For the sports fans sitting at home watching ESPN last night, seeing the score of the Texas game crawl across the bottom of the screen might have raised a few eyebrows. It may have even induced a few grumblings about the “Burnt Orange Media Conspiracy” from our friends northeast of us on the Brazos River. But as good as the Longhorns looked last night, and no matter how many points they ultimately defeated their opponents by, excitement must be tempered. The Texas-Pan American Broncs might have been the worst team we’ve seen in the Frank Erwin Center for at least three years.

The loss was the tenth in eleven games for UTPA, while the 42-point output was the fourth showing in which they mustered 50 points or less. The 62-point margin also surpassed the Broncs’ 56-point loss to Missouri in the category of Most Embarrassing, Demoralizing Loss. I think it’s an ESPY Award, actually.

Suffice it to say, this was simply an overmatched team that Texas toyed with for forty minutes. When walk-on Dean Melchionni sees playing time with more than eleven minutes left in the game, you can be sure things are out of hand. So with all that in mind, what can Texas fans actually take from this one-sided affair?

What looked good

For this game, the subhead title above might be misleading. There was very little that didn’t look good in the midst of a methodical dismantling of the UTPA Lollipop Guild. But there were specific things that will hopefully carry forward and play a part in games against good competition. And from our perspective, the most important development of the night was seeing Avery Bradley adequately handle point guard responsibilities.

Bradley didn’t run the show the entire night, as Dogus Balbay was having yet another spectacular night at the one. But Avery did manage to dish out five assists on the night, and didn’t seem even slightly uncomfortable while shouldering the load of floor general. He’ll certainly have his challenges trying to play the point against tougher defenses, but a game like this is a huge confidence boost for a kid that has been a consistent two-guard all season long.

Off the ball, Bradley continued to impress with his silky-smooth shot. He chipped in 18 points, giving him 50 over his last three games, and seemed nearly unstoppable in the mid-range. He elevates so quickly and has such a smooth release, that he’s able to stop-and-pop over defenders, or immediately take a well-timed pass from Balbay or the blocks that results in a swished jumper. Coming into the season, we all knew that Bradley was considered the top freshman in the nation by some outlets, but his play over the last two weeks has Texas fans giddy over what could be in store the rest of the way.

As mentioned, Balbay again had a masterful performance running the show. He hustled all over the floor, forcing UTPA miscues on defense, grabbing three steals, and even secured five rebounds. He had nine more assists to add to his gaudy numbers for the year, while coughing the ball up just one time. On the season, that gives Dogus a sick 3.92 assist-to-TO ratio.

It wasn’t just defense, rebounding, and facilitating the offense for Balbay last night. He even shocked the crowd by sinking a three-pointer early in the first half, his first successful attempt of the year. For all the statheads out there, here is your Meaningless Number of the Night — the Texas Longhorns are 2-0 in games where Dogus Balbay makes a three-pointer. Who cares that he’s got a lifetime success rate of 15% behind the arc? Clearly opposing coaches must start game-planning for this telling statistic.

It was also reassuring to see that Jordan Hamilton‘s hot start from behind the arc didn’t mean he was going to be anchored to the perimeter all night. He continued his recent trend of attacking off the dribble and crashing the glass when his bank shots weren’t falling. Jordan has been a streaky shooter from outside this season, and early in the year he was content to continue chucking up threes even when he was struggling. Seeing him sink threes and force the issue off the dribble speaks to the fact that his game is already evolving.

While the play of Melchionni and fellow walk-on Andrew Dick isn’t something that will be important in worthwhile games, it was nice to see them both earn significant minutes. Dick scored his first-ever collegiate points on a three-pointer that elicited a roar from the remaining fans and added another bucket later on a nice cut to the rim. Melchionni missed all three of his shots on the night, but did grab his first two career rebounds.

In addition to getting minutes for the walk-ons, Texas also was able to get in a lot of work on their full-court defense, and harassed the Broncs to the tune of 21 turnovers. Had Barnes kept his foot on the gas the entire game, UTPA easily would have had 30-plus miscues, and the Longhorns likely would have won by more than 75 points. Seeing an effective full-court scheme is a great thing heading into Saturday’s match-up with Carolina, as the young Heels have had issues with ball control all season long.

While this final number isn’t that impressive when you consider the opponent, it still must be noted that the Longhorns held an insane 64-31 rebounding advantage in this game. Whether or not Coach Barnes was exploiting the height difference or just responding to his limited backcourt depth, the big lineups that Texas threw out there had an absolute field day against the tiny Bronc roster. UT-Pan Am had just thirteen offensive rebounds in the entire game, even though they missed 48 shots. Giving a team a second chance just once every four possessions is completely dominant basketball.

What needed work

The biggest concern for Texas was that Dexter Pittman once again immediately found himself in foul trouble. It took only two-and-a-half minutes for the big man to be whistled twice in this game. Fouls have limited Pittman’s minutes in a few games in recent weeks, and he will definitely have his hands full on Saturday against North Carolina’s deep and talented frontcourt. If he finds himself in foul trouble again against the Heels, Roy Williams could easily exploit his team’s advantages in the frontcourt.

Beyond that one area of concern, there was not much for Texas fans to nitpick in this game. Coach Barnes mentioned in his post-game interview that the team lost focus a bit, although it seems perfectly normal for a team to do so when rolling to a 60-point victory. Fans can be sure, though, that Barnes will use that observation as a teaching tool the rest of the week leading into Carolina and Michigan State.

The big finish

With perhaps their weakest opponent behind them, the Longhorns now must prepare themselves for one of the two toughest weeks on their schedule. While consecutive road games in January against Kansas State and Connecticut won’t be easy for Texas, the upcoming one-two punch of North Carolina and Michigan State should be the stiffest test the team faces this year. The Longhorns’ performance in these first two mammoth challenges of the season will show fans what they can expect from the team as the season rolls into conference play.

As the team prepares for those two games, we’ll be doing a lot of catch-up work here at LRT. We’ve got a batch of photos to share from Kansas City and ice , along with a few notes to add from those road trips. And of course, an in-depth game preview for Carolina is headed your way at the end of the week.

After a pair of games in which the Longhorns shot just 41% from the field — their only outings below the 50% mark — the pressure was on to bounce back against the pre-season favorite in the Big West Conference. But with Texas’ two big post presences limited to just 31 combined minutes, it was up to the freshmen and the role players to carry the Longhorns to victory. To say they responded to the call would be a gross understatement.

Six different Longhorns scored in double figures en route to a dominating 107-74 victory over Long Beach State, the highest offensive output for a Rick Barnes team in four years. Texas moved the ball well, used dribble penetration with great success, and played stifling defense that led to 23 turnovers and 33 points off of their opponents’ miscues.

Statistically, this was by far the best showing by the offense all season. Long Beach State wanted to run, and the 84 possessions in the game was the most the Longhorns have seen this year. Texas took advantage, scoring at an insane rate of 1.3 points per possession. Even with the 49ers shooting over 40% and knocking down 19 free throws, there was no possible way to keep up with the offensive explosion on the other end of the court.

What looked good

It’d be easy to say that everything looked good in this game, but that would be a tad oversimplified and a bit disingenuous. But it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that nearly everything looked good for the Longhorns on Monday night.

Dogus Balbay made just his second start of the year, and his inclusion in the lineup immediately made things flow. In the first four and a half minutes, the Longhorns had eight field goals, and four of them came off of assists from Balbay. For the night, he finished with a career-high eleven dimes, and managed to play his 24 minutes without a single turnover.

In many of the early games this season, the Texas offense would sometimes grind to a halt without Balbay on the floor. Defenses would switch to zone and double- or triple-team Dexter Pittman immediately as he received the entry pass. When the Texas shooters were off from long-range, the team would often go for minutes without making a field goal. No one seemed to want to dribble-drive, and the ball movement around the perimeter was oftentimes not fast enough to get open looks.

Against Long Beach State, though, it was quickly clear how much Texas had worked on their offense in practices. When teams tried to trap Pittman, he kept the ball high and reacted quickly. Jordan Hamilton, Avery Bradley, and J’Covan Brown all made strong moves to the hoop with the basketball and their stat lines reflected the benefits of that aggressive approach.

On defense, the sudden spike in turnovers was huge for Texas. They forced eight LBSU miscues in less than eight minutes, and the frustration was quickly apparent in the body language of the 49ers. While some skeptics might think that the increase in turnovers was a result of the extra possessions, stat guru Ken Pomeroy would beg to differ. He measures turnovers as a percentage of possessions, and Texas’ 28% rate in last night’s game was head-and-shoulders above their performance in any other game this season.

What needed work

The one thing Texas struggled with all night was slowing down the inside-out guard tandem of Casper Ware and Stephan Gilling. The pair combined for 34 points on the night, nearly half of their team’s entire offense. Ware was constantly beating Texas defenders with a lightning-quick first step, and he earned himself seven trips to the charity stripe. When Ware wasn’t scoring at the rack, Gilling was knocking down three-pointer after three-pointer — to the tune of a 6-for-12 night from long range.

While Texas won the game, and quite easily, the defense against these two guards will surely be highlighted by the coaching staff in film session. The Longhorns are going to face a lot of quick guards this year — Sherron Collins of Kansas and Kalin Lucas of Michigan State come to mind — and against a more well-rounded opponent, these kind of defensive lapses could be killer.

The other focal points in this one will seem incredibly repetitive for anyone who has been regularly reading this website. Once again, Texas struggled from the foul line — they were 8-of-15 tonight — and J’Covan Brown compiled a handful of dumb turnovers. The free-throw nightmare is going to be a season-long theme, but I am supremely confident that Barnes and his assistants will settle Brown down as the season goes on. Many of his turnovers last night were a result of his attempt to be overly flashy as Texas coasted with its big lead. In the post-game interviews, Barnes noted that this is simply Brown trying to “make a great pass instead of just a good pass.” If Brown will stop trying to make SportsCenter’s Top Plays, his turnover numbers will certainly improve.

Handing out blue stars

Practically everyone in this game looked excellent. Even though Brown was responsible for six of Texas’ eleven turnovers, he provided thirteen points and five rebounds. As mentioned earlier, Jordan Hamilton was much more willing to drive from the wings, instead of immediately popping a three-pointer. In fact, Hamilton took just 25% of his shots from behind the arc, a far cry from the 60% of his attempts that were coming from long-range prior to this game.

Avery Bradley was finally able to showcase that silky-smooth midrange jumper that Texas fans have been hearing about so often. He added 17 points in the winning effort, and provided two steals and a block on the defensive end. Down low, Gary Johnson was a beast off the bench. He scored fourteen points and grabbed five boards in just 22 minutes on the court, and his ability to get quality looks inside led to a scorching 88% shooting night.

The bench combined for 61 points in this game, a statistic you might likely never see again. Beyond the players listed above, even the role players who see the floor for just a few minutes were able to get into the act. Alexis Wangmene looked good down low, scoring eight points — four of them coming off of beautiful assists from Balbay. His defense also seems to have improved, as he was able to frustrate the opposing big men without picking up his typical rash of fouls.

While Shawn Williams didn’t showcase the three-point stroke that one recruiting expert had trumped up during the off-season, he continued to hustle and play tough inside in his limited minutes. The guy just knows how to get to the ball, and he’s going to be a feisty rebounder when Barnes isn’t getting what he needs from the front line.

The big finish

On a personal note, last night’s game was probably the closest I’ve come to ending the streak of consecutive games attended. Something nasty decided it wanted to infect me on Saturday, and with finals and papers due for most students, there was nobody else going to guilt me into attending. I managed to make it to the game in time but likely looked like a serial killer, slouched in a seat by myself with a hooded sweatshirt pulled tight around my head. Fortunately, the Longhorns looked great so their performance didn’t make me feel any worse.

Next up for Texas is an I-35 battle against Texas State, a team that is predicted to finish at the bottom of the Southland Conference this year. It won’t be a tough test for the Longhorns, but provides another opportunity to tweak the little things they’ll need to work on before the big 1-2 punch of North Carolina and Michigan State. Game preview will be up on Saturday morning, and in the meantime I’ll be working on photo uploads and Notes from the Road.

Texas played 30 minutes of solid basketball on Monday night in Kansas City, notching a 25-point victory to move to 3-0 on the year. Unfortunately for the Longhorns, it was the other 10 minutes that made things much more interesting than they should have been.

Freshman Jordan Hamilton led the way early for Texas, hitting four three-pointers in the first half. The Texas defense also helped to open things up early, stifling Iowa (1-3) for the first ten minutes of the game. The Hawkeyes had trouble getting open looks, often battling the shot clock before clanging the ball off the rim. The Longhorns built a lead as big as fourteen points with 10:30 to go in the first frame. But then things got hairy.

Perhaps it was complacency due to the large lead. Or perhaps the Longhorn defenders were tired of rotating on defense as the Hawkeyes utilized screen after screen and moved the ball around the court at lightning speed. But whatever the reason, the Texas D was no longer in the face of the Iowa sharpshooters, and they quickly paid for it. The Hawkeyes finished the half by nailing 5-of-7 from behind the arc, including a desperation buzzer-beating heave sunk from the opposite three-point line by Cully Payne. The teams headed to the locker room tied with 38 points apiece.

Halftime adjustments were quickly apparent, as Texas gave Iowa a steady dose of Dexter Pittman. The big man had just four points in the first half, but immediately doubled that — and then some — by scoring three quick buckets in the first two minutes of the second stanza. The Texas defense woke up as well, holding Iowa scoreless for nearly six minutes after a Matt Gatens three coming out of the locker room.

With the defense clicking, the Horns slowly pulled away, building an insurmountable double-digit lead in front of a restless crowd who was rooting for the upset. Texas piled on the fast break points and blocked numerous shots, frustrating an Iowa offense that could only muster an 18.8% second-half success rate against the suffocating D.

If one can look past the mental lapse late in the first half, this was a very impressive win for the Longhorns. The defense played outstanding basketball when they were all keyed in and on the same page. Players were talking and rotating on defense, backup forwards Alexis Wangmene and Gary Johnson were challenging and stifling their opponents all the way out to the high post, and the active hands of the guards led to fourteen fast break points for Texas.

Offensively, Texas showcased a balanced attack. When the Horns pounded the ball inside, Pittman was practically unstoppable, even against the collapsing Iowa zone. The solid outside shooting of Hamilton kept the Texas offense afloat when they weren’t able to score in the paint. Five different Longhorns ended up in double-figures on the night, yet another example of how dangerous the Texas depth will be for opponents.

But despite all the positives, there were still issues the team will be working on. Texas turned it over 16 times in this one, which actually seems like a small victory after the 21 turnovers against Western Carolina last Wednesday. Unfortunately, many of the Longhorn miscues were the result of being fancy or sloppy — sometimes on the same play — when they were enjoying large leads. The argument could be made that Texas felt over-confident and knew they would be able to beat Iowa, fundamentals be damned. But will these bad habits resurface later against quality opponents who can make the Longhorns pay if they get lackadaisical with a big lead?

Free throws were once again a dicey proposition for Texas. The Longhorns made 70% of their attempts from the stripe, thanks in large part to the steady hand of J’Covan Brown, who made all four of his attempts. While that number was a vast improvement from the 62% they posted against UC-Irvine and the hide-your-face-in-shame 53% mark they had against Western Carolina, the struggles of guard Varez Ward were still worrisome. Ward is doing a great job attacking the rim and getting to the line, but he has only made 50% of his attempts from the stripe. His ability to drive and get defenses reacting is greatly diminished when opponents know they can hack at him and limit Texas to no more than one point that possession.

The final area of concern was another lengthy drought for the Texas offense. The Longhorns went three-and-a-half minutes late in the first half without scoring, and had another four minutes in the second where they suffered the same fate. Credit must be given to a tough Iowa defense, but fans of the Longhorns will recall the stagnant periods that plagued last year’s team and briefly reappeared against Western Carolina.

The Longhorns have a ton of weapons to kill you from anywhere on the floor, but it seems like they are content to shoot threes when they are unable to get it inside. Texas definitely has the long-range gunners to make this work, but their insistence upon constantly launching it from behind the arc is leading to long droughts. If you take Hamilton out of the equation in this game, the rest of the Longhorns went 4-of-16 from behind the arc. That’s far too many attempts when there is such a size advantage down low, and especially when the three-point shots aren’t falling.

Let’s revisit our keys to the game as we wrap this one up…

Exploit the height advantage – Texas didn’t do a great job of this in the first half, but it was clear that Coach Barnes made it a point of emphasis at halftime. Pittman and Damion James combined for 25 points, and the Longhorns enjoyed a 40-31 rebounding edge.

Strong perimeter defense – Late in the first half, it felt like this might be Texas’ undoing. But the Longhorns clamped down on defense the rest of the way, and the Hawkeyes sputtered to a 10-of-37 night behind the arc. If you take out the flurry of threes that Iowa made in the last seven minutes of the first half, they were just 5-of-30 on threes in the other 33 minutes of play.

Control the tempo – Texas scored 14 fast-break points in the game, and in the closing minutes of the contest, their ability to run completely crushed any last-ditch comeback attempts from the Hawkeyes. It was mentioned earlier that the Texas half-court offense sputtered for stretches, but there is no doubt that the Longhorns look their best when running the floor and getting easy fast-break and secondary-break points.

The Longhorns advance to face Pittsburgh in tonight’s championship game at 9:15 P.M. A pre-game look at the Panthers will be headed your way in just a few hours.

Wednesday night’s victory over Western Carolina was certainly impressive for the Longhorns. They logged a 32-point win, held their opponents to a scant 26.2% shooting percentage, and won the rebounding battle by an overwhelming 47-32 margin. But while the scoreboard and the stat lines were tilted heavily in Texas’ favor, some old issues managed to resurface for the Longhorns.

Most concerning for fans should be the continued struggles from the free-throw line. Last season, Texas made less than 80% of their attempts from the line, with nine players shooting hitting less than 70% of their tries. Of those nine, eight are on this year’s roster. As a result, the Longhorns have made just 59.6% of their free throws over the first two games. Damion James was the only Longhorn to truly shine from the charity stripe against the Catamounts, as he made 8-of-10 on the night. Alexis Wangmene also made both of his attempts, so perhaps the pair can put on a clinic at the next practice.

In addition, the youth of the team showed in the form of turnovers. Texas coughed it up against the Catamounts 21 times, for a differential of negative six. While we discussed in the game preview Western Carolina’s tendency to force steals, the complete lack of ball control will be absolutely killer if it continues into the new year. Yes, it’s still very, very early in the year, but the inability to get entry passes to the post was painful to watch.

It was also difficult for the Longhorns to develop any real offensive rhythm in the game. This isn’t worrisome like the free throw struggles and turnovers, but it’s something that could prolong the establishment of steady rotations off the bench. Any flow to the offense was constantly stifled by a combination of the turnovers, liberal substitutions, and whistle-happy refs — who called an excessive twelve fouls in the first eight minutes of the second half. With different players constantly running on the court and the choppy, whistle-interrupted style of play, it was tough to find any unit of players who excelled for any length of time.

In the winning effort, J’Covan Brown came closer to showing fans just how special of a player he is, but turnovers still plagued his game. Brown lost the ball six times against Western Carolina, giving him eleven TOs on the season. But the rest of his offensive game continued to blossom, as he once again showcased his three-point range and even brought the Frank Erwin Center crowd to its feet with a buzzer-beater to end the first half. J’Covan is going to be a star in the near future, but it’s clear that his unfortunate one-year absence has put a little bit of rust on his game.

Elsewhere on the freshman front, Jordan Hamilton is quickly proving that there is not a shot he doesn’t like. While this is a habit that will certainly need to be broken as the season wears on, Hamilton has at least made up for his quick-trigger by constantly following shots. Even though he missed four of five long-range attempts, each time he was crashing the glass and hustling for offensive boards. It’s hard not to like the drive and determination he’s exhibiting, but he will need to remember that on a team this talented, the last thing Texas needs is the Hamilton Catch-and-Shoot Extravaganza.

While we’ve picked out these negative aspects to dissect, the game was by no means a disappointment for Texas. The D was superb for a second-straight game, putting Texas first in the nation for defensive efficiency. Ken Pomeroy’s number-crunching shows that the suffocating Longhorn defense is allowing just .589 points per possession. Texas likely won’t see a true test of that defensive mettle until they take on the up-tempo Tar Heels on December 19th, but it will be interesting to keep tabs on that stat as the season rolls on.

Moving past the team accolades and on to the individual achievements, Gary Johnson is to be lauded for an excellent showing off the bench. The forward made all four of his shots from the field, chipping in ten points with seven boards. Although most players would expect to see an increase in minutes from their sophomore to junior seasons, Johnson is making the most of his decreased playing time.

Varez Ward also showed flashes of brilliance, looking once again like the exciting, lane-slashing guard that we saw at the end of last season. Ward provided ten points on 4-of-6 shooting and even logged three steals. Some fans questioned his inclusion in the starting lineup, but it’s quickly becoming clear that his late-season surge back in March was just the beginning of great player development.

Texas will face Iowa tomorrow night in the semi-finals of the CBE Classic at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. We’ll bring you a game preview sometime in the A.M. hours.

The Longhorns are back, ladies and gentlemen. And boy, do they look good.

Sure, it’s important to keep in mind that the team that Texas absolutely dismantled on Sunday afternoon is coming off a season in which they finished 12-19. And yes, the Longhorns were far more talented than their opponents, and their frontcourt towered over the Cal-Irvine big men. But to see Texas pushing the tempo, knocking down shots, and running fresh bodies off the bench for 40 full minutes…well, it was a thing of beauty.

Things weren’t pretty the whole way, though. Texas stumbled in the opening minutes, with point guard J’Covan Brown clearly suffering from some first-game jitters. And for a kid who hadn’t seen the court in actual competitive action for nearly a year and a half, it’s understandable. Brown turned it over four times in the first few minutes of the game, earning himself a pair of breathers on the bench and a few words of wisdom from Coach Barnes.

The early miscues provided Cal-Irvine the opportunity to jump out to a 15-10 lead just eight minutes into the game. But after that, it was all Longhorns. Texas closed out the half on a 32-6 run in which they held their opponents to a scant 16.7% success rate from the field.

The unquestioned leaders for the Longhorns were in the senior frontcourt, where Damion James and Dexter Pittman each chipped in with 21 points. James added 15 boards to start the season with a double-double, while Pittman grabbed seven rebounds of his own and blocked three shots. Although Dexter against the undersized ‘Eaters forwards was one of the great mismatches of all-time, seeing him play for more than 20 minutes while picking up just one foul — albeit 16 seconds into the game — was incredibly reassuring for Texas fans.

The dominating play inside was complimented by the three-guard lineup that Barnes started, featuring Brown, Justin Mason, and Varez Ward. While Ward only scored one bucket, the ‘Eaters respected the offensive threat he brought to the floor. This was made perfectly clear by one exchange where Varez dribbled at the high post and directed Pittman to slide over for a screen. As soon was Ward made his first step towards the basket, both his defender and Pittman’s defender rushed out to cut him off, leaving the big man open for an easy lob pass and dunk. While it was certainly a defensive lapse for the Anteaters, it also underscored the fact that having a guard like Ward who can slash to the basket will open up things inside.

Even Dogus Balbay had improved over the summer, as evidenced in his 19 minutes off the bench. Balbay was not afraid to shoot the ball on Sunday, even tossing up a three-point attempt from the top of the key. And although the Turkish point guard was just 1-of-4 on the afternoon, it is going to keep defenses more honest this year if they know Balbay is now likely take it to the rim when he drives the lane.

But beyond the heady play of the returning Longhorns, the most exciting thing about Sunday’s blowout was the debut of the freshmen talent. While Brown had his early struggles with turnovers, he settled down in the second half and unveiled a silky-smooth long-range shot. J’Covan went 3-of-6 from long range on the day, and only coughed up the rock one more time after his initial hiccup.

Jordan Hamilton and Avery Bradley also gave Longhorn fans much to be excited about this season. Hamilton showed that he can truly do it all, knocking down a three, handling the ball on the wing and inside, moving through traffic with ease, and throwing down a dunk that brought the Erwin Center crowd out of its seats. His stat line was a testament to his contributions all over the floor: twelve points, a pair of steals, a blocked shot, and three rebounds.

Bradley, meanwhile, turned in a solid performance on defense, added ten points, and dropped two dimes in his 22 minutes on the floor. The freshman from Tacoma is certainly going to be something special this season. He seemed calm and collected on the floor at all times, never once looking like an 18-year old kid playing in his first collegiate game.

While we didn’t get to see as much of freshman forward Shawn Williams as we’d hoped, he did scrap on the boards while he was playing. Williams had six rebounds in his thirteen minutes on the floor, but struggled with fouls in his short stint. Shawn picked up three personals rather quickly, so if he hopes to earn any extra playing time throughout the year, he’ll have to control that issue.

As mentioned in the game preview, we’d hoped to use this game as a benchmark for the offseason improvements of the other Longhorn big men, namely Matt Hill, Alexis Wangmene, and Clint Chapman. But with Chapman sidelined by the flu and Hill and Wangmene limited to three and eight minutes, respectively, it was nearly impossible to get a read on either of them.

All told, it was an exciting, promising start for this batch of Longhorns. Coach Barnes had ten players who played for at least thirteen minutes, which means that foul trouble from any player besides the irreplaceable Pittman will likely be just a minor speedbump. Texas also shot extremely well from long range, hitting 6-of-13 from beyond the arc. Coming off a season in which they shot just 32.8% on threes, and had no true threats beyond A.J. Abrams, this added dimension to the Longhorn offense is a welcome relief.

Texas now enjoys a few days off before returning to action in the CBE Classic on Wednesday night against the Western Carolina Catamounts. Tickets are still available through the Texas Box Office website or by calling 1-800-982-2386.