. Like James, Atchley can knock it down from outside and spends a lot of time on the perimeter setting screens for the guards. He often finds himself open on the pick-and-pop, so opponents can’t always choose to double following the screen. The biggest knock on Atchley is likely his penchant for picking up early fouls, which leads to limited minutes in the first half.

Off the bench, Texas has almost no depth at the guard position. Occasionally Barnes will run a more traditional lineup with only two guards in an effort to get Mason or Abrams some rest, but Augustin is often on the floor for 39 or 40 minutes a night. J.D. Lewis is a senior JuCo transfer who was known for his long-range ability, but hasn’t really shown it yet at Texas. Harrison Smith was a three-star recruit who has languished on the pine for the whole season. Fans shouldn’t expect to see either of these players except in blowout situations or to eat up fouls if the Horns find themselves down late.

In the post, the Longhorns have many more players to choose from. Freshman Gary Johnson missed half the season with a heart condition, but has really grown in Big 12 play to become an inside threat. Although he’s a tad undersized to bang down low, Johnson will often take on the bigger players in the post and fight on the glass. Early in the season, the biggest knock on Johnson was his inability to hit from the line, but his free throw shooting has improved drastically over the last few weeks. Against Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Quarterfinals, Gary went down with an injury that has been described as either a muscle strain or an ankle problem. He missed the next two games, but could be available for this weekend’s contests.

Without Johnson for those two games, Barnes turned to his other young post reserves, tapping Alexis Wangmene for a bunch of minutes. Wangmene has a ridiculous wingspan and occasionally showcases some really nice post moves, but is still pretty raw. He plays really solid defense when he remembers to hold his position, but if he finds himself behind the play will often pick up unnecessary fouls.

Freshman Clint Chapman hails from Oregon and is another unpolished freshman. He’s still got stone hands, but hustles his tail off and has shown some improvement in his defense over the last few weeks. If Texas is relying on Chapman for significant minutes during the tournament, they will likely be in trouble. But to give the key bigs a quick breather, Clint is a serviceable option.

The biggest guy on the Longhorn roster is Dexter Pittman, who was once about 100 pounds bigger. If he ever sees the court, you’ll hear the story ad nauseum from the announcers, but the Cliff Notes version is that Strength and Conditioning Coach Todd Wright put Dex on a strict diet and exercise regimen to get him down to his svelte playing weight. Pittman is a solid rebounder and is an absolute force in the paint on the offensive end, but his poor defensive play means that he often doesn’t earn many minutes.

The weaknesses

As mentioned earlier, Atchley has a problem with picking up early fouls. But that disease sometimes spreads to James, as well, and it cripples the interior game for Texas. In response, Barnes often goes to a zone defense to protect his bigs from foul trouble, and last week’s Kansas game shows how poorly that can turn out for Texas. The Longhorn guards are very short and already give up a few inches to most opposing backcourts, but the zone defense really exposes Texas on the perimeter.

The Longhorns have also shown some trouble from the free throw line this season, particularly late in games. Missed free throws played a huge role in the loss to Wisconsin back in December, and late-game misses allowed Baylor to nearly rally in the final few minutes against Texas in Waco. Augustin and Abrams are usually safe bets from the line for the Longhorns, but even they have sometimes struggled late in the game. If a game is close in the end — and when doesn’t that happen in the tournament? — this could be Texas’ undoing.

Teams with solid bigs are going to present a problem for the Longhorns as well, which is why I’m crossing my fingers for Marquette to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. The Longhorns did well against UCLA by packing the lane with a zone that controlled Kevin Love. Fortunately, the Bruins were content to shoot over it and were unable to hit their long-range shots. But an opponent with quality inside play and one or two sharpshooters could be an absolute nightmare for Texas.

Finally, Selection Sunday is here. And with it comes the game that we’ve all been waiting for since February 11th, when the Longhorns held off the Jayhawks in Austin for a huge win and the tiebreaker that afforded them the 1-seed in this conference tournament.

There’s a ton of history between these two teams, despite the short life of the conference they dominate. This marks the third-straight year that Texas and Kansas will meet in the finals of the conference tournament, where Kansas has won two straight. In fact, the Longhorns are an imperfect 0-4 in Big 12 title games heading into this one.

Following Tennessee’s loss to Arkansas in the SEC semifinals, many pundits are claiming this game could decide the fourth 1-seed that will be handed out in the NCAA tournament. Personally, I’m not sure I buy it, as the Vols have an incredibly strong computer profile and a handful of excellent victories. But if Texas were to win today, it would be hard to argue against a team that has the 5th-best RPI and SOS in addition to 12 wins against the RPI Top 50, which would include four wins against the Top 5 alone.

So if that’s not enough at stake for Texas today, they also are all too aware of the fact that they blew a double-digit lead in the conference championship to Kansas last season, just a week after doing the same thing in Allen Fieldhouse. There’s not just pride and seeds on the line, but perhaps a little bit of revenge, too. And if you include the 19,000 Jayhawk fans that will be filling the Sprint Center today in hopes of seeing their own revenge for the February 11th loss, this one should be incredibly intense.

If you’re interested in who the Jayhawk players are, you can check out the game preview from the February 11th contest in Austin. The only player that KU used in last season’s two wins that won’t be on the floor today is Julian Wright, so the ‘Hawks bring plenty of experience into this one. The addition of freshman Cole Aldrich gives them some depth inside, while Darnell Jackson has made huge strides in his senior year and is now an absolute stud in the paint for the Jayhakws.

What to look for

1) Ball control - Texas has led the country in controlling the ball for much of the season, and they’ll need to do that today. Kansas loves to play pressure defense extended well past the perimeter, and will throw a variety of full-court looks at random times just to throw teams off. If the Longhorns can keep the Jayhawks from amassing a nice chunk of points off of turnovers, they should be in good shape today.

2) Smart defense - In the first half of the February 11th game, Kansas used lightning-fast ball movement to attack the Texas defense for good looks inside and open attempts from behind the arc. Fortunately, the Jayhawks scaled back their attacks the inside in the second half, which was a big reason why the Horns were able to win the game. Texas will need to rotate quickly and communicate well on D to ensure that the incredibly talented Jayhawk offense doesn’t slice them up.

3) The role players - Who will step up today for Texas? It can’t simply be D.J. Augustin and Damion James. A second-straight big game from A.J. Abrams could put the Horns over the top, but key contributions could also come from Connor Atchley or even one of the big men on the bench. This looks to be a very close game again today, so even the smallest contribution from an unsung player could spell the difference.

Just a day after dispatching the OSU Cowboys for the third time this season, Texas looks to finish off a six-game sweep of the state of Oklahoma when they face the Sooners in the Big 12 semifinals. While OU holds a 4-1 advantage in games against Texas that are played in the league tournament, the Longhorns have won five straight overall against their rivals.

The first two match-ups

When the teams first met in early February up in Norman, the Longhorns started out cold as ice. They shot only 25% in the first half and trailed by double-digits before turning up the defensive intensity in the second half and cruising to a 64-54 win. That game was played without Longar Longar down low for Oklahoma, which was a surprise for a Texas team that had game-planned to face him.

The second game was all about defense for Texas, as they absolutely shut down the Sooners en route to a 62-45 victory. Even with poor shooting crippling the usually efficient Longhorn offense, the excellent play on D kept Texas in control the entire way. The post defense was particularly solid, which is key against an OU team that excels down low. Alexis Wangemene played incredibly well against Longar Longar in that one, and Texas fans can expect to see quite a few minutes out of him again today if Gary Johnson isn’t playing.

What to look for

Fans who want to a refresher course on the Sooner players can revisit the game preview from the first match-up. The biggest difference today will be the availability and effectiveness of big man Blake Griffin, who is fighting through yet another injury.

The younger Griffin brother did not start in yesterday’s game — Cade Davis took his slot in the starting five — but he did play 15 minutes in the game. He struggled against a solid Colorado defense that would immediately swarm him with a double or triple-team as soon as he touched the ball, and he finished with only four points. He was still an absolute beast on the glass though, grabbing nine boards in his limited minutes.

If Griffin is playing that poorly today, it could be a very long afternoon for Oklahoma. Texas has a huge advantage at the guard position, so Coach Jeff Capel will have to hope that they can abuse the Longhorns inside. If they are relying mostly on Longar, Taylor Griffin, and Davis, they will find that much more difficult.

Yesterday’s post-game interviews on Kansas City sports radio revealed the Sooners to be resigned to the scoring threat of D.J. Augustin. Griffin said that they cannot stop him, only hope to contain him. He also added that the key for Oklahoma will be to ensure that Damion James, A.J. Abrams, and Connor Atchley don’t have big games while they are trying to limit Augustin.

A word for TV viewers

If you’re in a “Big 12 market,” finding today’s game could be confusing for you. The ESPN2 telecast is only being shown in the rest of the country, while those of us in the Big 12 area will have to find the game on ESPN Plus. While this is usually just the same channel you’ve watched when the Longhorns play teams like Iowa State and Colorado, you’ll want to check your local listings to make sure you’ve got the right one set on the DVR. For the rest of you burnt-orange faithful elsewhere in the nation, you can enjoy Ron Franklin, Fran Fraschilla, and Holly Rowe on the ESPN2 telecast.

Not a ton of time to preview this morning’s game, but considering this is the third time that Oklahoma State and Texas have tangled this season, that’s probably not a big deal. If you need a refresher on the Cowboy roster or the style of hoops that they employ, you can take a look back at the game preview from the first match-up.

As we pointed out in the preview of the second game just five days ago, the biggest cause for the resurgence of Sean Sutton’s team is the play of chubster point guard Byron Eaton. As he goes, so go the Cowboys, so the Longhorns must shut him down this morning.

I’m incredibly worried about this game, but not because it has any real implications on the tournament. It appears that Texas is pretty well locked into a 2-seed for the Big Dance, as it would be nearly impossible to work their way up to the 1-seed line, and their résumé is too good to drop to a 3-seed with one loss in the tournament.

But we’ve all heard the tired refrain of how hard it is to beat the same team three times in a year, and last season’s insane comeback against Baylor was proof enough of the validity of that aphorism. OSU has taken Texas to the wire twice this year, and today’s game will likely mimic a road atmosphere as everyone in the arena will be rooting for the top seed to fall. Add to that the fact that the Horns haven’t played very well in early games (see: Wisconsin Dec ‘07, Baylor Jan ‘07) and there’s cause for concern.

We’re going to prep the next buzzer-beater for the countdown so that it will post between the morning and evening sessions, but we’ll be in downtown KC until late tonight. So, post-game and notes from the tourney won’t come until the wee hours. In the meantime, enjoy the wall-to-wall hoops action.

I’ve spent the week watching games from December and January, wins over teams like Oral Roberts, TCU, and Saint Mary’s. Looking back, I remember my tempered expectations for the Longhorns this season. Without Kevin Durant, how would the huge 2007 freshman class mature in their sophomore season? I hoped for a 12-4 conference mark, but wasn’t going to hold my breath. And I certainly didn’t think Texas would stroll into Auburn Hills to face Michigan State with an unblemished record.

But now here we are, just hours away from the conclusion of another regular season, and Texas stands in a position to share their second Big 12 crown in the last three years. It’s even crazier to think that the Longhorns had a chance to win the thing outright and finish with a 14-2 mark, but it’s hard to be disappointed with a possible title and 13-3 finish in what was statistically the second-toughest conference in the nation. Not only did the new sophomores step up — particularly double-doube machine Damion James — but Connor Atchley blossomed into a big-time threat and a great shot blocker. The new freshman class developed nicely over the year, giving Coach Rick Barnes a respectable rotation in the front court.

All that being said, there’s still a lot of basketball to play. And the long road through March continues on Senior Day against a very hot Oklahoma State team. This isn’t the same Cowpoke squad that scuttled in early conference games and dropped a 63-61 nailbiter to Texas at home. No, this OSU team is now one that slays giants, namely #4 Kansas at home and #16 Texas A&M on the road. The biggest difference for the ‘Pokes? The emergence of point guard Byron Eaton, who has averaged 19.3 points per game over the last six contests, a stretch in which included a five-game OSU win streak.

For a review of the complete Oklahoma State roster and style, you’ll want to revisit the game preview from the January 21st match-up in Stillwater.

What to look for

The key today is going to be shutting down Eaton. In OSU’s last game against Oklahoma — the only loss in their last six games — the Sooners held him to only 13 points, his lowest scoring output in a month. The pudgy guard had only 14 points in the first game with Texas, and if the Horns hold him to similar numbers today they should be in business.

Texas also needs to concern itself with perimeter defense, which suddenly reared its ugly head again in the second half against Nebraska. The Longhorns can’t afford to let Eaton and James Anderson get hot from long range, lest they give the ‘Pokes a fighting chance today.

Finally, the Horns must control turnovers, which has suddenly been a problem in the last week and a half. Texas has turned the ball over an average of 11.6 times per game over the last three contests. While that’s not a staggering number, it is up 21% over the season average that the Horns carried into the K-State game, and they can’t afford to give a ton of points up in transition to an Ok-State squad that likes to pressure beyond the perimeter.

Tickets remain

As the sub-head says, there are still tickets available for today’s game. The Horns have some big-time recruits visiting today in Renardo Sidney, Wesley Witherspoon, and verbal commit J’Covan Brown. It won’t look good to have a half-empty, dead arena, so come on out and bring out everybody that you know. If you’re out of town and can’t make it in, the action can be caught on ESPN.

Texas returns home after a surprising loss in Lubbock, hoping to maintain their hold on the Big 12 Championship and a 1-seed in the conference tournament next weekend. Standing in their way are the suddenly resurgent Nebraska Cornhuskers, winners of three of their last four, including a road upset of Texas A&M just a little over a week ago. With the early tip time and likely meager crowd, the Longhorns will have to be careful against a Nebraska team that can surprise anyone on any given night.

By the numbers

Nebraska’s game is built upon their excellent defense, which is ranked 20th in the country in efficiency. Over their last ten games, the Cornhuskers have allowed only two teams to notch an eFG% of greater than 50%. Doc Sadler’s team will try to limit the number of possessions and rely upon their stingy D to keep the score low enough that they can snatch a victory.

While Nebraska turns the ball over only about thirteen times a game, that number can be a bit misleading because of their pace of play. That slow-down brand of basketball that the Cornhuskers utilize means that their adjusted tempo is 302nd in the country out of 341 Division I teams. If Texas can not only pressure the ball, but also force the tempo against the stubborn Huskers, they can easily cruise in this one.

The starting five

Nebraska is completely built around the game of big man Aleks Maric. The 6′11″ Aussie leads the team in scoring and averages a double-double with a line of 16/10. Not only can he showcase a myriad of post moves, but Maric is an excellent passer who draws the double team and has an eye for the interior dish or the back-door cut. Coach Sadler also likes to run high screens with Aleks, drawing out the bigger post defenders and opening up the inside lanes for their slashing guards. Texas will have a tough time matching up with the big man, but should be able to shut down the rest of the anemic Nebraska offense.

Point guard Cookie Miller is the other key player for Nebraska, although an injury suffered at Texas A&M on February 23rd has kept him out of the last two games. There’s no word yet on whether or not he will return to the floor this evening, much less the starting line-up. If he does play, Texas will be facing a guard who is quick on the dribble-drive and is a deft passer. He’s still turning over the ball more than you’d like for a point guard, but as he gains experience over the years he will likely develop into a hell of a threat. Miller is also a short guard, so he does not give the Longhorns a poor match-up defensively if he’s on the floor.

A candidate for the Big 12 All-Newcomer team is JuCo transfer Steve Harley. He’s another tiny guard who checks in at 5′11″, and he can shoot it from anywhere on the floor. But despite his tiny size, he’s not afraid to take it inside and try to earn his points amongst the trees.

Ryan Anderson is a 6′4″ guard who can hang out on the perimeter in the 4-out, 1-in look that Sadler employs. But on defense, he’s often mismatched with much taller players at the 3 or the 4. The Longhorns don’t go big often enough for this to be a huge factor in today’s game, but he will give up a few inches against Damion James and could find himself in a huge mismatch if he’s ever up against Connor Atchley, Clint Chapman, or Alexis Wangmene.

At 6-foot, 5-inches, Ade Dagunduro plays like a man much longer than he actually is. The “guard” also has to deal with the match-up issues that Anderson faces, but he is a solid defender and rebounder who can often hold his own against the taller players. Dagunduro also has a nice mid-range jumper, has shown range out to 18 feet, and can take it to the rack if the defense press him.

Off the bench

Sek Henry may start this game in place of Miller, but has often been a key sixth man for Coach Sadler this year. He has been tasked with running the point while Cookie has been injured, but it isn’t a natural role for him. He’s much more of a slashing guard, although his scoring punch hasn’t really been seen until the last few games. He’s good for five to seven points, but shouldn’t be a huge problem for the Horns today.

Sophomore guard Jay-R Strowbridge is playing about eighteen minutes a game and reminds me of a poor man’s A.J. Abrams. He’s undersized, has a quick release, and has been hitting threes at about a 38% clip so far this year. If he somehow gets hot tonight, it could make things interesting.

With the 4-out, 1-in look, Nebraska has oftentimes struggled on the offensive glass this year. The recent play of sophomore Chris Balham is helping with that problem, as he’s earned double-digit minutes in seven conference games after hardly playing throughout the non-conf slate. In those seven games, Balham is averaging 3.5 boards per contest, which would surprisingly put him fourth on the team.

What to look for

While Nebraska could feasibly win this game today, this is a program that is building for the future. Coach Sadler has redshirted five players, including a little-used sophomore, and will only be losing Maric to graduation this summer. If Texas takes care of business, this should be a one-sided affair.

1) Control the glass - The Longhorns can’t afford to let Nebraska suddenly become a solid rebounding club. The Cornhuskers are not a very good offensive team, so limiting them to one-and-done possessions should keep Nebraska from scoring enough to hang with Texas.

2) Limit Maric’s touches - It’s difficult to keep the big man from touching the ball considering the entire NU offense runs through him. But if Texas can keep him from catching the ball in the low blocks, things will be much easier tonight. Of course, they could also get him in early foul trouble like Oklahoma State did…

3) Play up to potential - This seems like a silly key point, but the fact of the matter is that Texas played one of its worst games of the year on Saturday. If the Longhorns play the way that they should, tonight’s game should not ever be in doubt. But play poor defense again or turn it over like they have in the last two, and things could get dicey.