Texas prepares to take on Iowa State

The Iowa State Cyclones were able to do something that no other Big 12 team has done in ten games this season — hold Kevin Durant to less than 26 points. Unfortunately, they didn’t account for the other freshman phenom on the Longhorns. D.J. Augustin stepped up to the plate and delivered, dropping a career-high 31 points and six assists in a 77-68 Longhorn victory.

Texas (17-7 overall, 7-3 Big 12) jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. The Longhorns found themselves up by a 21-5 count before the second media timeout, and stretched the lead out to 21 before halftime. They did it with defensive pressure that had been severely lacking in recent games.

For much of the first half, Texas showed a man defense that oftentimes extended out well past the three point line. The added pressure caused a ton of turnovers and prevented Iowa State (11-12, 3-7) from ever establishing any sort of offensive rhythm. The Cyclones shot only 36 percent in the first half and coughed up the ball thirteen times.

With a comfy 20-point cushion, Texas came out with a lot less intensity in the second frame. The defense sagged considerably, while Iowa State slowly chipped away at the lead. Meanwhile, the Cyclones were turning up their own defensive game, denying entry passes to Durant and meeting him with double and triple-teams when he did happen to get his hands on it. With just over six minutes left, the lead had been trimmed to eight.

The Longhorns regrouped and held off the late charge, counting on a series of three-pointers and some dazzling plays from KD to defend their home court. The Cyclones were able to get within seven points in the final 90 seconds, but Durant blocked a layup attempt and effectively sealed the game.

The double- and triple-teams that ISU showed really opened the game for our guard play. Unfortunately, that is both a blessing and a curse with our backcourt. Augustin understands how to get to the rack, finish layups, and oftentimes draw the foul. He was a perfect 10-for-10 on the day, and added a few of his trademark reverse layups.

A.J. Abrams, however, continues to pull up short and launch floaters that end up nowhere close to the rim. He’s a great free-throw shooter, and would really help out the team if he’d get to the line. But for some reason, he has it encoded into his DNA to loft floaters over guys 16 inches taller than him and hope they go in. To give Abrams a little bit of credit, he did log a career high with six rebounds. But when put next to his 1-for-10 shooting night — 0-for-6 on two-point attempts — it quickly pales.

Damion James had an outstanding day on the offensive end, and his game is really coming around. He’s no longer afraid to pop those 15-foot jumpers, and he really showcased that range today. He looks a lot more comfortable taking those shots than the little jumpers in the lane that he’d been missing for most of the year. It seems that for James, he needs to either dunk it or take midrange shots. Fortunately, he seems to be aware of it as well. James finished with ten points and five rebounds, although he found himself in a bit of foul trouble in the second half. If he can just limit those fouls on the defensive end, he’ll be able to give us even more minutes.

Coach Barnes backed up his pre-game comments about increasing playing time for Dexter Pittman, giving the big man nine minutes in the ballgame. Dexter came in for shorter spurts in this game, but was able to come in more times. He didn’t really make much of a difference on either end, so it does raise the question of whether or not the short spurts make it tough for him to get into the flow of the game. I’ll be interested to see how Pittman plays into the OSU game on Monday night, as he was not a real part of the gameplan when we played them in the triple-overtime thriller last month.

J.D. Lewis missed the game due to illness, while Matt Hill is still recovering from his foot injury. That left Barnes with just eight players and only Craig Winder to spell the guards. As a result, Abrams, Augustin, and Justin Mason each played over 35 minutes. While that may make fatigue a factor for those guys with the short turnaround on Monday, the fact that the Cowboys played a double-overtime game today may negate the problem.

Look here for a brief commentary on the defense in the morning or early afternoon, and a peek at the homestretch of the Big 12 conference race in the wee hours of Sunday night/Monday morning. And don’t forget the Duke/Maryland tilt at 4 PM (central) on Fox Sports Net.