The Longhorns head to Norman tonight as they kick off the toughest stretch of their season. Six of the next seven games for the Longhorns come against teams in the Top 50 of the RPI, with four of the games coming on the road. While beating the Sooners will be no easy task, Texas can’t afford to fold in February, and a win today will start things off on the right note.

Unfortunately, tonight’s game is at 6 P.M., so that’s going to put a squeeze on the usual game preview. Here’s my best attempt at a down-and-dirty look at the game.

By the numbers

Oklahoma comes into this game as winners of three of their last four games, the sole defeat coming on Saturday against the Aggies in College Station. The Sooners are one game back of Texas in the conference standings and are in the mix for the third or fourth bye in Kansas City.

Offensively, the Sooners are a bit streaky and often go cold for long stretches. But when they are on, they really can click. Their offensive efficiency is 31st-best in the country according to Ken Pomeroy. And for a team that sometimes forces up a bunch of poor shots in a row, that tells you just how excellent they are during the hot streaks.

What keeps the Sooners in the games when they are going cold is a really solid defense, which checks in at 38th in DefEff rankings. Teams often jack up a ton of threes against the solid inside D of Oklahoma, but hopefully the Horns won’t feel married to the perimeter. It is important to attack the lane and draw fouls on the Sooner bigs…as long as A.J. Abrams and D.J. Augustin are the ones shooting the free throws. The nightmare scenario for Texas would be a game in which their threes aren’t falling and the guards refuse to dribble penetrate and draw the post players on defense.

The starters

It all flows through big man Blake Griffin, who will be starting his second game since a knee injury suffered at Kansas on January 14th. He returned only two weeks later and provided ridiculous numbers off the bench before returning to the starting five against College Station just a few days ago. But don’t think it’s going to hamper his game, because he hasn’t backed down an inch since rejoining the team. He’s still a threat for a double/double on a nightly basis, and when teams try to put multiple defenders on him, he’s a deft enough passer to find other big men Longar Longar and Taylor Griffin.

Austin Johnson runs the point, but is much more of a ball-control guard than one who likes to penetrate and score. He’s averaging eight points a game, two of which seem to come off of a back-door cut every game. The Sooners love to use a big to set the high screen for Johnson, who typically rolls to the basket wide open. In the five OU games I’ve watched this year, it has worked at least once against literally each opponent. Hopefully the Horns will be smart enough not to chase the screener out to nearly the three-point line, because the Griffin brothers aren’t long-range threats, and Longar is streaky from that far out.

Tony Crocker is one of three Sooners averaging more than 10 points per game, and he does it by putting the ball on the floor and attacking the basket. He’s also able to knock it down from outside, hitting 45% of his attempts from behind the arc. He’s a really long guard, checking in at 6′6″, so he’ll create some problems for whichever Longhorn is stuck with him.

Down low, Longar Longar has finally developed into a really scary player. He can still play excellent defense and block a shot into the mezzanine, but his offense is now a legitimate threat. Part of this is the addition of Blake Griffin to the lineup, drawing defenders away from the lanky center, but Longar has also practiced his shots and post moves. He can knock down jumpers, sink turnarounds from the baseline, and even make the defenders look silly with a set of moves leaving them behind the layup or dunk.

It seems like David Godbold has been in the OU backcourt even longer than Hollis Price, but this will actually be the last time the Horns ever face him in Norman. He’s crashing the boards really well from OU’s three-out, two-in sets, but is fortunately the lowest-scoring starter for Coach Jeff Capel. The Sooners aren’t rebounding very well for a team with such a solid frontcourt, so hopefully Texas can keep this guard off the glass and further exploit the rebounding advantage.

Off the bench

With Keith Clark academically ineligible this semester, Capel is left with a fairly short rotation. Guard Omar Leary can give some much-needed rest to the three starters, and is pretty damned good for a sixth man. He’s a JuCo transfer, so he’s ready to produce in his first season with the team. Leary can stick a three-pointer with a man right on him, but is also really quick off the dribble if defenders play in his face.

Blake’s big brother Taylor Griffin also gives some minutes in the frontcourt, but is really the only productive bench player Capel can use in the post. Freshman Cade Davis is still pretty raw at the forward position, but can grab a few rebounds and putbacks on occasion. If the Longhorns can get Longar and the Griffin brothers in foul trouble, it will really force the hand of Jeff Capel and the Sooners.

For now, we must get on the road, but be sure to tune in early tonight to catch this one. The game is airing on the Deuce and should be over just in time to watch that big one from Chapel Hill.

The first twelve minutes of Saturday’s game with the Baylor Bears felt all too familiar for Longhorn fans. Spurred by a hot 4-of-6 start from three-point range, the visitors had jumped out to a daunting 31-17 lead with eight minutes left in the first half. The team looked flat and the arena was dead — if you could manage to ignore the vocal Bear contingent in the upper deck that had bused down I-35 for this Big 12 showdown.

But unlike the debacle on Wednesday, Texas fought back with smart play. There weren’t defensive lapses to kill the comeback push, and there was a welcome lack of momentum-quashing technical and flagrant fouls. The Longhorns used some hot shooting of their own the rest of the way, while holding the Baylor sharpshooters to just 4-of-19 from behind the arc from that point on.

When all was said and done, the Bears had put a scare into the Longhorns for a fourth-straight time. But a much longer streak was still intact, a 21-game string of victories over the Bears dating back to 1998. This Baylor team is good enough to exorcise that demon on February 16th in Waco, but for now the Texas dominance continues.

Rick Barnes didn’t live up to his promise of keeping Damion James out of this one, but did keep him out of the starting lineup. Dexter Pittman earned the starting nod, and played hard-nosed basketball down low before picking up a pair of quick fouls and sitting the rest of the way. The message seemed to be received by James though, as he scored 17 to go along with eight rebounds in his 34 minutes on the court.

Point guard D.J. Augustin had a quiet scoring night, but played a very smart game. He was often turned back by the Baylor posts on drives to the bucket, but was smart enough to pull it back out and reset. Many times this season, Augustin would have pressed on in those situations and had a shot blocked or just turned it over. But in this game, he played much more like a floor general. He attacked the rim and drew fouls when he could, and he dished out seven assists when he couldn’t create on his own.

Justin Mason was tasked with running the point on a few possessions, even some where Augustin was on the floor. It was a new look for the Horns, and it actually seemed to work. It seems like this might be more exhausting for D.J. as he works to get open, but it was reassuring to see Mason handle the ball and finish with only two turnovers in the game. He also made a huge hustle play during a Longhorn run where he sprawled out on the floor to corral a loose ball and call the timeout. It got the crowd fired up, and it kept Baylor from stopping the Texas momentum.

During the initial spurt by Baylor, A.J. Abrams was about the only person performing for the Horns. He hit runners, he hit floaters, and he fueled the offense with 4-of-8 shooting from behind the arc on the night. His 20 points led the way for Texas, and he hit four clutch free throws, including a pair after a technical on Baylor coach Scott Drew.

The re-emergence of Connor Atchley continued, as the lanky forward hit 2-of-4 from long range and grabbed seven boards — six of them on the offensive glass. For a Texas team that is second in the Big 12 in offensive rebounding, Atchley plays a huge role. He keeps possessions going after some of the ill-advised shots that the guards occasionally throw up, and gets a few easy putbacks in the paint as well.

Atchley’s 14 points marks only the second time since the Oral Roberts game that he has reached double digits in scoring. Over that stretch, the Longhorns went 6-4, winning both of his 10+ point games. Clearly he is a key part of the offense, so one can only hope that this performance carries over to a tough test against a solid Oklahoma frontcourt on Wednesday.

Perhaps the biggest story of the night, however, was a solid outing from Gary Johnson. Apart from a good game against St. Mary’s, Johnson has struggled with his baptism by fire in the Big 12. He’s often appeared lost on defense, been out of position on rebounds, missed a ton of bunnies, and was abysmal at the line. Against Baylor, he attacked the bucket, drew fouls, and finished with a great 12/7 line. He even improved his free throw shooting, going 6-of-10 from the charity stripe after starting the year with a painful 4-of-16. Like Atchley, Gary is going to be needed down low on Wednesday night, and we hope that this is a sign of things to come for the affable freshman.

Clint Chapman was the only other Horn to play, as Coach Barnes used his shortest bench of the year. Chapman didn’t make a huge impact in the contest, seeing the court for only seven minutes to give some of the other bigs a breather. While he didn’t steal the spotlight, his role was important with Alexis Wangmene serving an unofficial suspension for his elbow against Texas A&M. Chapman was needed to simply eat up some minutes without making mistakes, and he was able to do that.

Texas certainly needs to work on sticking shooters a little tighter coming out of the gates, but we’ll leave the bitching for another day and just enjoy the victory while we can. It was reassuring to see the Longhorns battle through after taking it hard on the chin to start the game, and it was also great to see them bounce back from a 52% night at the line in College Station.

With the exception of next Saturday’s game against Iowa State, the rest of the month is going to be an absolute nightmare for the Horns, so every win is huge. This puts them in third place in the Big 12 with a chance on Wednesday to knock off one of the competitors nipping at their heels.

Texas A&M absolutely destroyed the Longhorns on Wednesday night, and there’s no positive spin to put on that. Texas did not want to guard anyone, turned the ball over like a Little Dribblers team, and shot below the Mendoza line for much of the first half. Thanks only to some garbage layups in the final minutes, they finished with a world-beating 38.2 shooting percentage. But as I mentioned yesterday, there were a few good things happening which could bode well for the near future, if you can get past the unabashed beatdown you saw the Ags lay on the Horns.

Dexter Pittman is ready - This is the most obvious bright spot in the game, as Big Dex gave 14 minutes off the bench and was the leading scorer with 14 points. If it weren’t for the bizarre first-half technical, Dexter might’ve been able to provide even more in the second half instead of having to sit with four fouls.

The Longhorns started feeding the ball to him against Tech a few days earlier, and it looks like Barnes and the staff are ready to make Dexter and the other post players a big part of the offense. If that is successful, it frees up Damion James and Connor Atchley to play further away from the basket, where they can not only knock down jumpers, but also beat less-agile forwards off the dribble as they attack the bucket.

Connor Atchley is shooting threes - Connor still doesn’t look like he’s completely regained the confidence he had early in the year, but he took some long-range shots in College Station and knocked down two of them in the second half. A big part of the Texas struggles over the last seven weeks has been the dip in production from Atchley and Justin Mason, so this is a really good sign for the Horns as they head into a hellacious February schedule.

A.J. Abrams is getting open - The Texas A&M guards are a hell of a lot taller than Abrams, and usually that would mean he wouldn’t be able to get any shots off. He needs screens to free him and give him enough space to get the threes off before a 6′4″ guard rejects it into the ninth row. Against the Aggies, he came off of curls and hustled enough to get some really good looks. The other side of this coin is that it really raised his confidence level, and A.J. took some threes later that he didn’t need to be taking. It’s great that he’s getting more space again, but he also needs to work on shot selection as the season rolls on.

Only one other note to be made about Wednesday night’s game, and that is to briefly touch on the unfortunate incident with Alexis Wangmene. I’ve only seen the play twice — once at full-speed, and once in slow-motion on the JumboTron — and it didn’t seem at the time to be premeditated. But the fact of the matter is that the instinctive reaction to a bump on the head should not be a quick elbow to the nearest player. That was completely out of line, and I’m glad that there weren’t severe injuries as a result. Props to all players for keeping their heads after the incident, and also to Wangmene for manning up to his mistake with apologies to the Aggies and their fans after the game.

This is a great rivalry that has become even better with the emergence of the Texas A&M program over the last few seasons, and I’d hate to see it devolve into a nasty, overly physical cage match like the Duke/Virginia Tech series. Hopefully this won’t lead to any other incidents in Austin in three weeks, and we’ll be treated to another exciting battle with the Ags at the Erwin Center.

A tough game awaits with Baylor in less than 24 hours, so I’ll be bringing you the pre-game thoughts in the wee hours of the morning.

For the better part of 21 minutes last night, it seemed that the Texas team which has struggled through its last four-plus games was going to continue down the same path. Colorado found itself wide open for a ton of shots — many of them coming from behind the arc — while Damion James picked up two fouls in less than five minutes and sat for the rest of the first half.

But with the Buffaloes holding a 41-28 lead with only 19 minutes left in the game, the Longhorns were suddenly awakened. A.J. Abrams sparked a 24-2 run over the following eight minutes, and although Colorado slowly clawed back the rest of the way, Texas was able to coast to a 69-67 victory in front of a sold out Frank Erwin Center.

D.J. Augustin led all scorers with 25 points on the night, but struggled a bit in the final minutes of the game as Colorado turned up the defensive pressure. Levi Knutson and Richard Roby were especially stingy defenders against Augustin as Colorado submitted a last-minute comeback bid, but it was not enough.

Augustin’s counterpart in the backcourt also had a solid game, although the first half was a bit rough. Abrams had a quiet first 20 minutes, but kick-started the giant run that put Texas ahead for good. A.J. hit a three and followed it with an old-fashioned three-point play on the ensuing possession to trim the Colorado lead to five points, and the rest of the Horns followed suit. Abrams finished the night with 17 points and had a few key steals in the second half.

One of the biggest issues in the recent Texas slide was the absence of Connor Atchley from the stat sheet, but last night he made a reappearance at key moments. Atch had 15 points and five boards against Colorado, but most importantly didn’t seem afraid to shoot the three and stayed on the ground when the Buffs threw head fakes at him. If Texas is going to find success in the Big 12 and beyond, Connor will have to continue to play at this level.

The other missing Horn has been Justin Mason, and while his offense still looked shaky, his defense and all-around hustle were on display against Colorado. In the middle of the big second-half run, Jay Mase had a great rebound and putback, plus a block and deflected shot on two straight defensive possessions. In the post-game presser, Coach Barnes said that Justin’s solid play had earned him his starting spot again for Monday night’s game with Oklahoma State.

The man who now finds himself on the bench courtesy of that lineup move is Gary Johnson, who is still struggling in his adjustment to the college game. His conditioning may also be an issue, as just four minutes into last night’s game, GJ waved to the bench to ask for a breather. He did come back into the game later, so I’m certain it was not a scare with his heart.

The unfortunate truth is that Gary still looks a little lost out there. It’s tough for freshmen to make the leap, and for a fish coming right into the rigors of Big 12 play, it’s got to be even harder. Hopefully he’ll continue to develop into his role with the team, otherwise I see him as simply another guy being rotated inside along with Alexis Wangmene, Clint Chapman, and Dexter Pittman.

As previously mentioned, James sat for more than 15 minutes in the first half, and the Longhorns suffered. Against a much smaller Colorado team, the Horns found themselves out-hustled and out-boarded by a 17-12 count. In the second half, Texas controlled the boards by a 23-17 count, especially on the offensive glass. Without a doubt, the presence of DaMo inside was a huge reason why the Longhorns were able to come back.

Another key to the comeback was the stifling defense, which held Colorado without a field goal during that stretch. The only points the Buffs managed over the eight minutes came courtesy of two free throws, while they missed four more. The sellout crowd certainly helped things, as Colorado usually plays in front of less than 5,000 folks at home, and their only wins on the road came against Denver, Air Force, and Colorado State. Increased pressure from the Texas D plus 16,000 screaming orangebloods meant disaster for the Buffs, who burned through their timeouts with more than eleven minutes left in the game.

Although a home win is certainly a nice boost, and fighting through the huge deficit speaks volumes about the character of this team, there are still always negatives to pick out. Free throw shooting was still an adventure for the Horns, with a few of the misses coming late in the game and on the front end of one-and-ones. Perhaps fatigue is a factor in the late-game misses, but those types of hiccups in the tourney could spell the end of the season.

There is also the lingering concern about the finishing punch from Texas. In this one, the Horns were up ten points with a little less than five minutes to go and did not score again. We’ve seen the lack of focus in the second half many times throughout the season, including games against teams like North Texas, Rice, Oral Roberts, and TCU, and played poorly for long stretches in the second twenty of the Mizzou and Wisconsin losses. The Horns have really only put together one complete game since UCLA, and they will surely be tested for the full 40 minutes by a handful of teams the rest of the way. If they don’t bear down in the second half the rest of the season, a few more wins will slip away in the final minutes.

But rather than end this post-game with a doom-and-gloom feeling, I’ll direct your attention to Ian Mooney as we close. Although Mooney played only five minutes in this one, his time on the court was solid. His hustle kept alive a couple of rebounds during the run, and he had a great feed from the low post to set up Atchley for a jumper. Ian is clearly not the key to success for Texas, but if he plays like he did in his short stint last night, that’s a great sign for the Longhorn bench.

The next game is less than 24 hours away against Oklahoma State in the dangerous Gallagher-Iba Arena. Game preview will be up before we hit the road in the morning.

All good things come to an end, but typically those good things don’t come to as hideously ugly an end as they did on Saturday in Columbia. The Longhorns were a perfect 9-0 in conference openers under Rick Barnes and had won nine in a row against the Missouri Tigers, but Mike Anderson’s club destroyed both of those streaks with a convincing 97-84 win in front of 13,085 loud fans at Mizzou Arena.

Texas jumped out to an early lead on the road, riding the hot shooting of Damion James to an eight point advantage with a little less than twelve minutes left in the half. But a flurry of points from reserve Keon Lawrence had the Tigers back on top in less than three minutes. The teams battled back-and-forth the rest of the half, with the Longhorns taking a two-point lead into the break.

The second half was all Mizzou, which was immediately evident when the Tigers hit their first six shots coming out of the locker room. Missouri quickly built a ten-point lead which they never relinquished. Texas kept fighting, slowly chipping away at the deficit, but were constantly thwarted by timely threes from the Tigers.

There were almost no positives to be drawn from this game beyond the play of Damion James. His 27 points and 16 boards were good enough for his eighth double-double of the year. In the first half, he was a scorching 6-of-8 from the field and hit two free throws — something which was a huge struggle for the Longhorns for a fifth straight game.

Coach Barnes had to limit Damion’s minues in the first half thanks to foul trouble, but an interesting incident just before half may have cost him even more playing time. With 3:32 left on the clock, a foul was called inside on Clint Chapman. James was next to the play and the scoreboard charged him with his third foul, although the announcer correctly said that Chapman was the one responsible. During the ensuing media timeout, James was replaced by Justin Mason and sat for the rest of the half.

It’s tough to say whether or not the Texas coaching staff thought he had three fouls, and it’s even more difficult to say that the Longhorns could’ve built up enough of a lead in those three-plus minutes to withstand the Missouri barrage in the second half. But it’s definitely valid to say that the one player who the Tigers didn’t have an answer for could’ve changed the complexion of the game had he been left in.

As for the rest of the team, the picture wasn’t pretty. The Longhorns made only fifty percent of their free throws, finishing a nauseating 11-of-22 from the line. Most shocking of all was the fact that D.J. Augustin was a paltry 3-of-8 from the line, while A.J. Abrams made only 2-of-4. This has suddenly become a recurring theme for this team, and it is going to absolutely kill Texas in the post-season if it continues. If I’m Jeff Capel or Mark Turgeon, I’m licking my chops at the thought of my physical defense sending the Longhorns to the line instead of giving up points in the paint.

While Missouri’s hot shooting from behind the arc was the biggest reason they won on Saturday, Texas certainly helped them out. Sure, there were a few contested threes that Missouri made, but a huge percentage of them were wide open thanks to poor rotation on defense. Late in the first half, the Tigers had a ton of open looks that clanged off. The perimeter defense was just as weak in the second half, while the Mizzou shooters weren’t. And that was the difference in the game.

I’ve been one of the biggest believers in Connor Atchley since last season, perhaps often overlooking flaws and choosing only to point at the flashes of brilliance and potential that occasionally shone through. And early in the year, Connor was validating that faith, scoring 20-plus points in some games, setting great screens, and even playing great defense inside. But since then, he has completely disappeared from the offense and started biting on any head fake thrown his way. If you trace it back, the sudden drop in Atch’s play coincides with the Longhorns’ struggles. Just like the free throw issues, Texas needs Connor to step it up if they want to get back to the level of play they were at in early December.

Gary Johnson was almost a non-factor, aside from a heads-up play setting a (moving) screen for Abrams on a fast break layup. His stat sheet was appropriately bare, as he missed two free throws to go with a rebound and a foul in nineteen minutes of play.

Although he only saw the floor for five minutes, it was five more than I thought I would see Dexter Pittman against the up-tempo Tigers. He actually looked good inside, snagging three offensive rebounds and scoring on a pair of put-backs. He even made both of his free throws, so perhaps he should lead a team meeting on the subject.

Texas has a long week off to prepare for a very weak Colorado team, and they should coast to a home victory against the Buffaloes. But while coaches and players always spout the axiom “one game at a time,” here the matter at hand is much larger than just winning the next one. Texas has some huge issues to address, and the Big 12 is going to be a very bumpy road to travel if they can’t figure things out quickly.

Michael Flowers came off of a high screen and drilled an NBA-range three, then stole the ensuing inbounds pass and threw it skyward as time expired. By the time the ball came back to the court, there was an eerie feeling in the Erwin Center. Faint cheering could be heard cascading from the large Wisconsin contingent in the rafters, while the Longhorn players trudged off the court, eyes locked to the ground. Wisconsin had stolen a win over a Top 10 team on the road, and they’d done it without their best player.

Without Trevon Hughes on the court for Bo Ryan, the Longhorns (11-2) seemed like the odds on favorite in the game. They dominated the boards in the first half, negating the one huge advantage that the Badgers should have had. Texas even burst out of the gates in the second half, sprinting to an eight-point lead. So what went wrong?

Many will focus on the missed free throw by A.J. Abrams with 11 seconds left. But the Longhorns had already missed five of their ten free throws prior to that, including two front ends on one-and-ones. In a game decided by only one, that’s seven possible points left at the charity stripe. In the grand scheme of things, this one loss isn’t that big, but 50% free throw shooting will kill a season in March.

A lot of focus has also been paid to the controversial charging call on D.J. Augustin, which erased a basket that could’ve put the Horns up by five. While it’s very likely that this one call changed the outcome of the game, it’s a fact of life that referees will sometimes blow calls. Oftentimes they turn out to be inconsequential, but in rare cases such as these, they come at a moment which completely changes the game. All that being said, the simple fact of the matter is that Texas should not have been in a position where that call would have mattered. End of story.

Damion James was the only Longhorn who played a solid game throughout, grabbing 15 rebounds to go with his 21-point performance. Although James had a trio of rim-rocking dunks, he accrued those other 15 points very quietly. James hit a ton of mid-range jumpers and cleaned it up around the paint, methodically racking up the points and keeping the Horns in front.

After a solid first few minutes, Connor Atchley struggled the rest of the way. Although he blocked three shots, he picked up four fouls largely as a result of his sudden penchant for biting on every pump fake the Wisconsin big men threw his way. Atchley finished the night with eight points and seven boards, but his struggles defensively were a huge reason why the Badgers chalked up 36 points in the paint.

The half-court, grind-it-out game that Wisconsin played was a perfect fit for Dexter Pittman, and the big man grabbed a solid thirteen minutes in the contest. It’s a good sign that he’ll be ready for the Aggies and Sooners, but the worrisome part of the equation is that Pittman also bit on a ton of pump fakes, just like Atchley. I have a strong feeling that Todd Wright and Rick Barnes will be working hard with the forwards and centers on their defense this week.

A.J. Abrams contributed in a ton of different ways, hitting a lot of ridiculous runners and fadeaways. I’ve mentioned it earlier this season, but it bears repeating — last year, Abrams could not hit a runner to save his life. The addition of these shots to his repertoire makes him an even more dangerous player, and adds another layer to the Texas offense that other teams must prepare for.

Perhaps the biggest reason why the 67-66 loss didn’t sting too badly was the text message about 30 minutes before tipoff informing me that Gary Johnson was cleared to play in the TCU game. Since then, it has been announced he will be inserted into the starting lineup, and quite frankly that has me completely jazzed about the rest of the season. Switching to a two-guard lineup allows Augustin, Abrams, and Justin Mason to rest, and gives Rick Barnes a slight bit of depth in his backcourt. Johnson’s presence in the frontcourt also fills a huge hole for a Longhorn team that desperately needs more of an inside presence.

That lack of an inside presence was a huge problem as the Badgers clawed back from the eight-point deficit in the second half. The +7 rebounding margin that the Longhorns enjoyed in the first half swung the other way, with Wisconsin outrebounding the Horns by six in the second twenty minutes.

Wisconsin’s big, physical players also wreaked havoc with the refs allowing a lot of banging inside. The Big 12 can get very physical at times, and Texas is going to see a lot of this from the Aggies and Sooners this season. They can’t afford to miss 293 bunnies at point blank range, as it seemed like they did in the first half of this one.

With a conservative look forward at the rest of this season, this loss likely cost Texas a shot at a 1-seed. With Kansas, two games against A&M, tough road tests in Mizzou and Kansas State, plus resurgent Baylor and Oklahoma teams in the South, the Longhorns have a very difficult schedule left. But a 1-seed isn’t a ticket to the Final Four, so the only reason this loss is incredibly frustrating is because it was a game the Longhorns should’ve won.

With two games left before conference play, Texas still has a very solid chance at entering the Missouri game with a 13-2 record. Tomorrow offers a great chance to try new things out with Gary Johnson in the lineup, while the Saturday match-up with St. Mary’s is a potential trap that the Horns must be ready for. Enjoy the New Year’s Bowls in the meantime, and a preview of the Horned Frogs will be headed your way tomorrow morning.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

The Longhorns allowed New Mexico State to shoot 50% from the field last night, with the Aggies hitting thirteen three-pointers on the night. Thanks to A.J. Abrams, it didn’t even matter. Texas cracked the century mark for the second straight game and dispatched New Mexico State 102-87 in the semifinals of the Legends Classic in Newark, New Jersey.

Abrams scored 31 points on the night, shooting a ridiculous 9-of-12 from behind the arc. If not for cramps that suddenly sidelined him in the second half, the junior guard might have tied or broken the school record for three-pointers in a game (10). As it was, Abrams still had his second consecutive night with 30 points or more, and pushed his season average to 23.3 points per game.

The game was a track meet, with Texas pushing the tempo from the start. The Longhorns forced 19 turnovers on the night, and their pressure defense led to a ton of early fast break points that staked them to a 30-11 lead less than eight minutes into it. The Aggies hung around with 60% shooting in the first half, but could never fight their way back into it. They could get no closer than eight points the rest of the way as the two teams ran up the score throughout the second twenty minutes.

While it’s easy to get drunk on the burnt orange kool-aid after two 100-plus point games, there are certainly still some issues worth noting. We knew heading in that NMSU would likely control the glass, but seeing them dominate with a +14 on the night is still a little unsettling. Perhaps most unsettling, though, is the fact that half of the 34 Aggie rebounds came on the offensive glass. On a night where the Texas offense isn’t hitting on all cylinders, a good team will make the Longhorns pay for allowing so many second chances.

Don’t let that get you down, though. The positives to be gleaned from this one are certainly much more numerous. Connor Atchley continued to showcase the progress he made during the offseason, demonstrating his newfound confidence in that sweet three-point stroke. Atch hustled all over the floor, blocking three shots and grabbing three rebounds while dropping in 15 points. While we’d love to see him more active on the glass, his defense has improved and he’s given Coach Barnes three consecutive ten-point games. That’s the kind of reliability fans were looking for last season.

The move to the 3 for Damion James continues to work out well for the Horns, as DaMo hit some outside jumpers en route to a twelve-point night. He fought for six rebounds and generally looked comfortable in the position he played back in high school. But Damion did pick up four personal fouls, which was often a problem for him last season. We’ll give him a pass in this game, as the Aggies had a bunch of trees disguised as players, but it’s definitely something that James will need to control this season, particularly with the thin bench.

As for D.J. Augustin, it was just another day at the office. Twenty-five points and ten assists? Ho hum. It’s quite a luxury for Barnes and Horn fans that D.J. has raised his game to the level that we just expect these kinds of numbers from him every night. He had a couple of sick plays where he attacked the rim and finished the play with typical Augustin flair, and knocked down a pair of nice threes as well. A ton of the credit for A.J.’s great shooting night also has to go to D.J., who found the hot hand repeatedly.

Justin Mason is still a scrappy defender who seems to be rediscovering the offense that we saw early in his freshman year. Discussing the game last night, we couldn’t recall a definitive offensive game for Mason since his game-winner against Arkansas last December. Perhaps last night’s eleven point performance — including 2-of-5 from long range — is a step in the right direction.

The rest of the squad was generally unremarkable last night. There were short spurts of brilliance from Alexis Wangmene, who once again managed to get to the line repeatedly. He only grabbed two rebounds in his thirteen minutes, and is definitely one of the players that must step up his game on the glass if the Longhorns are going to improve. Dexter Pittman and Clint Chapman played two and nine minutes, respectively, while J.D. Lewis chipped in with three. None scored, and had marginal impact on the stat sheet.

Texas now advances to play #7 Tennessee in the Legends Classic championship tonight at 6 P.M. An abbreviated game preview is on the way shortly.

Although Texas pulled away a 58-37 victory over UT-San Antonio last night, it felt like anything but a basketball game. The Roadrunners did absolutely everything to prove their mascot a misnomer, dribbling endlessly at the top of the key, then trying to drive or kick out for a three in the final five seconds of a possession. It made for disjointed, ugly basketball, and I can safely say that I’d never want to see this team on the schedule again…or at least not until they find a new coach.

Longtime readers know that I’m a big fan of Ken Pomeroy’s metrics, and this game was absolutely made for number crunching. I had mentioned in the pre-game that UTSA favors a slowdown game, but this was even more than that. UTSA coach Brooks Thompson seemed to realize that the only way to beat the Longhorns was to limit each team to a handful of possessions per half and just pray that his squad shot a better percentage.

The teams played at a pace of 47.4 possessions, but the Longhorns played at an incredible 122.4 efficiency. For those unfamiliar with Pomeroy, this means that for every 100 possessions, Texas would score 122.4 points. If you wanted to counter the effect of UTSA’s slow pace and project this out for an “average” Texas game, the numbers would look much better. Using last year’s pace of 69.7 possessions per game with last night’s efficiency, the Longhorns would’ve been expected to score 85 points. So, don’t let the score fool you.

In the first half, Texas struggled enough to make UTSA’s tactics pay off. They were only 8-of-23 from the field and seemed content to play four men around the perimeter, leaving only one rebounder down low. The shorter Roadrunners benefited, and won the first half battle on the glass by a 17-10 count.

But in the second twenty, the Longhorns came out firing on all cylinders. They hit the boards with enough intensity to overtake the rebounding battle by a 19-18 count within minutes. (They would go on to edge the Roadrunners on the glass 29-27 for the game.) Their shooting percentage went through the roof as well, jumping to over 54% for the second frame. With the Longhorns finally scoring at will, UTSA’s slowdown gambit only served to keep the game closer than it should’ve been.

D.J. Augustin looked solid once again, leading the way with 19 points and four assists. He did play every minute of the game, though, which is something that will be much more difficult for him to pull off in the rigors of conference play. The sweet drives to the lane were still a part of his repertoire, as D.J. had at least two highlight-reel layups that I can remember.

Damion James showed off his outside shot, hitting jumpers from just a few feet inside the arc. The only complaint I had with Damion’s performance was an aversion to playing inside. With the Horns sporting a three-guard lineup for much of the night, there was no reason why James should’ve been hanging out around the perimeter, leaving Connor Atchley as the only inside presence. Damion needs to attack the rim more often and assert himself on the offensive glass. He had nine rebounds on the night, but only two of them came off of Longhorn misses.

While the Longhorns are still giving up a lot of height by playing Justin Mason as a third starting guard, he fought hard for rebounds and played well offensively. Jay-Mase scored 12 points on the night and grabbed five rebounds, three of them offensive.

The Longhorns showed a lot of quality ball movement last night, which is very good with Mason in the game. Last year, he would sometimes turn the ball over by trying to do too much with the dribble or hanging on to it too long. This team seems to realize that quick passes can help to find the open man or open seams, and I hope to see more of it this year.

For the freshman, Alexis Wangmene and Clint Chapman saw some quality minutes with Gary Johnson and Dogus Balbay unavailable due to injury. I really like Chapman’s motor, as he seems to be such a quiet, unassuming guy that harbors a tenacious side. He grabbed four rebounds in seventeen minutes on the floor and really got after it, even on plays where he’d already lost position. Wangmene also looked good in the short spurts we saw him, but it was tough to get a good read with only 12 minutes on the floor (and most of that wasted time as UTSA guards dribbled possessions out near half court).

I expected more from Connor Atchley, but as I mentioned earlier, he was often stranded down low in the first half. And even at 6′10″, the kid can’t be expected to pull down every rebound against the entire UTSA squad as the rest of the Longhorns hang out at the three-point line. To be fair, Connor seemed to recognize what was happening and would try to tap out some of the rebounds to his teammates. But often that wasn’t successful, and the Roadrunners controlled the loose caroms. It will be interesting to see what opens up for Connor if and when Damion decides to play down low in the three-guard sets.

Dexter Pittman didn’t see much action as he found himself in coach’s doghouse pretty quickly. Dex lost rebounding position against the shorter, smaller Roadrunners, and didn’t do what he was supposed to do on the set plays drawn up for him. He grabbed two offensive boards in his five minutes of action, but otherwise did not make an impact.

I liked a lot of the new things I saw from this team last night. In particular, I like seeing Atchley on the floor for inbounding plays, and not trapped under the basket. Many will remember that the pressure from New Mexico State in Spokane caused a ton of problems on the inbounds plays. In that game, the Aggies constantly forced Atchley perilously close to a five-second call with suffocating inbounds D. But last night, he was the escape option, using his long arms to pop out at the top of the key for the high lob when all of the cuts were covered. That is an excellent use of our personnel, and I’m glad to see it happening.

As I mentioned earlier, there was a lot of quick ball movement from this year’s team, as well. There seemed to be more off-the-ball screening, too, which really flowed nicely with the snap passes and the three-guard lineup. All told, it just looked more like an offense, which is something that Texas fans aren’t that used to with defensive-minded Rick Barnes at the helm. It will be interesting to keep an eye on how the offensive game plan evolves throughout the year, particularly in regards to the lack of an inside game last night.

The Horns now enjoy three days off before starting play in the Legends Classic on Friday night. Tip will be at 7 PM CST from the Erwin Center against the Aggies of UC-Davis. See y’all there.