After losing their first two games in the EA Sports Maui Invitational, the Texas Longhorns look for a little redemption in this morning’s seventh-place game against Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are down to only eight players, six of which are on scholarship, and have lost their first two games in Lahaina by a combined 73 points. If there’s any team in this field that the Longhorns can try to cure their ills against, this would be the one.

Keys to the game

1) Push the pace – The Bulldogs are coming off two up-tempo games against North Carolina and Marquette, in which they averaged 73 possessions per contest. Even with overtime needed for yesterday’s game against USC, the Longhorns played just 62 possessions. Add in the fact that the Bulldogs have used a core rotation of seven players for these two games, and there’s no question that fatigue could be a factor. If the Longhorns push the tempo and use the entire bench, they should be able to take advantage of that exhaustion as the game wears on.

2) Dominate the offensive glass – The Longhorns struggled to reclaim their missed shots in the last two games, and that resulted in tons of empty possessions. Texas managed to win just 28.2% of their offensive rebounding opportunities against an undersized Chaminade team, and only grabbed 20% of their chances against the formidable USC frontcourt. Mississippi State’s depleted roster has just three players at 6’7″ or taller — Roquez Johnson (No. 25), 6’7″; Wendell Lewis (No. 5), 6’9″; and Gavin Ware (No. 20), 6’9″. The Longhorns must take advantage of Mississippi State’s lack of frontcourt depth and reclaim missed shots to earn second-chance points.

3) Pester Thomas on the perimeter – Freshman guard Fred Thomas (No. 1) has not been shy about launching the long ball in Maui, taking 18 attempts in the team’s first two games. Although he struggled to a 1-for-10 mark against North Carolina on Monday, Thomas knocked down 50% of his looks yesterday against Marquette. The Longhorns need to stick with the freshman on the perimeter and make sure that his inevitable barrage of three-point attempts come with a hand in his face.