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.

Dexter Pittman, A.J. Abrams, and Matt Hill watched the exhibition in street clothes

With injuries sidelining four of the Longhorns for Friday night’s season opening exhibition against Xavier Univeristy, a true sense of the 2007-08 Texas team was hard to come by. A.J. Abrams, Dexter Pittman, and Matt Hill all were in street clothes at the end of the bench, while freshman point guard Dogus Balbay was not even in the building. So while the Longhorns won 87-56 against their over-matched NAIA opponent, depth was revealed to be an immediate concern.

Seniors Ian Mooney and J.D. Lewis both started for Rick Barnes’ club, while returning sophomores Damion James, Justin Mason, and D.J. Augustin rounded out the lineup. While Mooney only played six minutes, Lewis’ assignment was much larger. The JuCo transfer logged 21 minutes in the contest, hitting only 1-of-8 from behind the arc.

Augustin picked up where he left off, scoring 22 points and dishing out seven assists. The Gold Rush presented problems for the sophomore PG, though, often trapping him high following a ball screen from one of the Longhorn big men. This led to a few of Augustin’s six turnovers on the night.

James appears ready to step into the larger role the Horns need him to occupy this season. He hit shots from all over the court, going 2-for-4 from behind the arc, and shooting 64% overall en route to an 18 point performance. Damion was also active on the glass, grabbing eight boards.

The long-awaited debut of Gary Johnson was just as exciting as anticipated, as the freshman star attacked the rim and finished the night with 19 points. He also proved himself able to pop the midrange jumper, and was stroking threes in pre-game warmups, although he went 0-for-2 from behind the arc in the game.

There was one scary moment for Johnson late in the game, as he took an excellent feed in mid-stride at the wing and tried to throw it down. He was fouled in mid-air and came up just short on the dunk, jamming the ball into the rim. He fell hard to the court, but almost immediately popped back up, clapping. His limitless energy is going to be huge this season, and if he manages to play more than the 19 minutes he logged in this one, will certainly draw national attention before the year is out.

Freshmen big men Clint Chapman and Alexis Wangmene impressed with their rebounding ability, but both will take some time to adjust to playing defense at the collegiate level. Although Chapman came out of the gate with incredibly intensity, tenaciously sticking his man, he did often find himself behind the play. Wangmene also tended to lose his man on high screens, but showed tremendous hustle trying to get back into it. Both look to be big contributors on the glass, hopefully as 10- to 15-minute guys for the Horns.

While Justin Mason wasn’t quite as impressive as he was this time last year, he did seem to make some slight improvements over his play at the end of last season. Jay Mase is certainly a slimmer, faster player now, but he often seemed too amped up to play a smart game. His brief time at the point also further underscored how imperative it is that A.J. Abrams recover from his toe injury. While neither Mason or Abrams are a true point, A.J. is clearly the better option to spell Augustin when he needs a breather or finds himself in foul trouble.

All told, it was difficult to key on any one lineup that Barnes was favoring, as he constantly shuffled players in and out of the game. While it’s likely that he will lean towards a three-guard lineup based on his quotes at the Big 12 media day and elsewhere in the press, the loss of Balbay is going to make this more difficult. J.D. Lewis is a role player, and should not be relied upon for any solid chunk of minutes. And with Justin Mason the tallest guard at 6′2″, it’s a huge defensive liability to play him against any team utilizing a conventional lineup.

At this point, Dexter Pittman could be the X-factor for this season. He is allegedly only going to be on crutches for one more week, but how long the rehab takes after that point is anybody’s guess. Without him, the Longhorns are left with only Atchley, Wangmene, and Chapman as true post players, and forces Johnson and James to occasionally rotate in to grab minutes at the four. The Longhorns have the flexibility and talent to cover for their lack of depth, but over the course of a 30-plus game season, it is going to wear down much of the lineup.

Looking ahead, we can expect another fun season with a bunch of exciting, talented youngsters. But if Pittman’s injury drags on for any length of time, this game of three-card lineup monte may leave the Horns out of gas as the calendar rolls into February and March.

Not even Texas Pom could fire up a lackluster Spokane crowd

It certainly wasn’t a pretty game, but the Texas Longhorns avoided the nightmare of a one-and-done NCAA appearance by defeating New Mexico State 79-67 last night in Spokane. Freshman superstar Kevin Durant scored 27 points — 15 of them from the line — while guards A.J. Abrams and D.J. Augustin combined for 35 more to lead the Horns to victory.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair in front of a largely empty arena. Because of TV scheduling and the Spokane pod being played in the Pacific time zone, there were only 30 minutes between the end of the Oregon/Miami of Ohio game and the tip of the Texas/New Mexico tilt. Problem was, the games were part of different sessions which made it necessary to completely empty the arena and then re-admit everyone. In thirty minutes. We were at the front of the line, and still only made it to our seats as the Star-Spangled Banner was starting.

New Mexico State gave the Horns a brief scare in the second half. After trailing by 14, the Aggies fought back and reclaimed a 60-57 lead with 6:39 left to play. While my personal thoughts were circling around the insanity of a 40+ hour trip to see a loss to a thirteen-seed, the Horns were fortunately a little more focused on the task at hand. Texas allowed only two more field goals and three field goals the rest of the way, cruising through the final minutes to a double-digit win.

The biggest story of the game — besides the typical Durant-Augustin-Abrams domination — was the re-emergence of Connor Atchley. While Damion James was being whistled every two seconds for looking the wrong way at a New Mexico State player, Atchley was counted on to provide valuable minutes inside against Hatilla Passos and Martin Iti.

Sure, Connor had a few problems with the press late in the game. But his hustle on defense and on the boards was a huge part of the victory. Atchley ended up with seven points and six boards in 28 minutes of play, and even blocked another three shots. While it’s going to be important for Damion to have a big game tomorrow against the Trojans, it’ll be an incredible boost if Connor can play at the same level for a second time this weekend.

Once again Craig Winder played well in his short stints on the floor. In eight minutes, Winder gave the Horns four points and his usual spark off the bench. As odd as it sounds, Craig Winder could be key to a deep tournament run for Texas. He plays with much more intensity on defense than many of the Horns, and will be needed to spell the starting guards to keep them fresh.

A full USC preview should be coming later tonight or early in the morning. For now, we have to go investigate the St. Patrick’s Day happenings in downtown Spokane. And in the meantime, Hook ‘Em, Spartans!

Just a quick hit from Oklahoma City, as we’re soon heading to the Ford Center to try to scalp our way into the semis. While it was hilarious to see the Ags fall flat on their faces after talking shit all afternoon, the win by Oklahoma State is making tickets harder to come by.

If you happened to miss last night’s incredible comeback victory over Baylor, you saved yourself the craziest rollercoaster of emotions I’ve ever experienced at a sporting event. Of course, you also didn’t get to see the biggest comeback in Big 12 Tournament history and in Rick Barnes’ tenure on the 40 Acres. C’est la vie.

Kevin Durant started the game by missing his first ten or eleven shots. But the cold shooting wasn’t limited to KD. Tons of good looks from the Horns were just rimming out, and point blank shots were banking hard off the glass. Combined with Baylor’s hot shooting, Texas’ offensive impotence gave the Bears a huge 18-point halftime lead.

In the second, BU pushed the lead as large as 20 points before the rally began. Kevin Durant scored 24 points in the second half alone and kept the team fired up as they dug their way out of the hole. The surprise player of the game was senior Craig Winder, who played twelve minutes off the bench in relief of a largely ineffective Justin Mason. Winder scored eight points, including a bucket with just under two minutes left to take the lead.

All told, it was a game that truly defied explanation. But I may try to revisit it after the weekend comes to a close. For now, we push onward to a quick look at this afternoon’s game.

The win sets up a semifinal matchup with the Oklahoma State Cowboys today at roughly 3:20 P.M. For a recap on their star players, please check out my pregame thoughts from the triple-overtime game in Stillwater and the blowout in Austin.

I think the key thing to remember in this one is that the Pokes are going to be playing their fifth game in eight days. While the Horns have a short bench, they did get some good minutes out of Winder last night to keep the three starting guards fresh. The OSU fatigue might not be a visible factor until the game gets to crunch time, but the Horns need to make sure they are ahead or within striking distance when those final five minutes roll around.

For now, it’s off to downtown OKC and the Ford Center. TV is ESPN2 for this contest (Big XII markets check your local listings), so be sure to tune in. Otherwise, you just might miss a 30-point comeback or a four-overtime thriller.

Kansas held off the Longhorns and held up their 50th conference championship trophy

Two years ago I sat in the very top row of Allen Fieldhouse, sweating off ten pounds in that sauna of a gym as the Longhorns were whipped by twenty-five. LaMarcus Aldridge was on the bench with an injury, while P.J. Tucker was watching in Austin due to academic ineligibility.

So when we drove into Lawrence on Saturday morning, my hopes were high for a better performance. After all, it’s tough to lose by more than 25 points. And I felt that this Texas team could hang with the Jayhawks and keep themselves within ten at the final buzzer. Little did I know that the Horns were going to play absolutely out of their minds in the first half and have all of their fans thinking upset.

Texas (22-8 overall, 12-4 Big 12) started the game shooting absolutely lights out. The Horns hit 57% of their shots, including a ridiculous 11-of-14 from behind the arc. There was one stretch where they scored on 12 straight possessions and even held a 16-point lead with less than three minutes remaining in the half.

But Kansas (27-4, 14-2) refused to go away, shooting 50% in the first half to keep Texas within arm’s reach at the break. The Jayhawks trailed by only 12 at halftime, and came out of the locker room with an incredible surge. Within four minutes of play, Kansas had retaken the lead at 58-57. During that stretch, the Horns made only four free throws.

Kansas stifled the Longhorn offense in the second half by extending the pressure out to the perimeter. In the first half, they had been content to try to double down on Durant when he touched the ball, and the Horns were utilizing the open man it created to make the Jayhawks pay. But with the pressure turned up around the arc, the Texas guards seemed frustrated. A big man would try to set a high screen, but before the guard could even dribble around it, the Kansas defender had fought through, turning it into a double team.

Finally, down four with about eleven minutes left, Kevin Durant attacked the rim from the wing. His shot missed, and as Texas fans looked for him to follow for the inside rebound and putback, we instead saw him crumple to the floor. He tried to get up and limp away, but fell once more. Our basketball lives flashed before our eyes. KD headed to the locker room and all hope seemed lost.

But D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrams stepped up in the absence of their teammate, scoring seven points over the ensuing two minutes to keep the Longhorns within one point. Unfortunately, Kansas hit the glass hard and extended that lead back out to nine before Durant returned from the locker room.

Texas was able to get the defecit down to six in the final minutes, but continually made mistakes on the offensive end after stopping the Jayhawks from scoring. A charge by Abrams negated one possession, while a fast break was killed when Abrams tossed the ball to Augustin when he was standing on the sideline. But despite those brain farts, missed free throws by Kansas and a late flurry of threes by the Horns made it a three-point game with time running out.

Durant grabbed a rebound off of a missed Kansas free throw, and the Horns pushed it up the floor with only 22 seconds left. Justin Mason missed a three from the corner, but Augustin controlled the carom with 12 seconds left. Instead of pulling it out and using the remaining time to find a good look, he tried to immediately go back up for three with a pair of Jayhawk defenders in his face. Julian Wright came from behind and stuffed the try as Durant, J.D. Lewis, and Abrams all stood wide-open elsewhere around the arc.

While it’s certainly frustrating to lose a 16-point lead and a chance for a second-straight stunning upset, this game shows huge progress for the Longhorns. Kansas is likely a 1-seed in the NCAA tournament, or at least one of the first 2-seeds if they lay an egg in the Big 12 tournament. And this young Texas team hung with that top-flight Kansas squad on the road, in a hostile environment, and without its biggest star for a chunk of the second half. I’m sure I sound like an Aggie fan grasping at moral victories, but you can’t be anything but encouraged by that performance.

In addition to Durant’s insane 25-point first half and 32-point night, there were other standout performances for the Horns. Damion James played tough inside against a bigger, more experienced, and more talented Kansas frontcourt. James had twelve points and seven boards on the night. Point guard Augustin did not miss a minute of play and chipped in with 19 points. But more amazingly, he dished out 13 assists to only three turnovers for his third double-double of the year.

Connor Atchley had a tough game inside, but I feel will bounce back admirably on Friday. A game against Missouri or Baylor should really increase his confidence, which is what I think he needs desperately at this point. Fans wanting more out of C.Atch should root for Baylor to upset Missouri on Thursday, as Connor had his best games of the year in the two earlier meetings with the Bears.

Matt Hill came back from injury and gave the Horns 13 minutes. He didn’t look at 100% and later told me that he was still feeling a bit sore, but played incredibly well for a guy who has been out of commission for a month and a half. And when you remember that his last outing resulted in a line with 5 fouls and a row of zeroes, his two points and three boards are a step in the right direction.

Texas now has nearly a week to rest and allow Durant’s ankle to heal back up. They have earned a bye through the first round of Big 12 Tournament play and will not play until roughly 8:30 P.M. on Friday night. In the meantime, I’ll be adding some road trip stuff to the site and perhaps throw in some updates from Championship Week. The calendar finally reads March, and I couldn’t be happier.

Damion James had his best game of the year, scoring 22 points

Three weeks ago, the Longhorns lost in College Station to a red-hot Texas A&M team who had just defeated Kansas on the road only two days prior. In the locker room, Coach Rick Barnes told his team that they could still win the league — but they’d have to play defense. Since then, they have run off six straight wins and find themselves playing for a share of the league crown on Saturday night in Lawrence.

The sixth of those consecutive wins came last night in Austin against those same Aggies. The Longhorns (22-7 overall, 12-3 Big 12) fed off of a raucous, capacity crowd to hold off repeated comeback bids by Texas A&M and secure a double-overtime victory, 98-96.

The game was back-and-forth for much of the first half until Kevin Durant hit a three to put the Horns up 28-27. Texas was able to extend the lead before the break, although the Aggies kept themselves within arm’s reach at all times. Although the Longhorns couldn’t hit free throws and were brutally outrebounded in the first half — at one point, Texas A&M held a 21-9 advantage — they did hold Acie Law to only one field goal in the first twenty minutes.

Coming out of the locker room, the Longhorns were able to push their advantage to 11 points before Texas A&M mounted a massive comeback. Over the next eight minutes, the Aggies outscored the Horns 23-5 to go ahead by seven. But despite their youth, the Longhorns showed resiliency and resolve in quickly fighting back and reclaiming the lead with six minutes to play.

The homestretch was again a back-and-forth affair, but the game looked to be over after Kevin Durant hit an NBA-range three-pointer for a 76-72 lead with only 16 seconds left. But after a Dominique Kirk three and a pair of free throws from D.J. Augustin, it was Mr. Clutch, Acie Law IV, who hit the three to send it to overtime.

It wasn’t his only heroic act on the night, as Law again knocked down a game-tying three at the end of the first overtime to force another five minutes of basketball. And just as in regulation and the first overtime, it looked like the Aggies might mount another incredible comeback in the second OT. But with the Horns up three and only eleven seconds remaining, Antanas Kavaliauskas elected to take the layup instead of kick it to Law behind the arc. Kevin Durant knocked down both free throws on the ensuing foul, leaving the Aggies with five seconds and a three-point deficit.

At the end of regulation, Rick Barnes had told the team to foul Law before he could get a three off. Durant refused to do so, and Law hit the game-tying shot. But in double overtime, Texas finally listened. D.J. Augustin practically tackled Law at the top of the key, leaving the Ags with a one-and-one and only a second remaining. Law sunk the first, but was forced to miss the second. Bench-warmer Chinemelu Elonu grabbed the rebound, but was unable to tip it in for another tie, and the Longhorns escaped with a hard-fought, emotional victory.

Damion James had the game of his life, scoring 22 points, knocking down clutch free throws, grabbing nine boards, and coming up with a huge block at the end of regulation. He did have a lane violation in overtime that negated what would’ve been the game-winning point, but without him the Longhorns wouldn’t have even been in that position. With or without Kevin Durant, next year James is going to be a breakout star.

Durant turned in yet another superstar performance while making it look like just another day on the job. He played 49 of the game’s 50 minutes, dropping in 30 and grabbing 16 rebounds on a night where the Horns needed every board they could get. Defensively, he even added three blocks and a steal to help the cause.

Although he was the second-best point guard on the floor last night, D.J. Augustin still gave another all-conference performance. He earned 25 points and seven assists, and turned in a ton of flashy layups against a defense that is among the best in the country. He knew when to attack the rim and when to pull it back out, as his miniscule turnover total of two attests. Shit, that was all kinds of alliteration.

It was an electric, emotional night in the Drum. I’ve seen sellout crowds in my time on the Forty Acres, and I’ve seen some big wins. But I have never seen a packed arena that was so rowdy and into the game. The alumni along the sidelines stood for a majority of the first half, the last five minutes of regulation, and both of the overtimes. Even as the game dragged on and both players and fans tired, the students still jumped and screamed on defense. It was big-time college basketball, and finally the Frank Erwin Center had the atmosphere to match it.

Now the Horns must make a quick turnaround as they face their toughest task to date. A well-rested Kansas team awaits in Lawrence for a painfully early tip-time of 11 A.M. on Saturday. Texas gets only 60 hours to recuperate and prepare, so we can only hope we don’t get a repeat of the flat performance we saw in Philadelphia following a triple-overtime game in Stillwater.

Regardless, this Longhorn team now owns the signature win that its NCAA resumé sorely lacked. Last night’s win has to assure them of at least a 6-seed in the Big Dance. And as hot as they are right now, who knows where the ceiling is.

Booing was a favorite fan activity in Norman on Saturday (Photo: G. Austin)

Road games are never easy, and the crowds never friendly. But the Oklahoma Sooners and their fans took things to a whole new level on Saturday, as Coach Jeff Capel earned a technical foul and a fan threw a cell phone across the court. Yet despite the hostile environment and a second half in which they shot only 14 percent, the Longhorns were still able to earn a 68-58 victory in Norman.

Texas (21-7 overall, 11-3 Big 12) came out firing and jumped to a quick 9-0 lead. In the first half, the Horns hit a ridiculous 8-of-13 shots from behind the arc, while Kevin Durant had 19 points in the first twenty minutes. They led by ten to fifteen for most of the half and headed to the locker room with a 41-28 advantage.

The second half was a completely different story. The game was bogged down on both ends by a lot of whistles, although Texas was fortunate enough to draw most of their fouls in shooting situations. The Horns did not even make their first field goal until almost twelve minutes had elapsed in the second half. It was one of only two baskets they would get in the entire twenty minutes.

Instead, the Longhorns made all of their second half points at the line. They took 30 free throws in the second stanza, sinking 22 of them. Texas was in the bonus with over 12 minutes left in the half, and Sooner fans were growing restless. Boos rained down from the half-empty seats. Jeff Capel was throwing tantrums on the sideline. Then, with the Sooners chipping away at the lead, their coach ultimately killed any building momentum by picking up the technical foul on a missed 10-second violation. The Horns sunk their free throws and rebuilt the lead.

Later, with a little over five minutes on the clock, a Sooner fan threw their cell phone across the court as Connor Atchley prepared to shoot free throws. He missed both, perhaps because he was a little jumpy. A boot or a soda could’ve come flying towards him at any moment, after all. Or maybe the keys to a trailer.

In the end, it was an ugly game that was painful to watch. The Horns spent a lot of time standing around in the second half hoping that D.J. Augustin or Durant were going to create some offense. But the adjusted Sooner defense seemed content to play physically and not allow our players to reach the rack. So as the fouls mounted up and the Horns padded the lead, many Texas fans may have overlooked the fact that three-fifths of the team were just holding down the floor.

In the big picture, this is a huge win for seeding — not only in the conference tournament but the NCAAs as well. Personally, I’d rather put it in the rearview and not think about it for a while. If the Horns continue their second-half offensive woes on Wednesday night, it’ll be a long, long game. But if the Saturday first-half team is the one that shows up, an upset is certainly possible.

Tomorrow night I’ll bring you the last Big 12 update of the year, focusing on the top four teams.

The Texas starting five, who all scored in double digits against the Red Raiders

Everything was clicking for the Longhorns on Tuesday night as they crushed Texas Tech in Austin for the second straight year, coasting to an 80-51 victory in front of a sellout crowd. The win gave Texas (20-7 overall, 10-3 Big 12) their eighth-straight season with at least 20-wins, and also likely ensured that the team will be playing in the Big Dance. A four-game losing streak to end the season could certainly change that, but for now let’s just enjoy the victory.

Texas Tech (17-11, 6-7) opened up the game with an early 2-0 lead. It was the only one they’d hold all game. Texas quickly jumped ahead and stretched the score to 20-9 by the second media timeout. By halftime, the Longhorns had nearly doubled the Red Raiders’ output, heading to the locker room with a 48-26 lead.

Once again, Texas found offense from everybody in the starting lineup. For the first time all season, no Loghorn hit the 20-point plateau, but all five starters did reach double digits in scoring. By comparison, the high-scorer for the Red Raiders finished with nine.

Early on, Justin Mason was the spark. Jay scored twelve points in the first half, making both of his three-point attempts. He finished the night with thirteen points and four assists while only turning it over once.

Damion James again had a big game, and is proving to be a key player in the stretch run for the Longhorns. He was hitting midrange jumpers and throwing it down inside. But most importantly, he was able to control a ton of the Tech misses. James finished with a double-double on the night, scoring twelve and grabbing ten rebounds — nine of them on the defensive end.

When the Horns were in a man scheme, A.J. Abrams was again tabbed to frustrate the opponent’s high-scoring guard. For Tech, that was Jarrius Jackson, who had only seven points on the night. Two of those seven came on technical free throws, making the Horns’ defensive effort even more impressive.

Once again, it seemed that having Abrams focus on a defensive task opened up his offensive game. He took very few bad shots on the night, even hitting a pair of two-point buckets — something practically unheard of for the guard this season. Abrams was 4-of-9 from behind the arc and finished the night as the leading scorer with 18 points.

For much of the night, Texas was able to sag back on defense, daring Tech to shoot over them. The Red Raiders hit only 20 percent of their three-point attempts (3-15), making it necessary to try to drive the lane for easier buckets. But oftentimes Kevin Durant was hanging out in the middle, using his incredible wingspan to disrupt the offense.

One of the only things Texas did poorly on Tuesday night was bite far too often on pump fakes from the Red Raiders. But help defense was really solid, and oftentimes the open look disappeared almost instantaneously. Connor Atchley and Dexter Pittman both had a particularly hard time staying on the ground against those fakes, and saw limited minutes as a result. To be fair to Atchley, it’s unclear if his nine minutes were completely in response to his three fouls and poor defense, or if he was still feeling the effects from the injury he suffered against Baylor on Saturday night.

The Longhorns took their largest lead with 8:38 still to go in the ballgame. But up by 33 points, Barnes started milking the clock with a fifth of the game still left. For some reason, he left the starters in to essentially dribble around the perimeter for another five minutes. Perhaps he wanted them to keep working on their defense, but the argument could easily be made that our overworked starters need any breathers they can get.

In the end, all five did see some rest as Barnes cleared the bench. Harrison Smith and Ian Mooney both saw the floor and earned a huge cheer from the remaining crowd. The fans even roared when Mooney fouled a Tech player; after all, that does go in the official record.

This weekend’s game now has a lot less pressure attached to it. The Longhorns have their 20 wins and ten conference victories. At this point, more wins are just gravy. But the threat of a four-game losing streak does still loom large with games at OU, vs. Texas A&M, and at Kansas to finish the year. Add in a loss to the 5 or 6 seed in Oklahoma City, and things could get dicey.

If Texas can carry over the defensive efforts seen at home against Oklahoma State and Tech, they have a very great shot at their 11th conference win up in Norman. And, as a result, the Horns would also eliminate the tiny shred of doubt that still surrounds their NCAA future. Enjoy the win, and I’ll have your Oklahoma re-preview sometime tomorrow afternoon.

Texas survived a last-minute comeback by Baylor

Yes, you read the title of this post correctly. Connor Atchley owns the Bears. The same Connor Atchley who would induce fan cringing every time he came into the game last year. Now he’s playing well enough that many of those same fans experienced that same kind of worry last night when Atchley limped off the court late in the game. Ladies and gentleman, your most improved player for 2006-07 is Connor Freakin Atchley.

The Longhorns (19-7 overall, 9-3 Big 12) once again struggled against Baylor (12-13, 2-10), needing a second-half surge to secure a 68-67 victory. And just as in the victory back in Austin, the key to the UT run came in the form of a tall, lanky white guy wearing number 32. Atchley hustled all over the floor, scoring a career-high 15 points and pulling down eight rebounds. He was even credited with two steals and another block — his 14th straight game with at least one — and continued to set the best screens on the court for the Horns.

Time and again, Atchley came free on the low blocks for easy dunks. And on Kevin Durant’s second-worst shooting night, it was refreshing to see another Longhorn moving without the ball to create some offense. Between Damion James’ easy layups against OSU and Atchley’s dunks last night, it looks like the Horns are finally getting some consistent scoring from the frontcourt.

Despite Durant’s tough night from the field (5-for-16), he kept Texas on the scoreboard by getting to the line repeatedly in the second half. He shot 90% at the line on ten attempts and grabbed just about every 50/50 ball that came loose. KD’s fourteen boards gave him his 16th double-double on the year and ninth in twelve conference games.

Unfortunately, the thing most Texas fans will remember about this game was the near-meltdown in the final minutes. But while Texas gave up the lead and ultimately lost to Tennessee in a similar fashion back in December, this time the Horns were able to escape with a road win.

Up 68-60 with 1:40 to play, the Horns missed four free throws, turned the ball over twice, and allowed the Bears a final 11-second possession to win. Without any timeouts, Baylor wasn’t able to draw up a play and the final shot was an awkward, desperate one thrown up by St. Michael’s grad Mark Shepherd. And when you’ve got a former teammate of Ian Mooney wrist-flicking a 17-footer at the last second, the odds are against the miracle bucket.

Once again, Texas allowed far too many open looks from behind the arc. This happened most often against the 2-3 zone, as the threes made against our man defense was often the result of a jab step giving the shooter just enough breathing room to get it off. I’ll take those threes any day — although not biting so hard on fakes does remain an area to improve for the Horns — as opposed to failing to get out on shooters in the zone.

Fortunately, it now seems that Barnes is committed to running a man defense more often, utilizing the zone when the personnel on the court requires it or he’s trying to protect Augustin or Durant from foul trouble. I’m a huge fan of this defensive mix, and hope to see it continue the rest of the year.

Most importantly for Texas, this win gives them 19 on the year with four games to play. While all of the remaining games could easily show up in the loss column, it seems that the first three are also winnable. I’ll look at the road ahead in my conference breakdown tomorrow, but it’s not hyperbole to say that this was a “must-win” game. The Horns are now just steps away from a dance ticket in March, and possibly even a chance to play themselves above that dreaded 8/9 seed range.

Next game is Tuesday at the Drum against Tech, but in the meantime we’ll have more new stuff here at Longhorn Road Trip. Three weeks to Selection Sunday!

The Texas Longhorns played their best team game of the year last night, routing Oklahoma State 83-54 in front of a huge home crowd and a national audience on ESPN. The loss was the third in the last four games for the Cowboys (19-6 overall, 5-5 Big 12) and continued a streak of futility on the road in conference play dating to February 4th of last year. For the Longhorns (18-7, 8-3), the victory made their coach the winningest one in school history.

For the second-straight game, Kevin Durant had what was — for him — an average game. A great night for most mere mortals, Durant finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds after only scoring five in the first half. It was Durant’s eighth double-double in eleven conference games, and his 15th on the season.

But just as in the Iowa State game, the rest of the Longhorns stepped up. With the Oklahoma State defense stifling the superstar in the first twenty minutes, the offense was spread around. Damion James scored early on pick-and-rolls that resulted in wide open layups. D.J. Augustin hit threes when Durant set high screens for him. In the end, all five Texas starters reached double figures in scoring.

The biggest surprise of the night was seeing A.J. Abrams sticking JamesOn Curry in a man defense right out of the gate. Abrams has often struggled on defense, and Curry was responsible for 28 points in the first meeting between the two teams this year. But A.J. was a thorn in JamesOn’s side, staying in his face well behind the three-point line, fighting through screen after screen, and holding the guy scoreless for the first 18 minutes. Curry was called for a charge in the first half that was clearly a result of his frustration at being unable to shake the pesky little defender.

The focus on a single defensive task seemed to up Abrams’ confidence. He returned to his catch-and-shoot ways, knocking down three of his seven three-point attempts and another two-point jumper. He only took one bad shot on the run, as he cut across the lane and popped an 18-footer off the dribble. On this night, though, everything was falling for the Longhorns, and Abrams had another two points.

Just like the frustrated Curry, Mario Boggan also had a quieter night than the first time around. Boggan had gone off for 37 and 20 back in Stillwater, but scored only 16 and secured three rebounds in this one. Connor Atchley was a big part of the Longhorns’ defensive success underneath, as he maintained good position in the paint and stood straight up. James did the same, and time after time the post attack of the Cowpokes was limited to multiple, frantic pivots and ultimately a highly contested shot.

While Texas did not take care of the basketball very well, they did capitalize on turnovers and played the transition game that makes their offense click. The Longhorns actually turned it over 16 times to the Cowboys’ 15, but outscored them on those turnovers by a wide 22-11 count.

Texas also managed to outrebound OSU this time around. They took a 34-30 advantage on the glass, despite giving up fourteen offensive rebounds to the Pokes. But the Longhorns kept their opponents from capitalizing on those offensive boards, winning the second-chance battle 18-13.

All told, this was a glimpse at what a complete game would look like for the Horns. It really bodes well for the rest of the season that our entire team can produce offensively. And, for three of the last four halves of basketball, the Texas defense has played a hundred times better than they did the rest of the season. Sure, there were occassional lapses on the defensive end last night, but I’ll easily take 36 minutes of suffocating D over a 52% 3-point shooting night from KSU.

The best part of the night for me as a fan was having the ref call the cops on myself and two friends. In all of the years watching games from the student section, I have been responsible for and have heard some less-than-tasteful stuff screamed towards opponents and refs. But this was the first time I’d ever had a cop speak to me about it…and this time nobody had even cursed.

The scene was this: Augustin is called for a foul heading into a TV timeout. The basket is counted, even though those of us watching next to the play think the OSU player was fouled on the floor. Someone screams “Are you kidding me?” Another yells “That’s horrible.” As the teams head into the huddle, the white-haired ref turns around and stares at me. “I hope you didn’t breed,” I tell him. That’s it. Apparently we had pricked his delicate ego and the law had to be called.

The cop comes over and suggests we direct our attention to the players and not the refs. As we let him know that we are keeping it clean for those around us, the ref leans across the baseline, looks at us, and says, “Tell them they’ve messed with the wrong crew.” I’m going to choose to ignore the fact that he was talking through the cop while looking at us. But his crewmate Steve Welmer loves our fans and chat us up every time he’s in town. Even the third ref joked with our section later in the night. But this thin-skinned little man apparently had something to prove. Are you surprised that he’s the same one who gave Sutton a technical later in the night?

Crybaby refs aside, it was a great night from start to finish. In the early afternoon, Dexter Pittman and Durant came out of Cooley Pavillion to meet with those of us who had camped out for the ballgame. Later Damion James talked with us as we loaded up our cars with the camping gear. It’s really nice of the players to let the fans know that the support is appreciated, especially in a time when so many people are jaded and think of athletes as self-centered, money-hungry prima donnas. I think we’re lucky to have a good group of quality people that just so happen to be great basketball players.

We’ve got a long week off before the road game with Baylor on Saturday. If you still need a basketball fix, Tech takes on A&M tonight at 6 PM central on ESPN2. Throughout the long week, I’ll try to get around to some more pictures and some of the tales from the road.