TV: ABC, 2:30 PM Central This update comes from a very dry tent outside a very wet Frank Erwin Center, where the hardiest of O-Zoners are counting down the minutes to tipoff. Pre-game campouts are a great tradition at UT, and although they are not to the degree and scale of Duke’s Kasoisuoaiuofiueskyville, they are hopefully a step towards a more dedicated student fanbase. Or we could just continue to not fill our arena when we have one of the best players in the country. I could see how that’s more appealing……when compared to a screwdriver to the testicles. Oklahoma comes to town in about thirteen hours, and they’ll be playing without their favorite elbow assassin, Longar Longar. Sans Longar — whose middle name is unfortunately not Shortar — the Sooners will be effectively losing four inches of height on the floor. In addition to being a lanky freak-of-nature, Longar is also one of the nation’s best offensive rebounders. His two-game suspension will hopefully allow the Horns to force OU into more one-and-done situations in their half-court set. After having already lost freshman Keith Clark to injury at the end of December, Longar’s absence will leave Jeff Capel’s Sooners with a shortened bench. After coming off the pine for much of the season, senior forward Nate Carter will likely see his minutes increase. Oklahoma already starts three guards, and I can’t see Capel going to the four-guard look that Villanova toyed with last year when facing their own injury problems. Sophomore Taylor Griffin may be the toughest assignment inside for Texas. While he only averages seven points a game, he is statistically one of the best defensive rebounders around. He snatches nearly one out of every four defensive rebound opportunities, which could present a problem if Texas is taking quick shots from outside that aren’t falling. Senior guard Michael Neal has not been having a good season so far, but if the past is any indication, the Longhorns need to be wary of his three-point stroke. He’s only hitting at a 22.4% clip this year, but was knocking down threes over 44% of the time last season. Joining Neal in the backcourt is freshman standout Tony Crocker. The first-year star dropped fifteen points on a tough Alabama squad in a road loss earlier this month and is taking about a quarter of his team’s shots when he’s on the court. On a Sooner team that spreads the ball out pretty well, that is actually the highest rate on the squad. If Oklahoma is going to pull off an upset without their big man, they may need a big game from this diaper dandy. For Texas, this game should likely be an easy win. The Sooners are no longer the Big 12 powerhouse of past years, although it will not take Capel long to rebuild the program to that point. That being said, there are still a few stats that fans can keep an eye on. Oklahoma typically goes to the line less than their opponents while committing less fouls. This means that they are very prone to picking up their fouls while the opponents are shooting. As a result, Texas should look to attack the basket, especially without Longar’s flailing elbows in the lane. The Sooners also have one of the lowest adjusted tempos in the country, while the Longhorns generally have a very high number of possessions per ballgame. Oklahoma has a top-five defense rated by efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions), while Texas has the sixth-most efficient offense in the country. Will the Sooners be able to grind the pace down and play their style of basketball, or will Texas force transition and run the score into the 80’s and above? Of course, one thing we can always count on is a solid game from Kevin Durant. Through the first two conference games, KD is averaging 35.5 points and 14.5 rebounds. While he certainly can’t keep up that insane pace for all sixteen games, he should still see some pretty hefty numbers in this contest. I’m confident in predicting a fifth-straight double-double for the kid. Texas Box Office announced that there were 1,600 tickets available as of 9:30 AM on Friday. Any student seats not used in the mezzanine will also go on sale at tipoff. So, if you’re in the Austin area and don’t have plans yet, give TBO a call and grab a pair upstairs. Otherwise, tune in to ABC at 2:30 central for all the action. |