This morning the Longhorns kick off three days of high-caliber basketball on the island of Maui, taking on St. Jospeh’s in an opening-round clash. The weekend here has been much more packed with activities than anticipated, and the 10 A.M. tip time here on Hawaii’s second-largest island has created a bit of a time crunch. So, today’s game preview won’t be quite as in-depth as usual, but we’ll cover the necessities. Call it a game preview, Maui style.

About the Hawks

This isn’t the St. Joseph’s of 2004, which finished the regular season with only a single loss and fell just one win short of the Final Four. But the Hawks are still a dangerous team, led by their indomitable big man Ahmad Nivins. The senior forward was all-conference last year in the Atlantic-10+4, playing over 30 minutes a game for Coach Phil Martelli while averaging 14.4 points and 5.8 boards. In the first two games for St. Joe’s this year, Nivins is averaging a double-double, with 21 points and 12.5 rebounds per game.

Nivins will be relied on to help steady a team which lost its two leading scorers in forwards Pat Calathes and Rob Ferguson. But the Hawks also have a senior leader in the backcourt, point guard Tasheed Carr. The upperclassman is in only his second season with the team after transferring from Iowa State, but is the only player besides Nivins who averaged more than 30 minutes a game in 2007-08.

The biggest question for St. Joseph’s is which other big man will step up today. Nivins is without a doubt an incredible force down low, but the Longhorns are deeper in the frontcourt than they have been in years. If Texas sells out to defend Nivins, the other Hawks will have to provide enough offense to force the Longhorns to reconsider their gameplan. That means a lot of pressure falls on the shoulders of sophomore forward Idris Hilliard, a 6’7″ kid from New Jersey who has seen his playing time jump from just six minutes a game last year to almost 34 in the first two games this season.

Garrett Williamson is a guard off of Martelli’s bench that could create some match-up problems for Texas thanks to his height. The junior guard is listed at 6’5″, and the Longhorn backcourt has shown weakness against taller guards and wings in the past. Although significantly shorter than Williamson and Carr, Justin Mason will be asked to step up on the defensive end today. Varez Ward may also see an increase in minutes thanks to his lockdown D, provided his sprained ankle is completely healed.

There’s also a slight Texas connection on the bench for the Hawks today, as little-used Nigerian center Temi Adebayo played at Montrose Christian last year, the same school that produced phenom Kevin Durant.

For the Longhorns

So far this season, the big story for Texas has been their defense. Against Tulane, the Longhorns showed full-court pressure, guarded the Green Wave well past the perimeter, and constantly put hands in the passing lanes. Texas has forced 44 turnovers in their first two ballgames, stifling the opposing offenses before they can get started. But even when Stetson and Tulane managed to work the ball around, the Longhorns’ strong D has resulted in tough looks. Through two games, Texas opponents are shooting a paltry 28.7% from the field.

The problem spots so far for the Longhorns are turnovers and free throw shooting. Although Texas has forced a ton of miscues by their opponents, sloppy ball handling has given fans cause for concern. The Longhorns have coughed it up 34 times in their first two games against decidedly over-matched opponents, a number that will certainly never fly against top-level competition.

From the free throw line, Texas is shooting an abysmal 51% so far this season. The biggest criminals from the charity stripe have been Mason (3-of-7), Damion James (3-of-6), Clint Chapman (1-of-4), and Varez Ward (0-of-6). While there’s really no excuse for poor free throw shooting, at this point in the year we’re choosing to give Chapman and Ward a pass based on their youth. But James and Mason must be leaders for the team, and it’s tough to have confidence late in games if your go-to guys can’t knock down the freebies.

This is a game that Texas should win, but St. Joseph’s is definitely a team talented enough to spring the upset. Good teams are most often undermined by a sudden failure to execute the most basic fundamentals, so the Longhorns must control the ball and hit their free throws. Nivins will definitely score in today’s contest and likely wreak havoc on the glass, but if the Longhorns can do the simple things, they should advance to the winner’s bracket for a semifinal tomorrow.