The Texas Longhorns are coming off of their most embarrassing performance of the season, a 78-63 defeat at Oklahoma that had Coach Rick Barnes so disgusted that he benched most of his starters for a majority of the first half. Unfortunately, the next game on the schedule for the reeling team is a trip to Lubbock, historically one of the toughest road environments in the conference for ranked squads. The Longhorns learned that first-hand last season, as their eight-game conference winning streak came to a crashing halt with an 83-80 loss at United Spirit Arena.

This year, Pat Knight’s Red Raiders were picked to finish 10th in the conference by the media, but showed grit and determination in their conference-opening loss to Baylor last Saturday. They have struggled for much of the year and don’t pose a huge threat on paper, but much of this Tech team is the same that pulled off last year’s upset. And considering that the Longhorns have shown a tendency to play to the level of their opponents this season, they cannot afford to let Tech keep it close.

The starting five

In the backcourt, John Roberson is making huge strides in his sophomore campaign. His 14.4 points per game are tied for team-best, while his great court vision has led to more than six assists per game. The young guard is lightning quick and can absolutely thread the needle with entry passes, so the Longhorns will have their hands full with him this afternoon.

Alan Voskuil was a thorn in the side of the Longhorns when they met here last March, leading the Red Raiders with 18 points, including a perfect 10-of-10 from the line. This season, he has picked up where he left off, knocking down 45% of his three-point attempts while averaging 14.4 points a game. One problem Tech often runs into is that the team will hit cold spells and look solely to Voskuil to hit a shot to break the skid. If he is missing his shots, the Longhorns can focus more on their post defense — an aspect the Horns have excelled at for most of the season.

In the post, D’Wayln Roberts has taken on a much larger role in his second season at Tech. Last year, he averaged just over 11 minutes a game off the bench, but has started all 16 contests this year. He’s one of the few rebounders on a team that is often getting demolished on the glass, so he will be called on to hold his ground against the Longhorns today.

Hailing from just outside Kansas City, Robert Lewandowski is making a huge impact as a freshman. He’s shown a knack for getting in excellent position for entry passes, and is great at scoring with his back to the basket down low. As a freshman, there isn’t a huge book on him yet, but one of the knocks on his play is a weakness on the glass. Lewandowski is the tallest significant player on a rather undersized Tech team, but he ranks only eighth on the squad in rebounds. As with Roberts, Lewandowski will have to step up against a Texas team that is solid on the glass. Otherwise, they will have far too many empty possessions to stay in the game.

Michael Prince earned his first start of the season against Baylor, and it was easy to see why. He’s a high-energy player who is excellent on the defensive end, and he can attack the rim off the dribble even though he’s a lanky forward. He did miss six games with a foot injury earlier this year, though, and Coach Knight thinks that Prince is still only at 80%. Texas is likely going to focus a ton of attention on Roberson and Voskuil today, so if Tech is hoping for an upset, Prince could well be the X-factor.

Off the bench

Mike Singletary and Nick Okorie are also likely candidates to earn that fifth starting slot, as the pair have combined for 14 starts on the year. Okorie is an amazing find for Tech, a JuCo All-American last season who is just as fast as Roberson. He knows how to get to the rim, can hit from outside, and is just as adept as Roberson at slipping passes past the defense and into the post.

Singletary was a starter for half of last season, and has been shuffled around the lineup this year. But he has made significant contributions this year, even when coming off the bench. He’s an undersized forward, but is leading the team in rebounds and is third in minutes despite only making four starts.

Esmir Rizvic is also back this month for his final semester of eligibility. After having his face shattered two years ago by the flailing elbows of Longar Longar, Rizvic applied for a medical hardship to earn another half-season of play. The NCAA showed its miniscule soft side and granted the request, allowing Rizvic to participate in conference play this year. He’s not going to see a ton of minutes at this point, as Coach Knight hopes to work him up to game shape. But on a team with a still-developing inside presence, the 7-foot Bosnian could provide some much-needed relief.

Keys to the game

On paper, this is a game that Texas should easily win. And despite the fact that the Longhorns have won 19 out of 22 against Tech in the Rick Barnes era, the fact remains that United Spirit Arena is a tough place to play. In all honesty, Texas just needs to execute the fundamentals to win this one, which means that today’s keys are incredibly simple.

Control the glass – Texas is a much better rebounding team than Tech, but also took 13 minutes against Oklahoma to secure their first offensive rebound. Their lack of offensive boards also led to a meltdown in the second half, so the Longhorns can’t afford to have a repeat performance against the Red Raiders.

Win the turnover battle – Tech is a very sloppy team with the ball and averages more than fifteen turnovers per game. Texas has had its own ball-control issues, but still has coughed it up less than twelve times per contest. The Longhorns can really squash any upset hopes by scoring points off of turnovers and not giving up any easy transition looks.