The Longhorns open NCAA play in less than eight hours, but this pre-game look at opponent Austin Peay comes to you from a hotel room in a dot on the map known as Mount Pleasant, Texas. In an effort to spend as little time as possible in the God-forsaken state of Arkansas, we made base camp here on the friendly side of the border before our pre-dawn invasion.

The metaphors may seem a tad excessive for a simple trip to a basketball game, but from all reports I’ve received from other Longhorns in Little Rock, it may be more reality than a literary device. Arkansas fans are still fired up over Rick Barnes’ sarcastic remarks to a Statesman reporter earlier in the week, where he demanded Hog fans “be nice.”

Texas fans are well-aware of Barnes’ dry delivery, but the Razorback faithful are taking things incredibly seriously. Of course, there’s so much history to this rivalry that most of the Arkansas faithful are probably just using this story as an excuse to recreate the hostile environment their team faced playing NCAA games in Austin. Regardless, having a huge contingent of temporary Austin Peay fans could certainly make things difficult for the Longhorns. But as D.J. Augustin reminded the media yesterday, this Longhorn team is definitely road-tested.

A look at the Govs

Austin Peay is led by longtime coach and school athletic director Dave Loos, who has 377 career wins heading into today’s contest. Loos is a disciple of defense, and the Governors’ numbers speak to his style. Austin Peay averages nearly 17 forced turnovers per game, and their 14.2% steal rating from Ken Pomeroy is first in the nation.

Last season, the strong APSU defense meant that opponents would need to score at least 70 points to win. Only Eastern Kentucky was able to defeat the Governors with less points, knocking Peay out of the OVC finals by a 62-61 count. This season, the 70-point mark is not quite as magical for Loos’ team, as they’ve dropped games against Valpo, Akron, and Samford when giving up 61, 64, and 63 points respectively.

The 2006-07 team that won the regular-season OVC title eventually lost in the tournament championship, keeping the Govs out of the NCAAs for a fourth-straight season. But that roster had five juniors and nary a senior, meaning that the current APSU squad is incredibly experienced and hungry for more post-season success in their first crack at the NCAAs.

Texas matches up fairly well with the Govs thanks to their undersized roster. Tiny point guard Derek Wright epitomizes the lack of size, checking in at only 5-foot, 9-inches. Their tallest player who grabs significant minutes is 6’6″ Ernest Fields, as both 6’8″ players on the Governor roster are being redshirted this season. Seven-foot Lithuanian Tomas Janusauskas only averages three minutes per game and should not make a difference today.

The flip side of the tiny roster is a team that is incredibly solid from long range. Wright is particularly lethal from behind the arc, hitting 41% of his three-point attempts so far this season. Senior guard Todd Babington is a bit of a ‘tweener at 6’5″, as he is one of the team’s top long-range threats but is also one of the taller guys on the roster. While Texas will have to keep him from making an impact inside, they also can’t afford to let him hang around the perimeter unguarded.

The third and final true three-point shooter is Kyle Duncan, a junior who has taken about half as many long-range attempts as the other two gunners, but is even more efficient. Duncan is hitting nearly 57% of his three-pointers on the season, so the Longhorns will have to keep a very close eye on him.

While we mentioned the Governors’ penchant for swiping the ball from unsuspecting opponents, it should be noted that they turn the ball over nearly 13 times per game themselves. We attended the Belmont/Austin Peay game in December and the thing that stuck out most — beyond their unconscious long-range shooting — was their sloppiness with the basketball. They shot over 60% in the first half and built a huge lead that ballooned to as many as 19 points. But they nearly let Belmont stage a massive comeback with poorly-timed turnovers, including a handful by Duncan.

What to look for

1) Dominate the glass – APSU is going to hit threes today, but Texas needs to turn those misses into one-and-done possessions for the upset-minded Governors. Austin Peay is only being outrebounded by 2.4 boards per game, but Texas is bigger than most OVC teams and they will need to take advantage of their size inside today.

2) Mind the perimeter – Sure, we’ve already conceded that the Govs are going to get a fair share of points from behind the arc. But Texas can’t play head-in-the-sand defense against long-range gunners as they did versus Kansas last weekend. Austin Peay scores 31% of their points on threes, so Texas simply cannot afford to have another lax defensive performance.

3) Win the turnover battle – While the Longhorns don’t pressure on defense nearly as much as APSU, they are one of the best teams in the country when it comes to controlling the ball. Texas can likely count on a few buckets off of Governor miscues, so if they can limit the Austin Peay fast-break points they will severly hamper the chances of upset.