The young Texas Longhorns looked impressive in their first week of action, knocking off a pair of solid mid-major teams in Boston University and Rhode Island. The Longhorns proved versatile in their two wins, using stifling defense to knock off the Terriers, while the Rams forced them to win a high-scoring duel.

With action in the Legends Classic now moving to the championship rounds in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the opponents change from mid-majors to major conference foes. Texas landed the most-favorable draw, getting the chance to square off with rebuilding Oregon State in the semifinals.

The Beavers are led by fourth-year coach Craig Robinson, who immediately won favor in Corvallis by turning a 6-25 Oregon State team into 18-game winners in his first season on the job. Since then, the results have been less impressive. Robinson’s record in years two and three was just 25-38, and that came in a time period when the Pac-10 Conference was on a downslide.

This year, Oregon State has avoided any early-season stumbles, knocking off Hofstra and Cal-State Bakersfield along with D-II West Alabama. With the rest of their non-conference slate peppered with the likes of Chicago State and Towson, tonight’s game against the Longhorns is one of the few chances the Beavers have to prove that they’ve turned a corner with a win against quality competition.

By the numbers

With the Longhorns coming off a high-scoring win over Rhode Island, they will be very prepared for the up-tempo style of Oregon State. The Beavers have had at least 71 possessions in all three of their games so far, and their adjusted tempo of 71.2 possessions per 40 minutes against D-I opponents is one of the fastest in the nation. Texas has shown it is willing to get out and run, so we are likely in store for another fun, offensive showcase again tonight.

Defensively, the most glaring number for Oregon State is a 40% success rate for opponents behind the arc. This Texas team is full of long-range sharpshooters, so the Beavers will have to improve their perimeter defense. The Longhorns have connected on 42.6% of their threes so far, led by Julien Lewis (7-for-14) and J’Covan Brown (8-for-19). If either of those two are allowed free reign behind the arc, the Longhorns could win this one running away.

Another area of concern for the Oregon State defense is their propensity to send opponents to the line. Oregon State’s defensive free throw rate (measured as free throw attempts divided by field goal attempts) against D-I opponents is just a shade under 60%, putting the team among the worst 25 teams in the country in that category.

Texas made hay at the free throw line against Rhode Island, taking a whopping 44 attempts at the line. If Oregon State continues its trend of handing out free throws like candy, look for the Horns to once again manufacture a lot of points at the line tonight.

While the Beavers have sent opponents to the stripe quite often, they have at least evened things out by taking a bunch of free throws of their own. Their own free-throw rate is an incredible 74.5%, which was ninth-best in D-I hoops heading into today’s games. With that kind of aggressive play from the Oregon State offense, there is a strong possibility of interior foul trouble for Texas, which is cause for concern with such a thin frontcourt.

Meet the Beavers

The leading scorer for Oregon State is 6’4″ junior guard Jared Cunningham. Known best for his authoritative putback dunk against Arizona last season, he has exploded out of the gate this year with a flurry of points. On Wednesday night, he dropped 35 on Hofstra and is averaging more than 22 per game so far.

Joining Cunningham in the backcourt is tiny sophomore Ahmad Starks, who is averaging 10 points per game. At just 5’9″, the speedy Chicago product easily weaves through traffic with the ball and showed some skill from behind the arc in last year’s Pac-10 tournament. That long-range success hasn’t carried over into this season, though, as Starks is just 3-for-13 on his three-point attempts so far.

Forward Devon Collier will be playing in front of family and friends tonight, as the Izod Center is just a short ride from his hometown of the Bronx. In the offseason, he tried out for the Puerto Rican national team, and the experience against top-flight talent appears to have paid off. After averaging just seven points per game last season, the 6’8″ sophomore has averaged 15.7 so far this year.

Junior Joe Burton is a great passing forward, and his great court vision actually has him leading the team in assists. Listed at 6’7″, 280 pounds, Burton is a load to handle on defense, and that extra attention has allowed him to dish out 21 assists in three games to go with his 35 points. The Longhorns will have to make sure they keep an eye on the cutters when Burton has the ball in his hands, or they will likely give up a few easy buckets.

In the middle, Australian center Angus Brandt rounds out the starting five for Coach Robinson. Like Collier, Brandt added some international experience this summer, representing his country in the World University Games in China. His minutes have been limited so far this season thanks to foul trouble, but Brandt is still providing eight points and nearly three rebounds per game while averaging just 16 minutes.

With Brandt spending more time on the bench, redshirt freshman Eric Moreland has had to pick up the slack. A native of Missouri City, Texas, Moreland is tied for the team lead in rebounds despite not earning a single start. In addition to his skills on the glass, the big man is also known for stout defense, and he’s chipped in two blocks and three steals so far this year.

Along with Moreland, the Beavers are getting quality bench minutes from sophomore guard Roberto Nelson. Although he has just 15 points through the first three games, he showed flashes of his scoring prowess down the stretch last season. While playing a full 40 minutes against Arizona State last season, Nelson dropped 34 points on the Sun Devils, and he logged another 12 off the bench against Stanford in late February.

Senior forward Kevin McShane is the final player in Oregon State’s core rotation, a position he earned after three years as a walk-on. Now a scholarship player, McShane has played nearly 15 minutes per game this season and is currently the team’s third-best rebounder.

In addition to the eight-man rotation, Coach Robinson has also used Challe Barton and Rhys Murphy for short stints. The pair average a combined 18 minutes and eight points per game off the bench. Barton, a 6’3″ freshman guard from Sweden, has appeared in all three games. Murphy — a 6’7″ slasher with a solid three-point shot — did not play in the team’s most recent game against Hofstra.

Keys to the game

1) Control the defensive glass – The Longhorns are currently one of the worst teams in the country when it comes to limiting offensive rebounds. Texas reclaims just 41.9% of their opponents misses, which leads to far too many extended possessions on defense. Fortunately, the Beavers haven’t had much success with their own offensive boards so far, grabbing less than 30% of their own misses. This might be the perfect recipe for Texas to get some confidence on the glass.

2) Hang on to the ball – Texas has done a great job controlling the ball in its first two games, turning it over on just 14% of their possessions. Oregon State likes to push the tempo, and it typically leads to miscues from their opponents. So far, the Beaver defense is ranked 33rd in turnover percentage, forcing their two D-I opponents into mistakes on 27.9% of their possessions. The young Longhorns cannot afford to get sloppy against a team that will capitalize.

3) Knock down the threes – Oregon State’s defense has had issues guarding the perimeter, while the Longhorns have been strong from long range so far. Texas should get its share of quality looks from outside, so Brown, Lewis, and the rest of the Longhorns need to take advantage of that weakness and knock down the triples.

A final note

Texas will be playing in the second game of a doubleheader tonight, so a start right at 8 P.M. Central is unlikely. Texas and Oregon State will tip off 25 minutes after the conclusion of the Vanderbilt/NC State game, so give some extra time at the end of those DVR recordings.

Of course, only those with the Longhorn Network can record tonight’s game on their DVRs. For many fans in Austin and other parts of Texas, that means Craig Way and the internet are their only options for keeping up with the Horns tonight. Fans can watch online at ESPN3.com, and can also follow our live updates from the Izod Center via Twitter @LonghornRdTrip.