After an easy dispatching of the 15th-seeded Austin Peay Governors in Friday’s first round, the Texas Longhorns advanced to today’s second-round match-up with the Miami Hurricanes. A trip to Houston and the Sweet 16 awaits the winner, which for the Longhorns would be only a couple of hours down Highway 290 from their Austin campus.

Last year’s Longhorn team was absolutely crushed in the second round, falling prey to the high pressure of Tim Floyd’s USC defense. The Longhorns trailed by double-digits most of the game and made only a weak comeback attempt in the second half. But this year’s Texas team remembers that flame-out all too well, and their goals are much bigger. First, though, the young Horns will have to top the Hurricanes, a team led by one-time Texas assistant Frank Haith.

Observers might notice that the two teams seem similar at times, and that is to be expected when both coaches spent so many years working together. But the differences are still noticeable. The Hurricanes have more of a post presence than Texas, while the Longhorns have more talented athletes to run the probe-and-react style that Barnes favors. Miami runs nine deep on the bench, but Texas only goes that far down the pine as a last resort.

By the numbers

According to Ken Pomeroy, the Hurricanes are in the top-third of the country in both offensive and defensive efficiency. On Friday, the Hurricanes’ defense certainly frustrated the St. Mary’s Gaels, who seemed resigned to only penetrating the perimeter by a few feet before kicking it out for threes.

The big men for the Hurricanes are particularly tough on the defensive end, locking down the paint with ease. Their 2-point field goal defense is 25th in the nation according to Pomeroy’s metrics, and a cursory glance at the Miami post players can tell you why. Anthony King and Dwayne Collins are imposing defenders at 6’9″ and 6’8″, but the two bigs can also clean the glass. The return of fifth-year senior King is a huge reason why the Hurricanes are enjoying the NCAA tournament despite the media’s prediction of a dead-last finish in the ACC.

Miami doesn’t run a particularly up-tempo game, just barely checking in the top-third of pace according to Pomeroy. But if Haith wants to try to exploit his advantage of a deeper bench, he may elect to have the ‘Canes try to outrun the Horns. Texas has certainly shown it can play this style, as the convincing win over Tennessee will attest. And when you recall that most of the Texas starters earned significant amounts of rest in the blowout win on Friday, the Longhorns should be able to hang with an up-tempo attack.

A look at the starters

The star for Miami is little guard Jack McClinton, who took over the second half of Friday’s game and willed the Hurricanes to victory. McClinton led the team in scoring all season, averaging 17.7 points per game coming into the tournament. He can score from just about anywhere on the court, but is particularly deadly from three-point range.

Despite his scoring threat, at times it seemed like he was a little out of control on Friday morning. It’s hard to argue with a 38-point performance that leads to a tournament win, but it seems that McClinton could shoot his team in the foot at times by taking ill-advised shots and forcing things. Thanks to his small size, he shouldn’t be too much of a match-up problem for the short Texas backcourt, and I’d look for Justin Mason to draw the assignment. Hopefully the Big 12 All-Defensive Team representative can shut down the explosive McClinton.

The other guard earning the start for Miami is Lance Hurdle, another small guy who is a definite scoring threat. While he only averages about eight points per game, he really turned it on during ACC play. Hurdle reached double-digits in scoring eight times in conference play, including a 20-point game against North Carolina. While Texas will certainly have its hands full with McClinton, if Hurdle has another breakout game this afternoon, the ‘Canes have a strong chance at the upset.

James Dews is a third guard for the Hurricanes, playing the position that Mason occupies for the Horns. Dews is taller than the two true guards and grabs a few more boards, just like Mason. He’s a 37% shooter from behind-the-arc, and his 10-plus points per game is second on the team. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Haith shy away from his typical three-guard look in this one, hoping to exploit the advantage that Miami has inside. But if he sticks to the game plan, the McClinton/Hurdle/Dews troika should match up nicely with the A.J. Abrams/D.J. Augustin/Mason combo for Texas. May the best backcourt win.

As mentioned earlier, Collins and King make a huge difference in the post defense for Miami. But on Friday, the pair missed a lot of point-blank looks, so hopefully their offensive futility will carry over to this afternoon’s games. Collins also demonstrated an awful shot from the charity stripe, making him one of the few Hurricanes who aren’t automatic at the line. If the Longhorns are going to pick up fouls down low, he is the man to send to the stripe.

Off the bench

Wing Brian Asbury started a ton of games at the beginning of the year, but is now relegated to a sixth-man role for Coach Haith. But despite that reduced role, Asbury is still a key player. He averages nine points per game and is a quality rebounder, grabbing nearly five boards in less than 30 minutes per contest. If Haith does go to that big lineup I mentioned earlier, sticking Asbury in with Collins and King could give them the edge or force Rick Barnes to play Alexis Wangmene or Dexter Pittman more than he had planned.

Down low, Jimmy Graham is a high-energy guy who sent one block on Friday into another county. While he doesn’t play a ton of minutes, he’s a good rebounder and scores a few points per game. He’s one of many guys for Coach Haith that gives the Hurricanes depth in the post that Texas likely can’t match.

Reserve guard Eddie Rios is also high-energy, but it seems to hurt his game. On Friday he was all over the place with ugly passes, uglier shots, and just all-around reckless play. St. Mary’s took advantage when he was on the court, and Texas will need to do the same this afternoon when Rios is giving the starters a blow.

Raymond Hicks is the other active Hurricane who is getting significant minutes, and he’s yet another forward that could create match-up problems for Texas. He’s a solid rebounder and will score occasionally in the paint, so the Longhorns can’t afford to give up the piles of offensive rebounds that they conceded to Oklahoma State and Oklahoma in last week’s conference tournament.

The big picture

While Miami is a much bigger team than Texas, the Longhorns are a more talented, more athletic club. They will be forced to crash the glass today in an effort to limit the Hurricanes in the second-chance battle. If the Texas defense is playing a good game and also preventing the Hurricanes from extending their possessions with offensive boards, the chances for upset are slim. But if Miami is picking up trash baskets off of misses, they will hang around and could be in a position to win late in the game.

One weakness of the Hurricanes is poor ball control, and while the Longhorns are not a high-pressure team, they could earn some free points off of turnovers. Their solid defensive play over the last two months will be needed this afternoon, as sound fundamentals will easily lead to a few Hurricane hiccups here and there.

All told, this game is certainly a trap, but one that the Longhorns should win on paper. If Texas can shut down McClinton, the Miami offense will struggle. But as the road win against Kansas State showed, the Longhorns can also allow one player to go off while completely shutting down the rest of the team. I wouldn’t recommend that approach this afternoon, but it’s a reassuring fact to remember if McClinton starts racking up the points early.

We’ll be driving back to Austin immediately following today’s two games in Little Rock, so any post-game will be on hold until tomorrow morning or afternoon. In the meantime, enjoy the eight games on tap today.