When Texas and Colorado played just three weeks ago in Boulder, Dexter Pittman was a non-factor. The big man played awful defense in the post, and as a result Coach Rick Barnes let him sit on the bench for most of the game. Pittman saw the floor for just 12 minutes in the Coors Event Center, and dropped in only four points.

Fast-forward to yesterday, and it’s a different story. Dex was absolutely unstoppable, and the Buffaloes looked completely lost when it came to defending the big man. Pittman threw down a multitude of rim-rocking dunks en route to a 26-point performance, and even added a pair of assists when Colorado tried to double down on him in the blocks.

Defensively, the Longhorns also made huge strides from their initial meeting with the Buffaloes, relying mostly on a zone look in this contest. Texas cut their fouls from 24 in the February 14th game to just 14 in yesterday’s win, which in turn resulted in 10 less free throw attempts for Colorado. It’s a good thing, too — the Buffs were nearly perfect from the line in this game, missing just one of their 19 attempts.

Without the bevy of free throw attempts to buoy his scoring, super soph Cory Higgins had only five points for Colorado after dropping 34 in the first game between these two teams. In the previous match-up, Higgins had nine from the charity stripe, while he only had four attempts from the line in this one.

The only troubling aspect for Texas in this one was the backcourt play. While they did a great job working the ball inside, where Texas enjoyed a 38-20 scoring advantage, the guards seemed just a bit… off. Dogus Balbay reverted to his early-season play at random points, playing a bit out of control and trying to force the issue. His bi-polar ballhandling only resulted in one turnover, but there were a handful of close calls. The most redemptive part of Balbay’s game was a pair of clutch defensive rebounds, something the Longhorns needed in their zone set.

In addition, Justin Mason and A.J. Abrams sometimes played a bit too actively on the defensive end, resulting in five fouls for the pair. But even in those instances where they overplayed passing lanes, the highly effective team defense of Texas was able to communicate, recover, and reset. Although it was just a game against the league’s worst team, it is a very reassuring sign to only have these minor things as issues we can nitpick.

On the injury front, Texas came out of this one in fairly good shape. Both Pittman and Gary Johnson had some ankle issues during the game, but both continued to play and were effective. Johnson’s injury was the most concerning, as he missed action in three straight games near the end of the year. But since the small forward was back on the court just minutes later, it seems that he will still be able to play a key role as the tournament continues.

The win advances the Longhorns to the quarterfinal round, where they will have a re-match with Kansas State. The Wildcats previously defeated Texas in an overtime contest at the Erwin Center on January 31st.