With conference play just days away, one might think that Texas could overlook UT-Arlington tonight and only win by, say…..20 points instead of thirty. But after last Thursday’s ugly win over Centenary, I have to think that Coach Barnes will have the team ready to completely mudhole the Mavericks.

UTA is having a rough season. Coming into the game with a 4-7 record, the Mavs were most recently beaten by the UT-Dallas Comets. Unfortunatly for UTA, the Comets are a Division III team.

The high point for the Mavs this season was taking TCU to double overtime before ultimately losing. I suppose you could make an argument for one of their four wins being the high point, but I think a 2OT loss to a real team is a little more prestigious than wins over UT-Pan American and Texas-Tyler…..which, coincidentally, I just learned is a college.

UT-Arlington plays with a pretty deep bench, allowing only one player to average over thirty minutes a game. That one man is junior guard Rodrick Epps, who averages nine points and four assists per game.

Their team appears to be pretty small, the second-straight opponent that Texas has faced with a….height deficiency. Once again, we can look for the Horns to dominate on the boards and convert that into a ton of second-chance points.

Hopefully we can build an early lead in this cupcake game and get our reserves the late, uninterrpted playing time we weren’t able to give them in the Centenary match-up. In short, look for Ian Mooney to play about 35 minutes in this one and score seventeen points. Or maybe just five minutes and one point.

Get out to the Erwin Center tonight if you’ve got a chance. There will be a ton of seats available, and if last week was any indication, saying the game is on FSN doesn’t actually guarantee you can see it Austin. See y’all at the drum.