Although Texas defeated Texas State to move to 10-0 on Saturday night, Rick Barnes was anything but pleased. He put the team through a two-and-a-half hour film session the next day where every mistake was exposed, analyzed, and scrutinized by the coach. He was particularly disgusted with a defense that over-pursued and bit on too many ball fakes. Barnes certainly hopes that the session pays immediate dividends, as the sharpshooting Oral Roberts Golden Eagles arrive in Austin this evening.

This game is a perfect convergence of factors that could lead to an upset. Texas is playing on only two days rest, and the game against the Bobcats was a ridiculously up-tempo track meet. Oral Roberts, on the other hand, hasn’t played a game since December 8th. Texas certainly has problems with depth, and that could be a factor against a well-rested Golden Eagle team.

In addition, the inexplicable tip time of 5:30 P.M. means that John Q. Public will find it hard to make it to the game before it starts, and may even blow it off for the comfort of their couch. Meanwhile, many students have already gone home for the holidays, meaning that the Frank Erwin Center could be more of a morgue than an arena. If you think back to some of the team’s flattest games over the last few years, they often were accompanied by mediocre or quiet crowds.

Most importantly, Oral Roberts is a quality basketball team with experienced leadership. They have won their conference’s last two tournaments and won the regular season crown in each of the last three seasons. Last November, the Golden Eagles not only knocked off Kansas, but they did it in Allen Fieldhouse. While they’ve lost two starters from last season, their current roster has seven upperclassmen who play more than 20 minutes per game.

If Texas isn’t careful, tonight could get incredibly dicey. The combination of fatigue, an empty arena, and an experienced mid-major opponent could spell disaster.

By the numbers

Oral Roberts runs at a pace that is slightly below average, checking in with 64.5 possessions per game. That is a far cry from the 80+ that Texas State was averaging prior to Saturday night’s contest, which should help a tired Texas team. The Golden Eagles are also roughly middle-of-the-pack in both offensive and defensive efficiency, with no numbers that jump off of the page.

The starting five

Senior Moses Ehambe has started all nine games for Scott Sutton. Ehambe is a great outside shooter, hitting 46% of his threes so far this year. At 6’6″, he has quite a bit of height over the Texas guards and could knock down quite a few treys right in front of them. He has only been to the line ten times this year, so it’s safe to assume this guy won’t be attacking the rim. Texas needs to lock down on him around the perimeter, or it could be a long night.

Shawn King is another senior who has started all nine contests this year, averaging 10.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game so far. He is a blocking machine, stuffing 20 in the first eight games. It will be interesting to see how D.J. Augustin’s game is affected when he tries to drive the lane with this guy waiting down low. Connor Atchley will also be tested by the 6’10” center from St. Vincent.

Yemi Ogunoye starts at forward, and is known as a fantastic on-the-ball defender. While one might expect him to match up with Damion James based simply on size, against North Dakota State he was tasked with shutting down the league’s leading scorer, a 5’11” guard. Ogunoye could very well be matched up with D.J. Augustin if Sutton decides to employ this mismatch technique again, but no matter who he is sticking, one Longhorn will have a tough night.

Robert Jarvis is the team’s leading scorer and another threat from downtown. While he isn’t quite as good as Ehambe so far this season, he is sinking 44.3% of his three-point attempts. Texas had difficulty last year defending the three ball and occasionally has struggled with it this season as well. Oral Roberts will likely look to exploit this in their upset bid.

The second starting guard for Scott Sutton is Adam Liberty, but he is not much of a scoring threat. When Liberty does score, though, it is usually from long range or the line. He’s made more free throws (29) than field goals (22), and is shooting less than five percentage points lower from behind the arc than inside it. At 6’2″, he is a good match-up for Texas’ quick, undersized guards, but the Horns need to make sure they keep him off the charity stripe.

What to look for

The high-flying transition game of Texas might be stuck in second gear tonight, as most of the starters will have very tired legs. This comes at an unfortunate time, considering this Oral Roberts team has a problem controlling the ball. Despite a winning 6-3 record, the Golden Eagles have only forced three more turnovers than they’ve given up. If the Longhorns can overcome the fatigue and win the transition battle, the chances for upset are significantly diminished.

With the tempo being much more normal in this game, fans can also look for more minutes out of Dexter Pittman. He doesn’t fit well into the flow of a transition game, but the half-court sets we should see tonight offer him a great opportunity to work on posting up. Also keep your eyes on freshman Clint Chapman in this one. He played hard on Saturday, but his effort was overshadowed by a handful of stupid fouls. It will be interesting to see if he can make a difference tonight without sending the Golden Eagles to the line.

It’s been mentioned multiple times in this preview, but the Horns must stop the three. They also need to improve their entire defensive showing after such a tough night against Texas State. If the Longhorn defense from the UCLA or Tennessee games shows up tonight, it’s going to be a bloodbath. If not, the Golden Eagles could be in it until the end.