Dexter Pittman being interviewed by Mark Rosner

It certainly wasn’t pretty, but Texas escaped with a Big 12 road win in Lincoln on Wednesday night, defeating the Nebraska Cornhuskers by the narrowest of margins, 62-61.

Coming off back-to-back road losses, the Longhorns (14-5, 4-1 Big 12) desperately needed a victory to not only stop the bleeding, but also to stay in the thick of the developing conference race. Early on, it appeared that the Cornhuskers (12-6, 1-3) were under a trance from behind the arc, going 7-of-14 there in the first half. Fortunately, Texas was also shooting very well from three-point range and headed to the locker room with a 31-28 lead after Justin Mason hit a floater at the buzzer.

The second half saw Texas develop an eight-point lead about midway through, although the Horns threw away a ton of opportunities to expand their advantage. As was the case all night long, the Texas players tried to force passes when there were no openings, particularly into the post. On the positive side of things, at least many of the turnovers were a result of trying to establish an inside game. But that’s about the only silver lining in those 17 giveaways.

The breakout star of the game was Dexter Pittman, pictured above. He came off the bench and played significant minutes in both halves, a huge change from his usual mop-up duties in the waning minutes of cupcake games. (Major props to the all-stars at Burnt Orange Nation for predicting that development in their pregame.) For the first time this year, there was something of a presence in the low post for Texas. Pittman scored seven and pulled down four boards in twelve minutes of play, by far his best outing of the season.

Kevin Durant got back to his high scoring ways, although he became nearly invisible in the second half for a second consecutive game. K-Smoove was half of the two-man show that kept Texas in the game early when Nebraska was hitting every three they took — A.J. Abrams was the other — and finished with 26 points and 15 boards, yet another double-double for the freshman phenom. Abrams scored fourteen points and was 4-of-9 from behind the arc.

D.J. Augustin didn’t make a single shot, but he did dish the rock. Augustin was credited with ten assists on the night, while only turning over the ball twice. Unfortunately, a lot of the offense is still oftentimes an Augustin drive followed by a shot or dish. There were more back-door cuts tonight, but oftentimes it just led to a freed-up guard coming around the corner, receiving the ball, then dribbling to the top of the key as another guard made the same circuit. This is still something that needs to be addressed as the season winds down, but I have no doubt that it will be taken care of by March.

Craig Winder hustled all over the floor in his six minutes of action, corralling two rebounds and playing great perimeter defense. The great thing about Winder is that his length and speed allow him to sag off and help in the paint, yet still flash out quickly enough to get a hand in a shooter’s face behind the arc. I love his hard-nosed attitude and determination. Early in the year, he was a bit out of control — and, admittedly, he still sometimes is on the offense end — but he seems to have that under control and provides a handful of quality minutes each game now without making stupid fouls.

As ugly as it was, Coach Barnes put it best when he said, “I’ll take it.” Texas was staring a three-game losing streak in the face as Nebraska raced down the court with the ball and eight seconds left. Instead, the Horns now get the luxury of coming home against a scuttling Baylor Bear team with the hopes of starting a new winning streak…. before heading to Lubbock for what is certain to be a huge test. Such is life in all major conferences this time of year.

Thursday night I’ll roll out the first portion of the photo galleries. In the meantime, revel in the gut-check win and buy some tickets to the home game on Saturday.

Villanova held Kevin Durant to only a single second half point on Saturday. That’s right — one point in twenty minutes. For a guy who had been averaging nearly a point for each minute of conference play. Needless to say, the Longhorns struggled, falling 76-69 to the Wildcats on Saturday afternoon.

The bright spots were few and far between in a game that was tough to watch. Although Texas led for much of the first half, it never really felt like they were in control. The offense came to a screeching halt against Villanova’s zone, where the length was waiting out top. The Horns simply stood around, lackadaisically tossing the ball around the perimeter before throwing up a three pointer. And when you go 3-for-13 from behind the arc in the first half, that’s not a great game plan.

It’s easy to attribute the senior-citizen rec-league offense to tired legs after the Horns played 55 minutes of basketball on Tuesday night in Stillwater. And it certainly did look like Texas was tired. Players stood with hands on their hips after the under-8 TV timeout in the first half. Kevin Durant and D.J. Augustin missed free throws off the front of the iron in the second.

Defensively, things didn’t look much better. Texas was completely unable to deny entry passes into the lane and often had to give away fouls to avoid allowing easy buckets. Matt Hill had five of those fouls in only eight minutes of play, which was the only evidence on the stat sheet that he was even in the game. Zero points, rebounds, and assists filled out the rest of his line.

Freshman Scottie Reynolds played a great game for the Cats when they needed him the most. Curtis Sumpter missed the game due to a knee bruise, but thanks to Reynolds, Villanova’s offense was still able to get by. The freshman chipped in 26 points — including 12-of-13 from the line — and played all but two minutes.

Three-point threat Mike Nardi was mostly off, only going 3-for-11 from behind the arc. But it seemed that the ones he did make came at big moments in the second half, helping Villanova build a twelve-point lead and then helping to quiet Longhorn rallies down the stretch.

D.J. Augustin was the only UT player who seemed to want to give any effort against Nova’s zone. His dribble penetration made up most of the offense in the second half, as he provided 25 points in only 32 minutes of play. Augustin was awarded Big 12 Rookie of the Week yesterday for his efforts against Villanova and OSU.

Despite looking lethargic and indifferent for most of the game, Texas managed to put together a brief surge late in the game. With 2:23 left, A.J. Abrams hit a three and trimmed the Wildcat lead to only two. But Texas could not make another field goal, going 0-for-6 the rest of the way. Their only points in the final 153 seconds came from a trio of J.D. Lewis free throws. Meanwhile, Villanova knocked down 8-of-10 free throws over that same stretch to ice the game.

A two-game losing streak is never fun, but it’s definitely not the end of the world. A 20-win season is still within reach if Texas can go 7-5 to close out Big 12 play. And thanks to Texas Tech’s upset on Saturday, the 3-1 mark that the Horns are sporting has them still tied for second in league play.

So when Texas heads to Nebraska on Wednesday night, it’s not only a chance to end the brief skid and right the ship, but also to stay right in the thick of things in the top-heavy Big 12 conference. Game preview comes your way late tonight.

Kevin Durant led the way as the Longhorns cruised past the Missouri Tigers last night, earning their second conference win by an 88-68 score. The game was never in doubt, as Missouri only led the game for a total of 33 seconds. Texas quickly took their own lead on a Damion James three-pointer at the 19:11 mark in the first half and never looked back.

Durant scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Longhorns (12-3, 2-0), giving him his fourth consecutive double-double. He’s averaging 28.3 points and 15.3 rebounds per game over that stretch. At this point, the discussion has to move beyond simply freshman of the year and you have to give the kid serious consideration for the Naismith award. Of course, there’s still another fifteen games to go and anything can happen, but he seems to be a man playing among boys every time he steps on the court.

Missouri (11-4, 0-2) brought the high intensity and pressure that new coach Mike Anderson has been famous for since his days at Alabama-Birmingham. They forced Texas into fifteen turnovers, but failed to capitalize upon them all night. In fact, Texas actually won the points-off-turnovers battle by a 19-7 tally.

Mizzou showed a zone against the Longhorns for much of the game, and Texas had no problem shooting over it. The Horns hit 8-of-15 from behind the arc in the first half, and nailed their first two in the second half as well. The hot shooting led to a massive 27-point advantage for Texas with 12:33 to go in the game.

The Longhorn offense ground to a halt over the next five minutes and Mizzou put on a little run of their own, closing the gap to 69-55 with just over seven minutes left. During that stretch, Texas seemed content to work the ball around the three-point line, failing to attack the zone. This team is very good when D.J. penetrates and finds the open man amidst the collapsing zones, and it’s crystal clear how bad our offense can be when we don’t. It looked like the team got a little too comfortable shooting over the zone and didn’t know what to do when that didn’t work. But you simply can’t overlook the fact that they moved the ball around very well for much of the game in order to get themselves those open three-point shots.

Augustin put forth an amazing effort, playing 37 minutes in the contest. He only turned the ball over twice against the pressure defense of the Tigers, and logged six assists to go with his thirteen-point night. A.J. Abrams joined the point guard in the double-digit club, adding sixteen points on a night where he went 4-for-7 from behind the arc.

J.D. Lewis continued to see significant minutes, a testament to how much his defense has improved since last season. While J.D. can hit the three, he’s not the team’s only three-point threat. He’s needed to spell our three starting guards, and the less of a liability he is on the defensive end, the more playing time Barnes gives him. Lewis made a couple of bad turnovers against the Tiger defense, but did knock down two three-pointers.

One of the best moments of the night came in Dexter Pittman’s one minute on the floor. He blocked a Mizzou shot and Texas was heading back on offense. But the ball was lost in transition, and Pittman turned around just in time to see it. The scene looked like a lineman noticing a fumble, as Big Dex lumbered back to the ball and completely laid out to cover it up. The Erwin Center erupted, the bench jumped up and celebrated, and Pittman was all grins. It was only a moment in a much longer game, but it really highlighted the kid’s energy, work ethic, and determination. I can’t wait until he’s ready for significant playing time, because he’s going to be something special.

Connor Atchley had a very quiet sixteen minutes, picking up four rebounds and getting to the line for four free throw attempts late in the game. He still can’t finish when somebody fouls him next to the basket, but the fact that he’s down there fighting is a huge step forward from his play last year. What I found most important about Atchley’s defense was the fact that he did not pick up a single foul in those sixteen minutes. You can usually count on James and Atchley to combine for seven or eight fouls a game, so it was great to see the opposition on the charity stripe a little less in this one.

Mizzou’s Matt Lawrence only gets a few sentences. His horrible defense was definitely on display, as he showcased the flashy footspeed of a quadraplegic. But his three-point shot was left somewhere back in Columbia. The kid knocked down just about every shot he took during warmups, but whiffed on all three during the game. Que triste.

The Horns have one more home conference game before a three-game road swing, so be sure to come out to the Erwin Center this weekend. Tip is at 2:30 central on Saturday against hated rival Oklahoma (9-5, 1-1). Kelvin Sampson might not be there, but they still wear crimson, they still don’t have teeth, and they’re still Sooners. So let’s fill the drum and watch Kevin Durant drop another 30-plus on that trailer trash.

So we’re back from Colorado and still alive, although we certainly were hit by about every winter condition short of a blizzard that you could think of. I’ll get to all of that in the trip wrap, but for now we’ve got a game to break down.

Nothing makes 30 hours spent in a car seem more worthwhile than a solid, convincing win. And after a battle from the Buffs in the first half, that’s exactly what Kevin Durant and the Horns had, pulling away for a 102-78 victory in Boulder.

Texas (11-3, 1-0 Big 12) jumped out to an early lead and it looked like all was going according to script. But Colorado (4-7, 0-1) quickly stormed back and took its own lead. The first half was a see-saw affair, with the Horns unable to shut down Buffs star Richard Roby. He was hitting from outside, and getting open looks inside with Texas constantly losing him away from the ball. They even allowed him easy shots on the offensive glass as he would crash from the outside and no one picked him up.

That all changed in the second half, as Texas came out with added pressure on Roby. The double-teams and help defense frustrated him, as he scored only eight points in the second half after dropping a massive 22 in the first frame. Meanwhile, Texas went on a 22-11 run at the 16:24 mark and never looked back. The surge was fueled by threes, with Texas hitting what I think was four in a row.

Kevin Durant was the star for the Horns, scoring 37 points and grabbing 16 rebounds. He was hitting from absolutely everywhere, going 5-for-7 behind the arc, throwing down some monster dunks, and knocking down the mid-range jumpers, too.

It has reached the point where we know that KD is going to be the standout player in each and every game for the Horns. Which leads me to the newest feature of Longhorn Road Trip — the Player-Not-Named-Kevin-Durant of the Game Award. And for Colorado, I have to give the PNNKDOTGA to Damion James. Enjoy the alphabet soup.

Damion continued his stellar play on the defensive end, despite picking up four fouls. You could tell that the altitude was getting to him, as he’d stand around and grab at his shorts on the offensive sets late in the game. But even with the added exhaustion from playing over a mile above sea level, James gave his best game of the year — fifteen points, nine rebounds, and a block.

A.J. Abrams and D.J. Augustin also added fifteen points each, with the latter just missing out on a double-double. Augustin dished out nine assists while turning the ball over only once and had four steals.

Connor Atchley again provided valuable minutes for Coach Barnes. And while he picked up one dumb foul that I can distinctly remember, his added contribution in playing time is huge. Now if we can just get him to actually finish those layups when he’s fouled….

Texas heads home for its next pair of conference games, starting with Mizzou at 7 PM on Wednesday night.

The first twenty minutes of Tuesday night’s game against UT-Arlington certainly seemed like an uncomfortable rehash of last week’s ugly win over Centenary. And with seventeen minutes to play, the upset-minded Mavericks even had the Longhorn lead down to six. But talent and size proved the difference for Texas, as they overtook the lead in rebounds and put the game well out of reach. After forty minutes, Rick Barnes’ squad had notched a solid 84-52 win.

Texas (10-3) came out nearly as cold as they had in the Centenary game just five days prior. While the Horns had opened 2-for-12 against the Gents, they managed to be a tad better against the UTA Mavericks, starting 2-for-8 from the field. D.J. Augustin was one Horn who was able to get going early, hitting two three pointers in the first five minutes. But Augustin would not score another basket until the seventeen-minute mark of the second half.

UT-Arlington was able to control the rebounding margin for much of the game, despite being a significantly smaller team. As Texas was able to close that gap and ultimately dominate the statistical category, the Longhorns were able to put the game easily in hand. As we head towards conference play and tougher, bigger teams, we will have to be able to stay competitive on the glass. We won’t likely win the battle every night, but we need to be able to avoid getting absolutely pounded and giving up uncontested second-chance points like we did during the first half of the UTA game.

I was most impressed by Arlington’s Jermaine Griffin. Despite his horribly cheesy bicep bands, he had a very good inside game. Unfortunately for Griffin, his free throw shooting wasn’t nearly as good. He finished 2-of-11 from the line, yet still had sixteen points on the night. If he can improve his FT percentage to something above the Mendoza line, he could be a power for the Mavs in their conference stretch.

Kevin Durant followed up a great performance against Centenary with another magnificent game. He dropped 21 points and ripped down fifteen boards, giving him an amazing 42 points and 32 rebounds in his last 64 minutes on the floor. Every game that I see him in, I can’t believe that a player of this caliber is on the court in burnt orange and white. He’s going to carry this team to some wins over the next two months that we probably shouldn’t have.

The team was really active defensively, with Durant blocking four shots and Connor Atchley adding three of his own. Atchley continued to look good on defense, if you can overlook a few dumb fouls. The three personals limited Connor to fifteen minutes in the game, and is something he’ll need to continue to work on. But his defense has come so far from the guy that teams could immediately pick on when he entered the game, and he will play a key role in the Big 12 matchups.

At this point, I’m a bit buzzed on Shiner and I’m not sure what is making sense and what is even spelled correctly. And I guess in theory I should get rest before another eight hours on the road tomorrow. But suffice it to say that I’m happy with this team. We’ve got an insane amount of talent and we’re going to be in fine shape when Selection Sunday rolls around. Sure, we’re going to lose some stupid games over the next two months, and that will without a doubt be frustrating. But I think we’ve got a shot in every contest, and that makes it fun to head to the arena twice a week.

Have a great Friday, and I’ll bring you a Colorado preview from somwhere in Denver on Friday night.