For the first time in 13 years, the Texas Longhorns will face the Rice Owls in a true road game. During that time, the two teams have played a handful of times in Austin and at Houston’s Toyota Center, but have not played on the Rice campus since the final season of the Southwest Conference. This time, the Owls are playing in the sparkling new Tudor Fieldhouse, a 5,208 seat gym that head coach Ben Braun hopes will lure more recruits to the perennially-weak program.

Rice is off to its best start in years, grabbing victories in four of the first five games. While the wins have come against sub-par competition, they are an important part of instilling a new attitude at a program that was winless in Conference USA just two years ago. Braun led the Owls to four conference wins last year, and hopes to build upon that success in the first season with his own recruiting class.

By the numbers

Rice is a very average team statistically so far this year. Despite the fact that they have four wins, the efficiency stats actually show that they give up 0.021 points per possession more than they score. While that number might seem small, posting a negative differential of any size is incredibly troubling for a team that has four wins, and even more so when those wins have come against teams such as Sacramento State and Houston Baptist. If Rice is less efficient than these weak teams when beating them, what are they going to do in conference play?

The Owls are not shooting the ball exceptionally well, but are making up for it on the offensive glass. They are grabbing 36% of their misses, which is a great help for a team shooting just 40% from the floor. For a comparison, the Longhorns are currently making 54.6% of their shots. Today it is very likely that Rice will shoot an even lower percentage and have an even tougher time grabbing offensive boards against the bigger Texas frontcourt. That combination means that things could likely get ugly in a hurry.

Defensively, the Owls are forcing turnovers and bad shots by their opponents. This season, they have a +12 turnover differential, and are holding opponents to 30% shooting on the season. When you consider that Rice’s lone loss came against the Arizona Wildcats, you realize that their defensive shooting percentage is even more dominant in those early-season wins. If the Owls can continue their success at forcing turnovers, it could keep today’s contest a little bit closer, but will not make much of a difference in the long run.

The starting five

Rice is led by sophomore guard Connor Frizzelle, who is averaging twelve points per game this year. He is coming off a freshman campaign in which he started 21 games and scored 8.7 points per contest, and hopes to improve his defense in his second season. He also needs to work on ball control, as he has logged just one more assist than turnover so far this year. One area in which he needs no improvement is three-point shooting, where he is 12-of-22 on the season.

At forward, 6’8″ Lucas Kuipers is hoping to bounce back after missing the second half of last season with a broken wrist he suffered in January. Kuipers has 5.6 rebounds per game so far this year, and is chipping in 7.8 points as well. Although he’s doing well on the glass, he’s not afraid to step out and knock down mid-range shots, something Rice will have to do today.

Joining Kuipers in the frontcourt is Suleiman Braimoh, a junior who plays just 15 minutes per contest despite starting in each game. A Nigerian-born player from New York, Braimoh is not a long-term answer for the Rice frontcourt, but is doing a serviceable job providing leadership and experience for the more talented, younger players that Braun is developing. This year, he’s posting averages of 6.4 points and 4.6 boards per game.

Tamir Jackson is one of those talented newcomers, a freshman guard from New Jersey who was pursued by a handful of Big East schools before he signed with Rice. While he’s a combo guard, so far he has struggled with the basketball. Jackson has 19 turnovers on the year with just thirteen assists, but is still contributing to the tune of 10.4 points per game. While he needs quite a bit of seasoning, Braun believes that Jackson will be a solid anchor for future Rice backcourts.

Thanks to Jackson’s troubles handling the basketball, senior Lawrence Ghoram has had to hold down the role of floor general. Much like Braimoh, Ghoram is a player that Braun is looking to for leadership during these transition years. He has a solid assist-to-TO ratio of 2.5 this season, and improved his three-point shooting over the summer. He has hit 4-of-7 from behind the arc so far and has logged 8.6 points per game.

Off the bench

While Coach Braun was hoping to run deeper than the eight men he used last season, his rotation has been just eight men again this year. Texas A&M transfer Bryan Beasley may become the ninth man in the rotation later this year, but so far is playing less than nine minutes per game.

The key man off the bench is 6’10” center Trey Stanton, a transfer from Navy. Although he’s the sixth man, his 21.6 minutes per game is good for fourth on the team, and his 23-point, nine-rebound performance against Furman led the team to victory. Stanton is the biggest man on a small Rice team, so he will likely see a ton of minutes against the deep Texas frontcourt. If he picks up fouls early, the Owls will be absolutely abused inside for most of the afternoon.

Arsalan Kazemi is a freshman from Iran, and is the first D-I basketball player from that country. Rice is expecting great things from the 6’7″ forward, and so far his freshman campaign seems to indicate those expectations will be met. He’s leading the team with six boards per game, even though he’s only on the court for 18 minutes per contest. As he becomes more experienced and demands more time on the floor, Kazemi is going to be a force in C-USA.

Another freshman seeing solid minutes is guard A.J. Holland. His father was a longtime assistant coach in the SEC, and that basketball pedigree should mean that Holland will be a solid leader on the floor. He’s seeing just twelve minutes per game so far, but looks to be a much bigger presence next season, after Ghoram’s graduation.

Keys to the game

This one should be an easy win for the Texas Longhorns, as they have advantages in practically every category. They are bigger, deeper, and more talented than the Rice Owls. Even the crowd may end up being decidedly pro-Longhorn, negating the one edge the Owls should enjoy this afternoon.

With that being said, today’s keys to the game aren’t really necessary to win. But based on what we’ve seen from Texas’ first four performances, they will be interesting factors to watch and use as a benchmark for the team’s progress.

So far, Texas has not been great at controlling the basketball. One thing that Rice does well is forcing turnovers, so this should provide a good test of how far the Longhorn ballhandlers have come since Tuesday’s win over Pitt.

The biggest problem for Texas continues to be free throw shooting. While J’Covan Brown and Gary Johnson have proven reliable at the line and Damion James is making 73% of his free throws, there is not another Longhorn making more than 60% of their attempts. If Texas hopes to be a championship team, that will have to change. Just ask the 2008 Memphis Tigers.

Finally, we will be keeping an eye on whether the Texas guards attack the lane. Without Varez Ward, the only Longhorn who showed any inclination to drive to the basket on Tuesday night was Dogus Balbay. As a result, the Texas offense bogged down when he wasn’t in the game and the Pitt defense collapsed into the lane to negate the Longhorns’ inside game. Brown, Justin Mason, and Avery Bradley will need to start penetrating more often, or else teams will simply force Texas to beat them from outside.

This afternoon’s game might be hard for a lot of folks to see, as CBS College Sports is not available on AT&T U-verse, and is part of an add-on package for Time Warner customers. As always, you can enjoy Craig Way’s radio call from Tudor Fieldhouse, but if you want to see the action, you may have to hit up the local sports bar.

Texas and Pittsburgh are two of the most productive teams of the current decade. The two programs have combined to make ten appearances in the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen over the last eight seasons. Over that same stretch, they have five seasons of at least 27 wins. For two programs with so much recent success, it’s a shame they have only played once, 18 years ago.

Unfortunately, tonight’s Pitt team won’t be as polished as the previous squads Coach Jamie Dixon has led during his six-plus years at the helm. The Panthers are but a shell of their former selves, as six members of last year’s Elite Eight team won’t be on the court tonight. They lost 52 points per game from last year’s lineup thanks to the departures of DeJuan Blair, Sam Young, Levance Fields, and Tyrell Biggs. Jermaine Dixon, the team’s only returning starter and senior, will be unavailable after breaking his foot in September. Add in the fact that junior forward Gilbert Brown is academically ineligible this semester, and many fans won’t even be able to recognize the remaining Pitt roster.

Don’t let the new look fool you, however. Coach Dixon has always done less with more, having achieved his impressive results without the benefit of a single McDonald’s All-American recruit in his first six seasons. Just two years ago, he led the Panthers to 27 wins and an NCAA second-round appearance without Fields or Mike Cook, who both were injured. You can be sure that Pittsburgh will be well-disciplined and well-coached on the fundamentals, and should give Texas a run for their money tonight.

By the numbers

As a disciple of UCLA’s Ben Howland, Dixon is a defense-first coach whose team will get in your face and force mistakes. They love to quickly double down on the wings and the blocks, causing bad passes, charges, and travels.

This season, however, the Panthers have flipped the script. Through their first four games, it’s the offense that is leading the charge. Ranked by efficiency, the Panther attack is 14th in the country, while the defense is just 141st-best in the land. As usual, the Panther tempo stats are near the bottom of the barrel, with their 64.9 possessions per game checking in at 286th nationally.

Pitt’s biggest problem is — just like the Longhorns — at the free throw line. The Panthers have made just 62.4% of their attempts so far this year, slightly behind Texas’ 63.2% mark. If this game turns into a physical hackfest, the ensuing free throw display could very well be a crime against humanity.

Meet the Panthers

The new-look Pittsburgh team is led by sophomore combo guard Ashton Gibbs. Although he’s just in his second year, he gained valuable experience this summer on the gold-medal winning U.S. U-19 team coached by Dixon. Gibbs played so well on that squad, he worked his way up to a starting role by the end of the summer. While Gibbs is a heady floor general, he’s also a very dangerous shooter. Last year, he led the Big East in three-point percentage, and is off to another quick start this year, knocking down 42.9% of his looks.

Travon Woodall is just 5’11”, but has lightning-quick speed that more than makes up for his short stature. Starting alongside Gibbs, Woodall is the primary distributor, dishing out 28 assists through the first four games. The tiny guard has incredible court vision and is often lasering passes through tiny windows that no one else can see. He’s also fantastic on the fast break, able to dart in and out of traffic like a waterbug.

Perhaps the biggest impact player to return from last year’s team is junior Brad Wanamaker, a stocky 6’4″ guard who embodies Dixon’s intense defensive mindset. He’s not solely a one-trick pony, though, as he knows how to get to the rack and finish, to the tune of ten points per game this season. With so much talent missing from last year’s team, Wanamaker is being looked at to lead this young bunch through the tough Big East slate.

Nasir Robinson is a 6’5″ sophomore forward who can also fill the center role when Dixon wants to go with a smaller lineup. He wasn’t much of a contributor in his freshman season, but has started all four games this year. He’s responded well, posting ten points and five boards per game so far.

The key to this year’s team, though, will likely be the development of center Gary McGhee. He spent last season backing up Blair, playing less than seven minutes per game. This year, he’s being thrust into the spotlight as the team’s sole post option, and the team’s success could very well ride on how well he responds.

So far, McGhee is averaging 6.3 rebounds per game and 7.5 points. He’s not an incredibly quick guy, and his footwork still needs some improvement. Tonight should be a good test for him against the slimmed-down, more explosive Dexter Pittman.

Off the bench, the Panthers really only run three deep. Chase Adams is the first guard off the pine, and he has a history with the Longhorns. Adams is a new arrival in Pittsburgh, having transferred from Centenary, where he once faced Kevin Durant and the Horns in the Erwin Center. Back on December 28th, 2006, then-freshman Adams provided fourteen points and six assists in a losing effort against Texas. Since then, he’s improved his assist-to-TO numbers and even was named defensive player of the year in the Summit League last season thanks to 83 steals.

Freshman Dante Taylor is Dixon’s first McDonald’s All-American recruit, and his undeniable talent has earned him a bunch of early playing time. Coming out of Houston, Taylor is still working his way back from a foot injury, and will likely be even more of a force by conference play. He’s already quite impressive, though, grabbing six boards per contest in just 18 minutes per game.

Lamar Patterson rounds out the core rotation for Coach Dixon. Just a freshman, he already has an excellent basketball body at 6’5″, 220 pounds. While he’s playing just over twelve minutes a game, this swingman is already showing brief flashes of his potential. While he likely won’t make a huge impact on tonight’s game, he has a bright future ahead of him.

Keys to the game

Just like Iowa, the Panthers move the ball around very, very well. They play unselfish basketball and wear out opponents with crisp passing and great floor spacing. In a dominating 71-46 win over Binghamton, the Panthers had a ridiculous 24 assists on 27 field goals. Texas will once again have to play great team defense, communicating, rotating, and helping each other out against the precision Panther offense.

Texas will also need to earn extra possessions against a Pitt team that is ninth-best in the country when it comes to keeping opponents off the offensive glass. The Panthers can score in bunches, so the Longhorns need to get second and third chances when they fail to score.

Playing in front of a crowd that is decidedly anti-Texas also means that the Longhorns need to get ahead early. While this is technically a neutral-site game, last night’s crowd made it clear that the Sprint Center is going to be a road arena for Texas. If the Horns can take them out of it early — and not give the lead away like last night — the freshmen won’t have to deal with a hostile crowd in the waning moments of a close game.

Tonight’s tip is set for 9:15 P.M. Central, but once again it will be affected by the earlier game. Iowa and Wichita State tip off in the consolation game at 6:45, and there will be a 30 minute window between the two contests. If you’re out and about tonight, be sure to add time to the end of those DVR settings.

We’ll be hitting the road back to Austin immediately following tonight’s game, so look for a delayed post-game sometime Wednesday evening.

Texas and Iowa met in this city and this tournament just four years ago, with the Longhorns claiming a 68-59 win and the tournament crown. A lot has changed since then, as what was once the Guardian’s Classic, played at Municipal Auditorium, is now the CBE Classic, played at the sparkling Sprint Center. And while the names and buildings have changed over the years, so has the stature of a once-proud Iowa Hawkeye basketball program.

Todd Lickliter is in his third year of coaching at Iowa City, and things are becoming more difficult every season. Just weeks after the end of a disappointing 15-17 campaign in 2008-09, the Hawkeyes lost four key players. Leading scorer Jake Kelly transferred to Indiana State after his mother’s death in a plane crash, wanting to be closer to his family. Starting point guard Jeff Peterson bolted for Arkansas, with his departure rumored to be the result of dissatisfaction with Lickliter’s coaching style. Juniors Jermain Davis and David Palmer also left the program, heading to D-II schools in a search for more playing time.

The sudden roster turnover left the Hawkeyes with a young and inexperienced team, devoid of its former leaders. And if the summer of turmoil weren’t enough, things turned even uglier once the season tipped off. For the first time since 1931, the Hawkeyes started a season with back-to-back home losses, falling short against UT-San Antonio and Duquesne in the CBE’s opening round games.

By the numbers

In typical Big 10 style, Iowa is a team that relies on excellent defense. The other half of their equation is an offense predicated on driving and dishing, looking for spot-up shooters who can knock down the three or the open jumper. Unfortunately for the Hawkeyes, their shooting has been abysmal to start the year. Iowa is hitting just 29.1% of their attempts from behind the arc this season, but may have turned the corner in Friday night’s 68-46 win over Bowling Green. In that one, the Hawks made 48% of their threes.

Another reason for Iowa’s anemic start is a problem hanging on to the basketball. They are coughing it up on 22.7% of their possessions, which is a problem when your style of play involves grinding out low-scoring wins. That slowdown tempo means that Iowa has less possessions to work with, so the importance of each and every turnover is magnified. Fortunately for Coach Lickliter, this year’s Texas team has actually had even more issues with ball control than his team, as the Horns own a 23.8% turnover percentage in their first two games.

The Texas tempo numbers aren’t that much higher than Iowa’s, something that is skewed in small part by the choppy nature of the Western Carolina game. The Longhorns do have the athletes to get out and run the floor, however, which will play in their favor if they can dictate the pace of tonight’s game. A slow, half-court battle increases the odds of an Iowa upset, so the Longhorns must control the flow.

Meet the Hawkeyes

With so much turnover on the roster, Coach Lickliter is experimenting with his starting lineups early in the year. Through the first three games, he’s thrown out three different starting combinations. Only seven players saw significant minutes in the win over Bowling Green, though, so he may have finally found the formula that works.

Cully Payne runs the show at the point, despite being just a freshman. The Peterson transfer meant that Payne would not have the luxury of a slow development, and he’s been handed the reins immediately. He’s struggling to adjust to the college game so far, turning it over three times in his debut while failing to log a single assist. Since then, he’s looked marginally more comfortable, but still has just 10 assists on the year to go with his nine TOs. Payne is also expected to be one of the three-point threats that can knock it down when the Hawkeyes drive and dish, but so far has yet to do so. He’s just 3-of-13 behind the arc this season, with all of his makes coming on opening night.

Anthony Tucker is a sophomore who is being looked at as a major scoring threat from the two-guard position. Although he’s in his second year of eligibility, Tucker is essentially just a freshman. Last year, he missed half of the season due to poor grades, and was also suspended for an alcohol-related incident. While he started the year coming off the bench, Tucker has been in the starting lineup the last two games. He’s a solid outside shooter who is still shaking the rust off, as indicated by his 4-of-19 start from behind the arc. But like the entire Hawkeye team, he looks to have re-discovered his shot following a 3-of-6 night from long range against BGSU.

The biggest returning star for the Hawkeyes is sophomore Matt Gatens, a sharpshooter who has started every game of his collegiate career. He was named to the Big 10 All-Freshman team last season, a year in which he averaged 10.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per contest. He’s practically automatic from the line, where he made 90% of his attempts last year and has failed to miss in 13 attempts this season.

If Gatens’ solid freshman year made him a leader, Jarryd Cole may be another one by default. The junior center is the only starting upperclassman, and one of only two upperclassmen who has even played this season. He’s not a prototypical center, as he’s just 6’7″ and can often be found setting screens on the perimeter. Iowa likes to use him for those ball screens not only to free up the dribble-drive, but also to unclog the lane by pulling taller defenders out with him.

Although Cole is often setting the offense in motion from somewhere around the arc, he’s still the team’s best option on the glass. With 8.7 boards per game, he’s grabbing nearly a quarter of the team’s rebounds, giving him a fair number of putback attempts when the rest of the offense is struggling. He’s going to be mismatched against the bigger Texas frontcourt, but with a lack of depth behind him, he’ll have to produce.

Brennan Cougill is a freshman forward who started his first game of the year on Friday night, and will likely stay in the starting five thanks to hard-nosed, hustle play. He’s still a raw talent who is awkward with his back to the basket and misses a lot of easy looks, but he’s constantly crashing the boards and earning extra possessions for the Hawkeyes. Against Bowling Green, Cougill played 30 minutes and turned in a solid line of eight points and eight rebounds.

The only upperclassman besides Cole that has seen the court this year is Devan Bawinkel, a senior guard whose only job is to knock down threes. Last season, 51 of his 52 shots were from behind the arc, and he did not have a single free throw attempt. Bawinkel, who was replaced in the starting lineup by Tucker, is solely a spot-up shooter. Texas will need to keep an eye on him, but will also benefit from knowing that he isn’t a threat to drive the lane or really even try to attack off the dribble. Like the rest of his team, Bawinkel might finally be heating up from behind the arc, as he hit 2-of-3 against Bowling Green after starting the year just 1-of-5 from long range.

The most impressive newcomer has been Eric May, a 6’5″ freshman who is listed as a guard but plays much bigger. He has a nice touch, as his 46% shooting mark attests, but he also attacks the glass like a fiesty forward. Even though he’s smaller than most of Texas’ players, he’ll be a tough guy to guard. He’s 40% from long range, but he can attack off the dribble if you play him too tightly on the perimeter. On a team that is so horribly undersized, May’s constant motor and tenacious play make him a valuable asset off the bench.

Aaron Fuller is a sophomore forward who started the first two games of the year, but picked up two quick fouls in both of them. May responded off the bench in those two games, but Cougill ultimately replaced Fuller in the starting lineup on Friday night. Aaron actually saw the floor for just three minutes in the win over Bowling Green, so he may have played himself right out of the rotation.

Keys to the game

With such a mismatch in size, the obvious key for Texas is to exploit the height advantage. The Longhorns really struggled to take advantage of the mismatch against Western Carolina, making Dexter Pittman‘s 17 minutes nearly useless. Tonight, Texas needs to pound the ball inside against the tiny Iowa frontcourt and must dominate the rebounding battle once again.

In addition, Texas will need to play strong perimeter defense to ensure that the Hawkeyes don’t hang around with a bevy of threes. Their roster is loaded with three-point gunners, all of whom have been struggling so far this year. The uncomfortable conclusion you can reach with those facts is that the Hawkeyes are due for a breakout game behind the arc. If they have that kind of night against Texas, it could make things dicey.

Finally, Texas must control the tempo. As we mentioned earlier, fewer possessions only serve to minimize the natural advantages that the Longhorns have. If Texas can get out and run a little bit, there is no way that the Iowa offense can score enough to keep up.

Tip time tonight is officially 8:45 P.M., but it’s much more likely that the game will be starting at 9 P.M. or later. The first semifinal of the night, which has Pitt facing off against Wichita State, doesn’t even tip until 6:30 P.M. Add in the thirty-minute window between games, and you can see how tonight’s contest might be wrapping up a little closer to midnight.

Post-game react and the championship or consolation preview will be headed your way tomorrow.

After a lengthy offseason rife with high expectations and endless buzz, the Longhorns tipped things off Sunday afternoon with an impressive 89-42 win over Cal-Irvine. Tonight, Texas hopes to turn in another dominating performance as they host the Western Carolina Catamounts from tiny Cullowhee, North Carolina.

Repeating Sunday’s task could be tougher than it looks for the Longhorns, as their opponents return all five starters and are picked by most pundits to win their division in the Southern Conference. It’s not just the starters that bring experience to the floor for Western Carolina coach Larry Hunter, though. His team boasts five seniors, four juniors, and even the nephew of NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo.

The Catamounts started the 2009-10 campaign on the right note, shellacking St. Catharine College in their season opener by a 65-41 count. Western Carolina forced 25 turnovers in the game and held their opponents to 25% shooting on the night. The only troubling stat for Coach Hunter was a vast free throw disparity between the two teams, as the Catamounts attempted only ten free throws, while sending St. Catharine to the line 27 times.

By the numbers

That stat isn’t too surprising for fans of Western Carolina, as it’s a trend that dates back to last season. The Catamounts were 340th in the country in free throw rate, a stat which measures how often teams foul their opponents in relation to shot attempts they allow. If a ranking of 340th isn’t appalling enough, Catamount fans would also hate to be reminded that there were only 344 Division I teams last season.

One thing that Western Carolina did do well last season was swipe the basketball. Their steal rate was 8th in the NCAA, led by Brigham Waginger‘s school-record 81 thefts. The senior guard enters his final season as the reigning back-to-back steal leader of the Southern Conference.

Beyond that one shining aspect, the Catamount defense struggled mightily last year. Their defensive field goal percentage was one of the 15 worst in all of Division I basketball, while they allowed opponents to grab offensive rebounds on a troubling 34% of their attempts. Combine these numbers, and you have a recipe for disaster against a Texas team that shot 57% in their season opener and outrebounded Cal-Irvine by a 49-30 margin.

Meet the Catamounts

Western Carolina is led by its pair of pre-season All-Conference selections, guards Brandon Giles and Harouna Mutombo. As previously mentioned, Mutombo is the nephew of former NBA star Dikembe Mutombo, and his pedigree quickly showed in a season that earned him conference Freshman of the Year honors.

Giles is a junior wingman who checks in at 6’6″ and is hoping to bounce back after a season in which he played through constant shoulder problems. Even with the injury issues, Giles logged a stat line of 13.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, so coaches and media are expecting great things from him this year. In the season opener, he scored 12 points in just 20 minutes of work and pulled down three rebounds.

Junior forward Richie Gordon is the tallest Western Carolina player at 6-feet, 9-inches, but his height is often wasted as he rides the bench with foul trouble. Last season, Gordon fouled out of 10 of the team’s 31 games and amassed a ridiculous 98 whistles. Against St. Catharine’s, he managed to only commit two fouls, but did so in just twelve minutes on the court.

With Gordon often on the bench, that leaves senior transfer Adrian Gailliard as the lone post presence for the Catamounts. At 6’7″, he’ll have his hands full with Dexter Pittman tonight. Unfortunately for WCU, Gordon’s foul issues seemed to rub off on Gailliard during the offseason, as Adrian logged four personals in the season opener, limiting him to just ten minutes of play. If both of these players are racking up the fouls against the bigger, more athletic Longhorns, it could be a very, very long night for the visitors.

The starting five is rounded out by the aforementioned Waginger, who will likely give the Texas backcourt fits. Freshman J’Covan Brown had four quick turnovers in his debut at the point, and playing against Waginger and his quick hands could prove troublesome tonight.

With so many experienced players on his bench, Coach Hunter actually runs nine or ten deep. In the season opener, there were ten Catamounts who played at least ten minutes, with the bench providing a whopping 110 minutes — more playing time than the starting five even saw.

Kendall Russell and Jake Robinson were the first two men off the pine for the Catamounts, and the pair combined for 21 points on the night. Russell is a swingman who could afford to add some muscle, but still manages to be effective on the glass. Against St. Catharine’s, he grabbed six rebounds in just 17 minutes on the floor.

Robinson is the team’s only viable post option behind Gordon and Gailliard, but isn’t much of an offensive threat. He shot just under 38% last year from the floor, and struggled to a 4-of-12 night from the floor in the season opener. He will likely see a lot of action against the deep Texas frontcourt tonight, but will likely have a tough time putting the ball in the basket.

Mike Williams — not to be confused the well-traveled former Longhorn of the same name — is a transfer from Jackson State CC and is a quality backup guard for WCU. Against St. Catharine’s, he led the team with four steals and provided six points and three dimes in the winning effort. Keaton Cole is the other main guard off the bench and is the team’s best threat from long range. Last year he hit 43% of his three-point attempts, but only made one trey in his season debut.

Keys to the game

If it isn’t already apparent, the Longhorns are going to make hay in this game by exploiting their height advantage against a second-straight undersized opponent. Pittman and Damion James are likely double-double candidates tonight, and should have an easy time in the paint. One can only hope that the game will be well-enough in hand that reserve forwards Alexis Wangmene, Clint Chapman, and Matt Hill can get some work and show what improvements they have made in the off-season.

One factor that could keep the game closer than it should be is the turnover battle. As mentioned earlier, the Catamounts are great at forcing turnovers, and the Texas backcourt was somewhat shaky at times against Cal-Irvine. Many of the Texas turnovers seemed to come from the Longhorns trying too hard to be flashy or toss an alley-oop, so better discipline could help to curb that issue tonight. While the Catamounts are likely to still force some miscues by Texas, it won’t be enough to make a difference in the game.

Another thing to keep an eye on tonight is the Longhorn free throw percentage. Much like the turnovers, this won’t make a difference in tonight’s game. But considering how much of a problem Texas had from the line last year, it will be interesting to see if the returning players have made any progress in the offseason.

There are still tickets available for this one, and now Texas Box Office is offering a buy one, get one free promotion with this printable web coupon. So grab a friend and come down to the Drum for tonight’s contest. It’s exciting Longhorn basketball at half-price, and it’s the last chance to watch the team at home before USC comes to town on December 3rd.

Five hours to go. Just five hours until Texas basketball is back. Five hours until the tip of a season that could go down as one of the best – if not the best – in school history.

This year, Coach Barnes and the Longhorns start play with the CBE Classic, a tournament they won back in 2005 thanks in part to a LaMarcus Aldridge block at the buzzer against West Virginia in the semis. The CBE Classic is one of those events where the first round games actually have no bearing on the true “tournament” portion, which is guaranteed to involve the four marquee teams next week in Kansas City, regardless of this week’s results.

First up for Texas is Cal-Irvine, a team that finished 12-19 last season and placed fourth in the Big West conference. While today will be more about the Longhorns trying different lineups than having to survive an upset bid, the visiting Anteaters will still get our full game-preview treatment…

By the numbers

Last year, Cal-Irvine was an interesting team statistically. They were 4th in the nation from behind the arc, hitting an amazing 40.7% of their attempts from long range. But once the ‘Eaters stepped inside the three-point line, they could hardly buy a basket. The team’s 43.9% shooting on two-point attempts was good for 301st in the country, better than only 33 other D-1 schools. That disparity made it incredibly easy for teams to play pressure defense on the perimeter, where UCI lacked playmakers who could shake the D and get to the rim.

Besides their long-range marksmanship, the ‘Eaters also hung their hat on excellent free throw shooting. UCI made 76% of their free-throw attempts last season, but unfortunately did not get to the line often enough to make that matter. In their 2009-10 season opener on Friday night, the Anteaters made a more concerted effort to get to the charity stripe, and it paid off. UCI made 25-of-33 from the line in their 82-54 victory over the D-III La Verne Leopards, a vast improvement from the 17 attempts they averaged per game last year.

Cal-Irvine also was excellent at controlling the ball last season, turning it over on just 17.8% of their possessions. While that number may seem high, it was good enough to be ranked 36th nationally according to hoops stat-head Ken Pomeroy. Unfortunately for Coach Pat Douglass, the Anteaters failed to exploit their ball control in the season opener, posting 13 turnovers with a differential of zero.

The 2008-09 edition of the UCI Anteaters played a slow-down style of basketball in an attempt to minimize the chances for opponents to expose a leaky defense. Their 63.5 possessions per game was 286th in the nation, while their defense gave up a nauseating 1.073 points per possession, 274th in D-I. A commitment to this slower pace of play may mean that the Longhorns will win by a smaller margin today, but the key number to look at in this one will be Texas’ offensive efficiency rating.

Meet the ‘Eaters

While graduation stole away Brett Lauer, who hit more than 50% of his 125 attempts behind the arc last season, UCI still has guards who are threats from long range. Senior shooting guard Michael Hunter scored 14 points in just 14 minutes of play in the season opener, including 2-of-4 from behind the arc. He’s incredibly quick, but lacks the skills to shake defenders and get to the rack. If Texas can limit his effectiveness from three-point range, it will severely cripple the UCI offense.

A pair of Slovakian JuCo transfers will likely add some meat to the frontcourt for the Anteaters this season. Pavol Losonsky made the start on Friday night, scoring twelve points to go with five rebounds. Peter Simek, his teammate from Butte College, played 19 minutes off the bench and scored nine, adding six boards. While neither will be appearing on any All-American lists this season, this pair of big men should serve as a nice early-season benchmark by which to measure the new, deeper Texas frontcourt.

The biggest test for that frontcourt, however, will come in the form of butterball forward Eric Wise. He’s only 6-5, but his rotund frame allows him to throw weight around in the post as he fights to get to the rim. He shot only 45% from the field last year, so it would be wise for the Longhorns to simply dare Wise to knock down longer shots.

Junior Darren Moore is listed as a small forward, but was credited in Friday night’s box score with a start as the second guard. Coming off a season in which he tore his patellar tendon and played only six games, Moore started out with a solid twelve-point performance against the Leopards, scoring half of his points from the free-throw line. While he’s going to provide a much-needed offensive boost for UCI this season, perhaps the most important thing that Moore brings to the table is quality defense, something his team sorely lacks.

What to look for

As mentioned earlier, the true test for the Texas offense won’t be how many points they put on the board, but how effective they are with each possession. Last year’s team sometimes seemed allergic to shooting, but what kept them in games was the fact that their offense was at least efficient. Scoring 1.124 points per possession, last year’s Longhorns actually finished in the top 40 nationally in offensive efficiency. With a more experienced and talented team on the floor this year, fans are hoping that these already-solid numbers can be improved upon.

With so much talent and depth, the list of questions surrounding this team is endless. Is Texas going to rely on a three-guard lineup, or go with the more traditional two-man backcourt? How many minutes can Dexter Pittman provide after another season of offseason conditioning? Is this the year that Damion James breaks out and becomes the unquestioned leader? Can Varez Ward build on the excellent game he had against Duke in the NCAAs? Has Dogus Balbay developed a shot to go with his defense? Which freshmen will leap to first-team status, and which will provide a spark from the bench?

While those are just a handful of questions fans will be looking to answer today, the biggest mystery this season is how Coach Barnes will dish out playing time on a team with so many players capable of producing on the court. The freshman class of Jordan Hamilton, Avery Bradley, and Shawn Williams is too good to leave on the bench, but how often — and where — will they play with Texas returning seniors Pittman, James, and Justin Mason? Add in newly-eligible J’Covan Brown and Alexis Wangmene, who is back from a medical redshirt, and its quickly apparent how the minute math could get a bit dicey.

Fill the Drum

We know it’s football season. And yes, Colt McCoy has the Longhorns just three wins away from a likely berth in the BCS National Championship Game. But that doesn’t mean that a city this size can’t support two championship-caliber teams. Unfortunately, the people of Austin seem to disagree, as there are still tickets available for today’s season opener.

If you’re in town, I highly advise you drop the couple of bucks it costs to buy a mezzanine ticket and see a very special team start a very special season. As for the out-of-towners, be sure to tune in to ESPNU this afternoon to catch the tip.