Nothing makes a 22-hour drive home better than a demoralizing loss. With nothing but the endless road in front of you, there’s ample time to revisit every moment and autopsy the cadaver of the game until it’s nearly unrecognizable. Of course, that’s even more fun if you add a fast-moving winter storm into the mix.

After watching the Oakland/Oregon game that followed the Texas loss, we took an LRT traveler back into north-central Indiana to be with his family for the holidays. We rolled in around 3 A.M. and decided to check the weather before we pressed on. Unfortunately, we discovered that if we stuck to the current route, a snowstorm would be hitting Chicago at the same time we would be arriving. The decision was made to double back to I-69 and sprint south to Indianapolis in an attempt to skirt the front. We failed. Miserably.

Rain and 40-MPH wind gusts buffeted us from one lane to the other, and driving was reduced to a crawl. And when we finally made a 6 A.M. stop at a gas station for refueling, stretching, and scouting the hotel options ahead of us, the storm really made its move. In only an hour, the temperature dropped more than 10 degrees, snow blew in, and everything began to ice over. For two guys from Texas who hadn’t slept in about 21 hours, that seemed like reason enough to pack it in for a little bit of rest.

So, after six hours of much-needed sleep in Indianapolis, we’re going to try this thing again. It’s still windy and snowing, but at least now we won’t pass out behind the wheel. And when we get back to Austin, we’ll try to take one more look at this loss and put the thing to bed.

Everybody enjoy the holidays, and be safe out there.

Update (8:31 P.M. CDT): After a five-hour shift behind the wheel, it’s my turn to grab some sleep. We’re now in southeastern Missouri, with only 742 miles between us and Austin. In the meantime, here are a few thoughts on last night’s game…

1) This one underscored Augustin’s importance. With him out of the game late in the first half, Michigan State went on their big run as the Texas offense ground to a halt. Players dribbled around the perimeter for 25-30 seconds before jacking up poor shots.

2) Credit goes to the Spartans for some great defensive work, as they constantly collapsed into double teams against penetration. Augustin stuggled against it in the first half, and the other guards were completely unable to overcome it.

3) Where was the bench? I don’t recall them making any impact beyond J.D. Lewis hitting a three and Alexis Wangmene forcing a turnover. Yes, the bench is thin, but they will have to produce more than that the rest of the year.

4) The stats they showed in the arena had Texas with a ridiculously low number of assists. This is partially a result of scoring a lot from the line, but it is also a sign of how often the Horns were trying to create for themselves off the drribble, which was not a good idea against the MSU scheme.

5) It’s tough to beat a team who shoots 50%, but Texas didn’t do itself any favors in giving up so many easy buckets in this one. I’ll refrain from more comments on the defense until I get home and watch the tape, but it was certainly frustating.

All told, this is nothing more than a loss. I’m sure some fans are over-reacting after it, but some perspective should be maintained. It’s a tough pill to swallow because these were two great, evenly-matched teams who could beat each other on any given day. But Rick Barnes still has a great squad this season that will win a ton of games, and the sky is certainly not falling.

I’ll have a more in-depth look at the game sometime on Monday after we make it back to Austin.