Forgive the tardiness with this breakdown, but the post-New York school catch-up, combined with the holiday family socializing and twenty hours of work in the span of twenty-seven real ones….well, it’s enough to make somebody have a Tom Penders sport-coat-throwing hissy fit. And if this post-game makes little sense — or none at all — I must apologize again, as my blood is probably about 90% tryptophan right now. Mmmmm, mmmm good.

Texas (4-1) had absolutely no problems with Nicholls State (0-6) on Tuesday night, running away with a 91-60 victory. Fortunately for the Horns, Nicholls State was without their two (best) big men, giving them a look reminiscent of last year’s Villanova squad. Of course, the Colonels also have only a fraction of Nova’s talent. Stefan Blaszczynski told me before the game that he had “strained” his foot, while forward James Dixon was just “hurt” according to teammate Eddie Crockett.

With the lack of big men inside for Nicholls State, the Horns absolutely abused their visitors on the glass. Texas finished with a 57-29 rebounding advantage, with Damion James pulling down nine boards. Kevin Durant grabbed twelve en route to another double-double; he also scored 21 points in his 27 minutes of play.

Tuesday’s contest saw more man-to-man defense from the Horns, most noticeably while the bench was being emptied. It was very odd to see Dexter Pittman following his man to the three point line, so those defensive sets stick out in my mind. Pittman played twelve minutes off the bench, scoring eight and logging six rebounds. He looks very good inside — although the talent level of the opponent should be revisited here to temper excitement — but what I think was most important was the fact that he did not pick up a single foul in his increased time.

Justin Mason earned his first collegiate start, and the early lineup of Mason/Durant/James/ Augustin/Abrams came out in the 2-3 zone that Barnes likes to employ when Mason is on the court. I have not mentioned it over the past two weeks, being far too focused on my schoolgirl excitement over Damion James’ immense potential, but Mason is just as scrappy of a player. I love him on the defensive end, he hustles all over the damned place, and he’s not too shabby of a shooter either. Jay knocked down 6-of-10 on the night and finished with fifteen points.

A.J. Abrams once again made himself a huge part of the victory, shooting 7-of-12 from behind the arc and scoring 23 points. He also had a squeaky-clean game on the ballhandling side, with no turnovers and five assists. It’s great to have such a solid team leader who is only a sophomore. And it’s even a little funny to have it be such a tiny guy among the giant youngsters.

I think I came to a realization with Matt Hill during Tuesday night’s game, so I’ll keep my eye on it again next week. There’s no doubt that Hill is a tough player who gets after it. But while I was giving him on the benefit of the doubt on those “near-miss” rebounds, I think I was overlooking the problem. If Hill fought for a board and got a hand (or both) on the ball but ultimately lost it, I was giving him credit for being one of the few who seemed to crash the glass. But after seeing him mishandle a few passes on Tuesday night, I’m starting to think he just doesn’t have soft hands. It definitely explains all the fumbled passes, and it could account for those missed rebounds he gets a paw on, too. We’ll see what happens against Texas Southern next week.

Craig Winder is starting to convince me that he’s made some pretty big strides since last year. I’m hoping that he has his insane athleticism under control, and it’s looking like he might. During the long season, we need some quality minutes from guys other than our core seven players, and I have the most faith in Winder providing them.

Connor Atchley looked a bit better defensively, and even blocked two shots. But — as with Pittman — I think a lot of this had to do with the quality of opponents. Here’s to hoping that beating up on the little guys gives Connor some confidence and the needed quality minutes to improve. And you can chalk up another little victory for Atchley, as he grabbed six boards on the night and kept his foul total down to two.

As I mentioned earlier, Durant logged another double-double on the night. It’s just fun to watch this kid play. He manages to always have some sick blocks — in the Nicholls State game, he stuffed two — and the ridiculous wingspan makes my insides tingle. Kevin did turn the ball over a few times, including yet another gaffe on a crossover attempt. But I figure that when you’re automatically dropping 20 points, even on an off night, I’ll take a turnover or two in exchange.

Harrison Smith saw increased minutes but didn’t make much of an impact on the stat sheet, or my memories. Maybe I was distracted by the dancing cow behind me, or maybe I was snacking on those fine Erwin Center nachos. Either way, I can’t give any notes on the kid. But at least he played a lot more, even though I do kind of remember him being on the floor during most of the garbage minutes.

D.J. Augustin continues to be the little floor general, and was credited with eight assists on Tuesday. He still picks up more fouls than I’d like him to, but as with Durant’s occassional turnovers, I think it just comes with the package. I’m sure that the defensive-minded Barnes will work with D.J. on his foul problems during the season, so we may see improvement. But for now I’m quite happy with his court vision and his hidden scoring threat that we saw break out in New York City.

All told, it was a quality game that allowed us a chance to look at a few more players. And while Nicholls State’s decision to come to Austin was about as ill-conceived as Skittles electing to replace the red ones with strawberry pink ice cream flavor, we appreciate their willingness to walk into the inevitable mudholing.

We get another crappy team this coming Tuesday in Texas Southern. It’ll be your last chance to see the Horns at home until December 16th, so try to get out to the Drum and catch the action. In the meantime, I’ll try to get around to writing about the New York trip at some point this weekend.