For the third time in six weeks, the Texas Longhorns and Baylor Bears are going to tangle on the hardwood. The first contest resulted in a narrow five-point victory for the Horns in Austin, while the final minute of the game in Waco turned into a nailbiter with Texas finishing on top by a point. This time, the two teams play on a neutral court in the Big 12 Tournament in Oklahoma City.

Baylor advanced to the tournament quarterfinals by absolutely dismantling the 6-seed Missouri Tigers, 97-83. But while the green-and-gold faithful were certainly pleased with the school’s first tourney win since 2001, perhaps the biggest Bear fan on Thursday night was Connor Atchley.

Over the last four games, Atchley has hit something of a slump. He seems to have lost the confidence he was building late in the season, losing position on rebounds and disappearing from the offensive mix. But in his two games against Baylor this season, he was the most important Longhorn on the floor. In the previous two match-ups, C.Atch had a combined 24 points, fourteen rebounds, and three blocks. If there’s anything that’s going to get his confidence back for a great March run, it’s another shot at the Bears.

It’s certainly tough to beat the same team three times in one season, particularly one that has played you tough in the first two battles. Tonight is a scary proposition, as Texas comes into this contest with nothing but pride on the line. The Horns are already assured an NCAA berth based on their resumé, and seem to have played themselves well beyond the dreaded 7-to-10 seed range. At this point, the Big 12 Tournament is nothing but an opportunity to get a pretty trophy. Granted, if Texas is to win another game over A&M, the argument could be made that they deserve to slide up the S-curve — but is that even worth it with the short bench at Rick Barnes’ disposal?

If you can’t remember what to look for in the Baylor Bears, you’ve got both of my earlier game previews to provide greater detail on the opponents. In the first game, Texas played a Baylor team at full strength, while the second time around, superstar Aaron Bruce rested a bum ankle on the bench.

As always, Kevin Rogers is a threat against a less-talented Texas frontcourt. But he’s also very foul prone, which serves well to negate that threat. In both of the first two games, he finished with four personals. The rest of the Baylor frontcourt plays well below their potential, leaving Texas most concerned with the perimeter game of the Bears.

Bruce is obviously a tough defensive assignment. In the first game, Baylor constantly ran screens along the baseline to free up their Aussie star for open three-point looks. We’re sure to see a ton of the same tonight, although Texas cannot afford to only focus on Bruce. Austin-product Curtis Jerrells can knock down the three, as can Henry Dugat and young Tweety Carter. It seems that Texas has taken some steps forward in their perimeter defense since the early February disasters, but tonight will certainly let us know exactly how far they have progressed.

Horn fans should also keep an eye on the production from Damion James and Matt Hill. Late in the season, James has really blossomed into the offensive threat we were all looking for, and his increased output will be necessary for a deep March run. Having all five starters as viable scoring options makes the Longhorns a very tough team to game-plan for, particularly with the short turnarounds between tournament games.

Meanwhile, Hill is coming back from a stress fracture that sidelined him for a month and a half, including both of the earlier games with Baylor. With Texas essentially running a six-man rotation during the homestretch of the season, it will be extremely helpful for Matt to provide some much-needed bench relief in the frontcourt. I don’t think that Dexter Pittman will fare well against Baylor’s up-tempo attack tonight, so that leaves only Atchley and Hill to rotate in for Barnes down low.

As I mentioned earlier, a win today is not that important for Texas. The 2003 Final Four team lost their first Big 12 tournament game and then went on to win four straight games in the Big Dance. I would not be disappointed to see Craig Winder out there eating up minutes for Coach Barnes while he rests the overworked backcourt of D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrams. If that results in a loss, so be it. I’d rather our team be on a full tank of gas next Thursday or Friday. And besides, who honestly wants to spend a whole weekend in Oklahoma?