It’s going to be a slow morning here at LRT, but we’ll be back this afternoon with new power rankings, fun videos from K-State, and a look at tonight’s Pac-10 action.

Rumors and Rants gives us hilarious photography from C-USA and a Seek-N-Find puzzle, too. While we’re on the topic, is anyone actually surprised by the fact that Memphis was the team involved in this melee? I know Miami is considered “Thug U,” but there’s got to be a similar moniker for these clowns. Even Pat Forde realizes Calipari is running a halfway house, listing all of the brushes with the law these fine young citizens have had. (Minutes 19 through 25 for those of you who don’t want to read the whole article.) I get all warm and fuzzy inside when I remember that the Longhorns are the last team to beat these punks in FedEx Forum, although Tennessee could steal that distinction this weekend.

Another day, another article about Kelvin Sampson being a cheater. Forde now claims that IU will suspend and then fire my BFF Kelvin, which really doesn’t seem to be the appropriate punishment. I’m thinking something along the lines of sharks with laser beams attached to their heads.

March Madness All Season takes some time to talk about the sudden love-fest for Texas as a 1-seed. While the Horns certainly have a great profile to-date, I agree completely with his analysis of the road ahead, and would like to point out that if Kirk Bohls makes an argument, it’s usually safe to take the opposing viewpoint. Many of the pundits are saying that the winner of a hypothetical Big 12 tournament title game between Kansas and Texas could claim a 1-seed, but the committee has made it painfully clear in past years that they don’t pay any attention to what the Big 12 is doing on Sunday. And, as Peter Bean at Burnt Orange Nation reminded us yesterday, the Houston regional is infinitely more important than a 1-seed.

Texas is still a 2-seed according to Stewart Mandell at SI.com, although he’s still got them slated to play Belmont. We here at LRT love the Bruins, as we wrote a feature on their head coach which will be running during Championship Week. So, here’s to hoping that the committee isn’t as cruel as old Stewie and Texas can draw the champs of the Ivy or NEC on Selection Sunday.

Thursday’s new ESPN Power Rankings saw the Horns moving up the ladder after the impressive win over Kansas on Monday. Texas rose from 12th to 8th, with three of the twelve voters slotting the Horns at their high-water mark of 7th. The ballot most worthy of an eyebrow-raise came from Dick Vitale, who still has the Indiana Hoosiers sitting at 12th, one spot ahead of Texas. These being the same Hoosiers who are 0-4 vs. the RPI Top 20 while Texas is 3-2 against the same pool and holds a victory over St. Mary’s, who is currently 21st in the RPI. I know you just had surgery, Dicky V, but lay off the drugs.

Luke Winn’s power rankings aren’t out yet for this week, but he did promise in last week’s edition that Texas would leap from the pool of the “just unranked” into the top ten with a win over the Jayhawks. And if he’s impressed with the Texas defense, you know things are looking good for the Horns.

While things are certainly getting dicey in Bloomington for Coach Sampson and the Hoosiers, they’ve still got a tough stretch of Big 10 play coming up. So while President Michael McRobbie orders a new investigation, IU has to look ahead to a pair of home tests against Michigan State and Purdue on Saturday and Tuesday. And lest we forget the stat I just mentioned two paragraphs back, the Hoosiers have plumped up on a cupcake schedule all season and have yet to beat a quality opponent. Now, with their backs against the wall both on and off the court, this could be the time for them to man up and prove that they are a legitimate team.

And while FSU was busy with some self-policing of its own, Seminole forward Ryan Reid was throwing Wake Forest players to the court. Some may call it a punch or a forearm shiver, but no matter how you slice it, the refs decided it was flagrant. Check it out below, and then you can forget about these two teams again until football season.

Getting a little later start this morning than I’d anticipated, but I guess I needed to stock up on the sleep before the long drive. If I’m not completely exhausted when I get to Des Moines late tonight, I’ll try to wrap up the OU win. But even if I pass out before I get to that, check back Saturday morning for the Cyclone preview.

Checking in on this week’s new power rankings, Texas climbed five spots in ESPN’s poll, moving from narrowly unranked last week to the 12 slot this week. Meanwhile, Luke Winn found the Horns unworthy of a poll position. He’s got the Horns sitting at “17th,” claiming that a win over Kansas on Monday would move them into the top 10. You think?

I wanted to link this article for the UNC/Duke game, but the whole trip-to-Norman thing got in the way. As much as I loved the V-Tech students chanting “Eat shit, Paulus” a few weeks back, the folks over at Super, Scintillating, and Sarcastic have a pretty good take on why even Duke haters should snap for Paulus. And, you know…as long as the Blue Devils aren’t the 1-seed in a Texas bracket, perhaps I won’t root so fervently against them this year.

Anybody familiar with Ames or Des Moines? Got any places around there I should check out tomorrow while I’m in town? Bonus points for recommendations on the ISU campus, and points off for any suggestions involving corn.

Texas moved up two spots in each of the polls this week, sliding into the #10 slot in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today rankings, while Kansas holds steady at #2. The Big 12 has five teams in the AP poll with Kansas State (22nd), Texas A&M (23rd) and Baylor (25th) all hanging around on the lower rungs.

Stefhon Hannah could miss the rest of the season after a brawl outside a Columbia nightclub late on Saturday night. The Tigers still have to tackle a rematch with Kansas, a pair of showdowns with K-State, and roadies in Waco and Norman. Without their leading scorer, Mizzou could be a lot closer to the cellar than anticipated.

This afternoon, Luke Winn introduces us to twin brothers and UNC commits Travis Wear and David Wear, Jr. The 2009 class for Roy Williams is looking absolutely ridiculous when you add in Dexter Strickland and Round Rock product John Henson, who had Texas in the mix before committing to the Heels earlier this month.

Joe Lunardi is high on the Big 12 this week, putting six of the conference’s teams in today’s Bracketology. Kansas still leads the way with a 1-seed, while Texas is slotted as a 3 in Little Rock. K-State (6 seed), Baylor (7), Texas A&M (9), and Oklahoma (9) make up the rest of the conference’s dance card.

Missed Scott Drew’s interview on Sportscenter after the 5-OT thriller on Wednesday night? Thanks to the technical know-how of an LRT co-traveler, you can watch the video through the interweb tubes. Check it out below, and be sure to check out the rest of his Longhorn videos on his website.