To count down the days to the Big Dance, we’ll be unveiling the top ten buzzer beaters from the NCAA tournament each morning until the first game. So when you roll out of bed next Thursday, crusty-eyed and anxious for wall-to-wall basketball action, you’ll be met with the early treat of the #1 NCAA buzzer beater of all-time.

This morning we start with #10, which happened just two seasons ago in Greensboro, North Carolina. A lot of pundits had called Tennessee overrated as a 2-seed that had lost four of their last six games, and Bruce Pearl’s team wasn’t doing anything to prove them wrong. Although the Volunteers should have been able to put away 15th-seeded Winthrop early, their largest lead of the game was only six points, and that came just eight minutes into it. But with just 2.9 seconds to go in a tie game, Chris Lofton threw up a shot from just inside the arc to put the Vols up for good.

While the shot didn’t technically come at the buzzer — Winthrop would miss their own game-tying attempt as the horn sounded — it was one of the most exciting finishes in recent memory. And it’s also today’s YouTube highlight, checking in at #10 on the countdown of Top Ten March Madness Buzzer Beaters.

Lots and lots of news for the Horns now that the regular season has come to a close. And that starts with the Big 12 conference awards, where Rick Barnes took home Coach of the Year in a season where his Longhorns set a school record for regular season victories. D.J. Augustin was a unanimous selection to the All-Big 12 First Team, while A.J. Abrams and Damion James were named to the second team. The king of hustle, Justin Mason, was named to the All-Defensive Team.

In the latest Bracketology from Joe Lunardi, the Horns are still a 2-seed playing in the Phoenix regional with UCLA as the 1-seed. God forbid this projection actually holds, as good ol’ Joe has a potential second-round match-up for Texas with Arkansas…in Little Rock. Hardcore amateur bracketologists will be happy to know that Joe is now going daily with his picks from until Selection Sunday.

Andy Glockner’s Bubble Watch — now also a daily feature — has the Big 12 with three “locks” in Texas, Kansas, and OU. He feels that Baylor and K-State are solidly in, and barring a Bear implosion against Colorado on Thursday, I would have to agree. That leaves A&M in the “work left to do” category, which could be something of a misnomer. As long as the bubble doesn’t contract further with cinderella auto-bids, the Aggies should be fine. But while they don’t actually need another win, they certainly can’t afford to somehow lose to Iowa State.

While everybody is focused on seeds and bubbles, there is still that weekly tradition of the polls, which saw Texas climb to 6th in the AP and 8th in the ESPN/USA Today.

Although there’s no Big Monday, there’s more tournament action from Championship Week tonight. Auto-bids will be handed out in the Southern Conference (8 PM CST, ESPN2), where bubble team fans will be pulling hard for Davidson. At the same time, those nervous folks will be hoping that Gonzaga can stave off San Diego in the WCC Championship (8 PM CST, ESPN). And just underway in Albany, Rider and Siena are battling for the MAAC title on ESPN2.

Texas remained a 2-seed in Lunardi’s latest Bracketology, although he shifted them out West to Phoenix. There’s still a week to go, but it’s pretty safe to say that Texas is a solid 2-seed — barring back-to-back losses to Oklahoma State and in the Big 12 Quarterfinals — but now the question is where. Personally, my only concern is to not draw the Detroit site. One trip to that city per season is enough for me.

Fans who want to check out the Kansas/Texas A&M game can still buy tickets, thanks to a majority of the Aggie students heading home for Spring Break. Unsold student tickets can now be bought at this link, so if you’re in the area and want to catch the 3 P.M. showdown, you’ve still got a shot.

Big 12 hoopsheads or fans of teams seeded five through twelve can buy my Big 12 Tourney tickets for Session 1 and 2 off of eBay. All games are on Thursday in the Sprint Center, and you can bid using these links for Session 1 and Session 2.

Apparently there are some technical difficulties with the Flash video player, as it will only work for one video per page. That means if you try to watch the Baylor video while the Tech one is still on the main page, you get the Tech video. Yet if you click over to the Baylor write-up by itself, the video plays just fine. All of the technobabble that makes this stuff work is just Greek to me, so I’ve passed it along to some more knowledgeable folks to see what they can do. For now, if you want to watch the Baylor video, you can view it on the single-entry page.

We’re just about five hours from the tip of Texas’ second-round NCAA tournament game in Spokane, Washington. And roughly fourteen months after Vincent Paul Young, Jr. and the Longhorns dethroned the Southern Cal Trojans in their own city, the two teams will meet again on the basketball court.

Last night was a pretty late one for those of us on the Longhorn Road Trip, meaning we overslept a tad this morning. And we’ve got to show these Spokies how to tailgate Texas-style, so we have to head to the arena shortly. Unfortunately, that means the pre-game report will be a little less detailed than usual.

The Trojans are not the best of scorers, checking in at 117th in the nation for offensive efficiency. But they still have their share of playmakers on the offensive end. Wayne Brady lookalike Lodrick Stewart is an absolute nightmare from three-point range, and could cause a major headache for a team like Texas that struggles in guarding the perimeter.

Freshman big man Taj Gibson is a hell of a player down low, and will be a tough assignment for Damion James and Connor Atchley. If the Atchley that showed up on Friday makes a return appearance today, it should be a good battle down low. James will also have to play a much better game this time out and avoid picking up early fouls.

Nick Young is a great guard for Coach Tim Floyd, and is leading the team in both scoring and minutes. Young can knock down the 17-footers with ease and is incredibly dangerous off the dribble. He can sink a floater on the run, or stop on a dime and arc one over a surprised defender. Young’s speed and ability to dribble penetrate could cause problems for the Texas guards.

Although he doesn’t play a ton of minutes, 6-foot, 11-inch freshman RouSean Cromwell can be a difference-maker in the paint. Against the Razorbacks on Friday night, Cromwell had an amazing defensive series where he blocked two consecutive shots without even leaving the floor. D.J. Augustin might want to be careful with his drives to the bucket against this guy.

On the defensive end, USC is one of the better teams that Texas has faced this season. Their defensive efficiency is 29th in the country, and they are especially stout in the paint. The Trojans limit opponents to 43.5% shooting from inside the arc, which is 18th out of the NCAA’s 336 D-1 basketball teams.

Texas is going to need a stellar game from D.J. Augustin and Kevin Durant, as usual. But as previously mentioned, Damion James and Connor Atchley must step up against a much better USC frontcourt. Quality minutes from Craig Winder will be needed to spell A.J. Abrams and Justin Mason, while even Dexter Pittman could be called on if the game settles into a half-court battle.

This is going to be another close game for the Longhorns, and USC definitely has the talent to knock them off. But I feel Texas can pull it out and advance to their fifth Sweet Sixteen appearance in the last six years. Post-game thoughts won’t be coming for a few days, as we are hitting the road back to Austin almost immediately after the game. In the meantime, crack open a few beers and settle in on the couch for a day full of basketball.

Not even Texas Pom could fire up a lackluster Spokane crowd

It certainly wasn’t a pretty game, but the Texas Longhorns avoided the nightmare of a one-and-done NCAA appearance by defeating New Mexico State 79-67 last night in Spokane. Freshman superstar Kevin Durant scored 27 points — 15 of them from the line — while guards A.J. Abrams and D.J. Augustin combined for 35 more to lead the Horns to victory.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair in front of a largely empty arena. Because of TV scheduling and the Spokane pod being played in the Pacific time zone, there were only 30 minutes between the end of the Oregon/Miami of Ohio game and the tip of the Texas/New Mexico tilt. Problem was, the games were part of different sessions which made it necessary to completely empty the arena and then re-admit everyone. In thirty minutes. We were at the front of the line, and still only made it to our seats as the Star-Spangled Banner was starting.

New Mexico State gave the Horns a brief scare in the second half. After trailing by 14, the Aggies fought back and reclaimed a 60-57 lead with 6:39 left to play. While my personal thoughts were circling around the insanity of a 40+ hour trip to see a loss to a thirteen-seed, the Horns were fortunately a little more focused on the task at hand. Texas allowed only two more field goals and three field goals the rest of the way, cruising through the final minutes to a double-digit win.

The biggest story of the game — besides the typical Durant-Augustin-Abrams domination — was the re-emergence of Connor Atchley. While Damion James was being whistled every two seconds for looking the wrong way at a New Mexico State player, Atchley was counted on to provide valuable minutes inside against Hatilla Passos and Martin Iti.

Sure, Connor had a few problems with the press late in the game. But his hustle on defense and on the boards was a huge part of the victory. Atchley ended up with seven points and six boards in 28 minutes of play, and even blocked another three shots. While it’s going to be important for Damion to have a big game tomorrow against the Trojans, it’ll be an incredible boost if Connor can play at the same level for a second time this weekend.

Once again Craig Winder played well in his short stints on the floor. In eight minutes, Winder gave the Horns four points and his usual spark off the bench. As odd as it sounds, Craig Winder could be key to a deep tournament run for Texas. He plays with much more intensity on defense than many of the Horns, and will be needed to spell the starting guards to keep them fresh.

A full USC preview should be coming later tonight or early in the morning. For now, we have to go investigate the St. Patrick’s Day happenings in downtown Spokane. And in the meantime, Hook ‘Em, Spartans!