The NCAA hopes of the Texas Longhorns survived an incredibly close call in Lubbock on Saturday afternoon, as Rick Barnes and Co. escaped the High Plains with a 71-67 overtime victory over Texas Tech. The Longhorns coughed up an 11-point halftime lead and even found themselves down by as many as six in overtime, yet managed to avoid a crippling loss that would have practically guaranteed Texas would miss the NCAA tournament.

Instead, the Longhorns find themselves still in the “Last Four In” of Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology update, with all four of those teams in action tonight. While Texas can’t make a huge statement with a win over Oklahoma tonight, a victory is necessary to keep hopes alive.

Northwestern and South Florida both have chances to knock off opponents in the RPI’s Top 25, as they host Ohio State and travel to Louisville, respectively. A win by either of those teams will easily push them past Texas in the pecking order, but that is much easier said than done. If the Wildcats and Bulls can’t notch signature wins, the Longhorns have an opportunity to create a little cushion in the S-curve with a victory tonight.

Meet the Sooners

For an in-depth look at the Oklahoma roster and the team’s key stats, check out LRT’s game preview from the first meeting between these two teams.

The first meeting

For a post-game from the first Texas/OU match-up this season, read LRT’s recap of the Texas victory in Norman.

Since then…

With Texas and Oklahoma not squaring off until mid-February, the teams had to wait just 15 days to face each other once again. The Sooners posted a 1-2 mark since last facing the Longhorns, with their only victory coming at home against Oklahoma State. In that game, Oklahoma logged a 45.5% success rate from behind the arc, led by Steven Pledger’s hot hand. The junior guard was 3-for-4 from long range and was tops on the team with 17 points.

Tyler Neal also found success from three-point range in that game, knocking down two of his four attempts. The sophomore made some clutch threes against Texas, and that performance jump-started his recent resurgence. After averaging just a shade over eight minutes per game in OU’s first 14 Big 12 contests, Neal logged 17 minutes against the Longhorns. In the three games since then, he’s averaged more than 18, and has become a key contributor off the bench. As the Longhorns learned in Norman, Neal cannot be given too much space to shoot.

The Texas game also proved to be a launching pad for fellow sophomore Cameron Clark. After a freshman season in which he showed flashes of brilliance, Clark had yet to make a big splash against quality opponents this season. He finally dazzled against the Horns, however, putting in 13 points in a 38-minute performance. He’s hardly left the floor since facing Texas, averaging 14 points and nearly 34 minutes in those three contests.

Keys to the game

1) Start quickly – The Longhorns struggled early against the Oklahoma zone in Norman, although it certainly wasn’t the fault of point guard Myck Kabongo. He consistently found creases in the defense and set up his teammates, but the Horns were ice cold from the floor. If Texas can hit those open looks tonight and get the reactionary Erwin Center crowd into it right away, this one could have a very different feel from the first game.

2) Limit second-chance points – The Sooners are one of the nation’s best when it comes to reclaiming missed shots, snagging more than 36% of their offensive board chances. Texas kept Oklahoma right at their season average, allowing the Sooners to reclaim 36.1% of their missed shots. Even more importantly, Oklahoma was only able to turn those offensive boards into eight extra points. If Texas can hold OU to a similar number tonight, a season sweep should be in the cards.

3) Lock down the perimeter – Oklahoma only made 33% of their threes in the first game, but have a pair of quality outside shooters in Pledger and the suddenly-important Neal. As any fan of college basketball knows, the triple is the great equalizer, so Texas needs to keep those two Sooners from getting hot beyond the arc. Oklahoma lacks any other real sharpshooters, so chasing Pledger and Neal off the perimeter will greatly diminish the chances of an upset tonight.

For the 12th time this season, the Longhorns headed to the locker room on Tuesday night trailing their opponents. Texas had allowed the Oklahoma Sooners to build an eight-point lead late in the first before Sheldon McClellan finished out the half with a clutch three-point play to close the gap to five at the break. Unfortunately for the Sooners, there was still another half to be played.

The Longhorns continued their trend of strong second-half basketball, roaring out of the locker room with a seven-point burst that put them on top and set the tone for the final twenty minutes. Texas shot over 45% from the field in the second half after making just a third of their attempts in the first, and they forced 10 Oklahoma turnovers after the break. The Longhorns outscored the Sooners by 16 in the second frame, cruising to an 11-point win.

What looked good

Julien Lewis took over for the first few minutes of the second half, scoring on a fast break layup to open the scoring. On the next possession, he forced one of those 10 turnovers and turned his steal into a fast break bucket. Just two minutes later, Lewis added an offensive board on an outstanding hustle play, which led to a wide open three for Myck Kabongo that put the Horns on top by one.

J’Covan Brown kept the rally going for Texas, bouncing back from a tough and inefficient first half. After going 2-for-8 in the first half, Brown sank three of his six shots in the second, with all three makes coming from behind the arc. He also added a pair of steals as Texas turned up the defensive pressure in the second half.

Freshman Sheldon McClellan cracked double figures in scoring for the 16th time this year, chipping in 13 points. Although he missed all three of his attempts from long range, McClellan attacked with the bounce, knocking in some nice floaters amidst traffic. He also earned his way to the stripe with those drives, adding five points on a perfect night at the line. McClellan also snagged five boards, four of those coming on the defensive end. Against a solid offensive rebounding team like Oklahoma, getting that kind of board production from a swingman is huge.

McClellan wasn’t the only Longhorn who manufactured points, as the Longhorns did an excellent job attacking the defense inside and earning trips to the line in the second half. It was the second straight game that Texas scored a ton of points from the charity stripe down the stretch. Against Kansas State and Oklahoma, the Longhorns shot 46 second-half free throws, converting 39 of them. To put it in a tempo-free context, Texas posted a free-throw rate of 121%, meaning that the Horns actually shot 21% more free throws than field goals in their last two second halves.

Kabongo was a big part of that success at the line, as the freshman guard made all six of his free throw attempts. He finished with 13 points and seven assists — one on a highlight-reel alley-oop to Jaylen Bond — but easily could have had a double-double if his teammates converted the looks he was setting up for them. In the first half, Myck was the most successful player against the Oklahoma zone, consistently finding soft spots to penetrate before dishing it down low. Unfortunately, the Longhorns couldn’t make their open looks and started the game just 2-of-7 from the field.

What needed work

Those problems inside were especially tough for big man Clint Chapman, who made just two of nine on the night. While his makes came on a pair of nice midrange jumpers from the baseline, he was completely ineffective from within a few feet of the rim. Clint has played really well over the last few weeks, so fans have to hope that this was just one bad game and he will revert to that high level of play. On a Longhorn team that relies on quick, driving guards, the frontcourt has to be able to convert those easy looks inside.

The only other major concern for the Longhorns was a bit of lazy play against Oklahoma’s 3-2 zone in the first half. Although Kabongo was consistently attacking and the Horns were getting some quality looks from long range, there were still quite a few possessions where Texas settled for long, challenged jumpers. A team will never run every possession to perfection, but on a night where even the open looks weren’t going down, it made the wasted possessions stick out even more.

The Longhorns will be facing another zone on Monday night when they take on Baylor, so they need to remain disciplined and do the right things on offense. The Bear zone is particularly weak in the short corner, so quality team offense can result in a ton of easy buckets if Texas makes the smart plays.

The big picture

The fact that the Longhorns shot that poorly from the floor and still pulled out a win on the road is very reassuring. While Oklahoma isn’t a team bound for the NCAAs, they are still much more talented than their 3-10 conference record indicates. Finding a way to win on an off night is the sign of a quality team, and overcoming that kind of adversity has been a challenge for Texas this season.

Although this four-game winning streak includes wins over the bottom three teams in the league standings, it is still very encouraging. Two of those wins came on the road, while the comeback win against Kansas State at home was truly remarkable. The Texas schedule is easier than those of some other bubble teams right now, and the Horns are simply taking care of business. Although many of these wins won’t beef up the résumé, by simply continuing to win, the Horns are moving themselves up the S-curve. With just three victories needed for the magical 20-win mark, a W at Oklahoma State on Saturday would make that milestone a near certainty.

Up next: at Oklahoma State (12-13 overall, 5-7 Big 12); Saturday, 3 P.M. CT

For the first time in nearly two months, the Texas Longhorns are owners of a three-game winning streak. With their post-season hopes hanging precariously in the balance, the current run of success could not have come at a better time. During the streak, the Horns have moved up from Joe Lunardi’s “Next Four Out” — where five or six teams blocked their path to the NCAAs — to beyond the “Last Four In,” currently avoiding the play-in games in Dayton.

Of course, there’s still nearly four weeks of basketball until Selection Sunday. That is more than enough time for Texas to trip up in late February, something that has become a tradition over the last two years. The Longhorns have about as easy of a second-half conference schedule as they could get in a league as deep as the Big 12, but that’s not saying much. Tonight’s game against an Oklahoma team that’s just 3-9 in the conference qualifies as one of their easiest games left, but it’s deceptively tough. While the Sooners might look like an easy W on paper, escaping Norman with a win is truly a much more dangerous proposition.

By the numbers

First-year coach Lon Kruger has turned Oklahoma around faster than anyone could have imagined, rapidly rebuilding a team that was picked in the preseason to tie for last place with Texas Tech. The Sooners tore through a non-conference slate that included a lot of cupcake opponents, but they also logged quality wins over Arkansas and Oral Roberts. Heading into conference play, they were undoubtedly one of the league’s biggest surprise teams.

Big 12 play hasn’t been kind to OU, however. After a blowout loss in the conference opener to Missouri, the Sooners have been competitive in every game, but have had a tough time nailing down victories. They played the Jayhawks tough for a half in Norman, but let the league leaders pull away in the second. A road loss to A&M came in overtime, and would have been a victory if not for failure to execute at the end of regulation. Last week, a potential game-tying three-pointer clanged off the iron at the buzzer and allowed Mizzou to escape with a win.

A big part of the problem for Oklahoma has been a porous defense in league games. Against conference opponents, the Sooners allow more than 1.1 points per possession, the worst efficiency mark in the Big 12. With their two primary forwards checking in at just 6’8″, the Sooners are allowing Big 12 teams to kill them down low, with opponents hitting 54.1% of their shots from inside the arc. If Clint Chapman and Alexis Wangmene can continue their strong play in the post, the Longhorns should be able to take advantage of this weakness.

Offense hasn’t been much better for the Sooners in conference play, as they score just 0.968 points per possession. Oklahoma was one of the nation’s best three-point shooting teams in non-con play, but their numbers have dropped off dramatically against the Big 12. After knocking down 40.9% of their long-range attempts in non-conference games, OU has made just 31.6% of their threes in league games. This is mostly a result of shrinking the core rotation down to just seven players, as now Steven Pledger is the only consistent outside shooter who plays significant minutes. If the Longhorns can keep him from getting hot from outside, it will certainly damage OU’s hopes for an upset.

Texas fans can also be reassured by Oklahoma’s aversion to the free throw line. The Sooners have one of the worst free-throw rates in the country, earning less than one attempt at the charity stripe for every three field goal tries. For a Longhorn team that has been equally bad at sending teams to the line, this is excellent news. Key Texas players should be able to avoid foul trouble, while the rapidly-improving Longhorn defense won’t be scuttled by giving up free points.

Meet the Sooners

Junior guard Steven Pledger (No. 2) leads the Sooners with more than 17 points per game. As mentioned above, he’s the only true long-range threat that is seeing significant PT in conference play, where he’s averaging more than 34 minutes per game. He needs very little space to get up a shot, and uses his three-point threat to blow past tight man pressure for layups and open midrange pull-ups.

Pledger’s importance to the Sooner offense was never more apparent than in their ugly loss at Texas Tech on Saturday night. Billy Gillispie and the Red Raiders threw a box-and-one look at Oklahoma, isolating Pledger with the man defense. The junior scored just four points on 2-of-7 shooting, crippling the Oklahoma offense. As a result, the Sooners lost by 18 to a team that had yet to even log a conference win.

With Pledger locked down, the Sooners had to rely on point guard Sam Grooms (No. 1) to facilitate the offense. A transfer from Chipola College in Florida, Grooms is a quick, shifty guard who can penetrate the lane and create open looks for his teammates. The main problem with Grooms’ game is that he is a very spotty shooter, allowing defenses to sag off and limit that driving ability.

In the frontcourt, junior Andrew Fitzgerald (No. 4) provides the Sooners with an excellent inside-out threat. As one of the two tallest players in the starting five, the 6’8″ Fitzgerald is key to OU finding success on the glass. Down low, he still struggles at times with point blank looks, something that was a huge problem for him last year. He does boast an excellent midrange game, though, as he consistently knocks down 15-footers from the baseline and jumpers from the elbow. If the Longhorns use a man defense on the Sooners tonight, Chapman and Wangmene could have their hands full when he faces up outside the lane.

Mississippi State transfer Romero Osby (No. 24) is the other post presence for Oklahoma, and he is a much more traditional forward. Osby leads the team with 7.7 rebounds per game, and prefers to isolate on the block when he gets the ball. He’s much more athletic and quick than other big men, so he can put a quick drop step on his defender and get to the rack with ease. Fortunately, his midrange shot is nowhere near as consistent as Fitzgerald’s, so the Longhorns can limit his effectiveness by forcing him off the block prior to the entry passes.

Sophomore swingman Cameron Clark (No. 21) also provides some length for an undersized OU squad, checking in at 6’6″. As a freshman, he showcased a sweet shot and smooth driving ability, but has yet to really click in his sophomore campaign. Although his field goal percentage and scoring averages have dropped off this season, he still chips in some important rebounds for a team that is often overmatched on the glass.

Off the bench, junior guard Carl Blair (No. 14) gives the Sooners another ball-handler in the backcourt. As a sophomore who transferred from the University of New Orleans, Blair ran the point last season and posted the 31st-best assist rate in all of D-I hoops. As the understudy to Grooms this year, Blair has struggled on the offensive end. While he was once a steady point guard who was also a threat to score, he’s stumbled to just a 25.8% mark from the field this season. With Grooms already taking up the role of facilitator who can’t score, it’s tough to justify both he and Blair being on the court at the same time.

Big man C.J. Washington (No. 5) rounds out the core rotation for OU, but he’s only seeing the court for about 11 minutes per game in league play. Washington’s main role is to give Osby and Fitzgerald a breather, but he’s also called on to step up when they find themselves in foul trouble. If the Longhorns can attack the Sooner bigs and draw some whistles, Washington will be forced to play a bigger role in tonight’s game.

Keys to the game

1) Be aggressive – This has become a mainstay in this section of our game previews, but there’s no question that the Longhorn offense looks better when Myck Kabongo, Sheldon McClellan, and Julien Lewis put the ball on the floor and attack the paint. It not only leads to easy buckets inside, but it opens things up for J’Covan Brown off the ball and puts opposing big men in foul trouble. Against a pretty thin Oklahoma team, drawing a ton of whistles and earning points at the charity stripe is a recipe for success.

2) Dominate the glass – Although the Sooners are undersized by Big 12 standards, they are still one of the 25 best offensive rebounding teams in the country. The Longhorns have typically struggled with giving up second chances to their opponents this year, but did an amazing job keeping K-State off of the offensive glass in the second half of Saturday’s game. The Wildcats are an even better than the Sooners when it comes to reclaiming missed shots, so Texas has proven it is up to the task. If they can keep Oklahoma from extending possessions with offensive boards, the Longhorn defense should be able to shut down the Sooners.

3) Frustrate Pledger – Texas Tech showed how to neutralize OU’s top scorer on Saturday, so you can be sure that the Sooners will be looking to get him going early in this one. If the Longhorns can stick to Pledger and limit his scoring output for a second straight game, it will be tough for OU to find enough points to win. Fitzgerald and Osby can certainly score in bunches, but it’s hard to believe that they can carry their team to victory on their own.

The Texas Longhorns badly needed a shot in the arm. After storming through conference play with an 11-0 mark and a efficiency differential of greater than 0.20 points per possession, Texas looked nearly unstoppable. But in their final five games of the season, the Longhorn offense stalled out at the exact time that their impenetrable defense began to lose its luster.

After holding 10 of their first 11 conference opponents to less than 0.80 points per possession, the Longhorn defense turned into a sieve during the final three weeks of the season. In losses to Nebraska, Colorado, and Kansas State, Texas allowed an average of 1.174 points per defensive possession.

It was a stroke of luck, then, that the Longhorns and Sooners were matched up in last night’s quarterfinal. In the first two meetings between the teams, Texas held Oklahoma to just .797 points per possession and an effective field goal percentage of only 38.3%, while winning by an average of 12.5 points.

It was more of the same last night, as Texas built upon their strong defensive showing in the regular-season finale against Baylor. The Longhorn defense held Oklahoma to just six points in the first 10-plus minutes of the game, and jumped out to another early lead that they would never relinquish. Texas put it on auto-pilot at halftime, coasting to a 74-54 win, their third victory of the season over the Sooners.

A night after the Oklahoma offense had run roughshod over Baylor, Texas completely shut down the Sooner attack. Oklahoma shot 50% from behind the arc against Baylor in the first round game, but were just 0-5 from long range in the first half against Texas. While OU did manage to knock down half of their two-point attempts in the first half, their inability to reclaim any of the misses doomed them to failure.

Texas held the Sooners to just three offensive rebounds in the entire game, with two of them coming in the final 62 seconds. The absolute clinic on the glass gave the Longhorns a defensive rebounding percentage of 89.5%, their best mark of the season by far. The only game that saw Texas come anywhere close to that level of dominance was the season opener against Navy, in which the Horns grabbed 84.3% of the Midshipmen’s misses.

On offense, the Longhorns looked more crisp than they had in weeks. J’Covan Brown and Jordan Hamilton drove baseline from the wings time and again, resulting in layups and wide-open interior passes for the bigs. Brown had a season-high five assists, while Hamilton added a pair of his own. The unselfish play was a team-wide attitude, as Texas logged 18 assists on 29 baskets.

The biggest surprise of the day came from Jai Lucas, who gave 20 minutes off the bench and gave the Longhorns an early spark with his eight points. Lucas had a very tough outing against Oklahoma in the home game on January 15th, playing just six minutes thanks to poor defense against OU’s Carl Blair. In this one, he kept the speedy guard in front of him, knocked down both of his three-point attempts, and logged three assists.

While Lucas is not going to be playing that many minutes against better opponents, the key takeaway from this one is that it appears his confidence has improved dramatically. In the last three games, Lucas shot 57% from the field, 3-of-4 behind the arc, and logged four steals. In the first 29 games of the year, he was 33.6% from the field, 20.5% from three-point range, and had three total steals.

Where Lucas was once just a spot-up shooter, he now has the confidence to drive for pull-up jumpers, and he finally seems capable on the defensive end. If Texas can just get at least 10 minutes of quality bench play from Lucas in tournament games, the team’s depth issues become less of a factor.

Inside, Tristan Thompson abused the Sooner frontcourt. He posted his eighth double-double of the season, grabbing 11 rebounds to go with his 13 points. In his last five games, Thompson is averaging 18.2 points, 11.2 boards, and 2.4 blocks per game. Without a doubt, the freshman has chosen the best time of the year to become an unstoppable force.

The most reassuring thing about the victory was the resurgence of sophomore star Jordan Hamilton. After shooting just 31.4% from the field over the team’s final five regular season games, Hamilton played a fantastic game against the Sooners. He was 9-of-18 from the field, with three of those misses coming on one particularly physical sequence inside. Hamilton seemed more willing to attack inside, wasn’t primarily focused on shooting, and used his teammates screens to come open for mid-range jumpers. If this is the Hamilton that shows up against better teams — instead of the one that dribbled the air out of the ball in recent weeks — Texas is once again a scary team.

Next up: vs. Texas A&M (24-7); Friday, 8:30 P.M. CT

The last three weeks have been dicey for the Texas Longhorns. Considered the trendy pick for National Champion by many pundits back in early February, the Longhorns struggled through three losses in their last five regular season games. Even in a road win over Baylor in the season finale, the Texas offense was painful to watch.

But now, the real season begins. Sure, college basketball’s November-to-March regular season is much more exciting than practically every other sport. But once Championship Week tips off, the rules are the same for everyone. From the one-time title favorites to the NJITs of the world, all you have to do is win. Win and advance.

Fortunately for Texas, the Big 12 Tournament isn’t a must-win. They are safely in the NCAA’s field of 68, and are likely locked into a 2-seed. A loss today could make things interesting, and perhaps slide them down the S-curve into the 3-seed range. But even if the Longhorns reel off a three-game streak to claim the tournament title, there are other teams that would likely shut them out of a 1-seed. What is at stake for Texas is a chance to reclaim momentum and to rediscover the things that made their offense so scary in January and early February.

They will get their first chance to do that against the Oklahoma Sooners this evening. Texas knocked off the Sooners in both games this year, and have won 10 out of the last 12 games against their Red River rivals. An old college hoops cliché holds that it’s tough to beat the same team three times in one season. Teams learn tendencies and have more chances to adjust, making each rematch a little tougher for the victor to defend their crown.

Of course, if you’re a Texas fan that puts stock into historical numbers, you can shrug that off with smug satisfaction. In 2008, the last time Texas and Oklahoma met three times on the hardwood, the Longhorns swept the series and went on to the Elite Eight.

Meet the Sooners

For a full look at the Oklahoma roster, please read the preview of the first game between the two teams.

The first meeting

The Longhorns knocked off the Sooners 66-46 in Austin on January 15th, a game in which Texas led wire to wire. The Horns jumped out to an early lead by holding OU to just three field goals in their first 13 attempts, and allowed the Sooners just 19 points in the first half.

On the offensive end, the Longhorns were given numerous open looks from long range, and they were able to knock down seven of 12 from behind the arc on the afternoon. Jordan Hamilton was the biggest beneficiary of the poor perimeter D, and he knocked down five threes as part of his 17-point performance.

For the Sooners, Andrew Fitzgerald was the lone bright spot in an embarrassing loss. The big man had 18 points, scoring at will inside. Tiny guard Carl Blair also had a pair of easy layups when defended by Texas’ Jai Lucas, who couldn’t match Blair’s speed. Unfortunately for Blair, Lucas only played six minutes in the game.

All told, the 0.747 points per possession that Texas allowed was OU’s worst offensive performance of the year. The Sooners were just 1-of-15 from long range, leading to an effective field-goal percentage of just 40.2%, their lowest mark at that point of the season.

The second meeting

Texas’ excellent field goal defense would actually get even better when the two teams squared off again on February 9th. The Longhorns limited the Sooners to an eFG of only 36.6% on that night in Norman, as Oklahoma actually shot better beyond the arc (38.5%) than inside it (30.2%).

The Texas defense set the tone early, holding Oklahoma to just four buckets on their first 17 attempts. Like the first meeting, the Longhorns never trailed, and this time they actually built a massive 15-point advantage in the first ten minutes.

Offensively, the Longhorns had a well-balanced attack in which all five starters scored at least 11 points. Dogus Balbay opened the scoring by constantly attacking the rim, and the Sooners seemed disinterested in stopping the Turkish guard in transition. He finished with 12 points and four rebounds, and even knocked down a mid-range jumper.

The rest of the Longhorns simply toyed with the Sooners for most of the first half. Excellent ball movement and great interior passing led to numerous easy layups and dunks, with Gary Johnson logging four assists to go with his 14 points.

Since then…

The home loss to Texas was only the beginning of the slide for the Sooners. They dropped their next six, suffering through a seemingly interminable eight-game losing streak. Last year, Oklahoma lost their last eight regular season games before bowing out in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. Unlike that team, these Sooners managed to stop the bleeding by defending their home court against Oklahoma State for a narrow three-point win in the season finale.

Last night, the Sooners built upon that OSU game and started an actual winning streak, dominating Baylor — sans Perry Jones III — for an 84-67 victory. Cade Davis led the way for Oklahoma, scoring 24 points in just 30 minutes thanks to 4-of-8 shooting behind the arc.

The Sooners scored an amazing 1.29 points per possession against the Bears, a stat made even more impressive when you consider that Oklahoma was so careless with the ball that they posted a 21.5% turnover rate.

Keys to the game

First and foremost, Texas needs to set the defensive tone early. The Longhorns raced out to early leads in the first two games with Oklahoma, largely on the back of their stingy defense. With the Sooners coming off an incredible shooting night against Baylor, Texas needs to send an early message that today is going to be very different.

The Longhorns also need to exploit the rebounding advantage this evening. Texas outrebounded the Sooners in both previous meetings, but they really wreaked havoc by limiting Oklahoma to just one offensive rebound in the first half of the game in Norman. If Texas can keep Andrew Fitzgerald and Cameron Clark from extending Oklahoma’s possessions, they should be able to finish off the sweep.

Finally, we’ll be looking to see if this is the game that gets Jordan Hamilton out of his slump. Although he is averaging 17 points per game over his last six games, those points have come on 31.4% shooting from the field.

Hamilton and the Longhorns need to rediscover the offensive mojo they had at the beginning of the conference season. At that point, the sophomore took most of his outside shots off of curls or coming around solid screens. For the last few weeks, most of his three-point attempts come as he’s dribbling against a defender and decides he has enough space to suddenly pop one.

In the two games against Oklahoma, Hamilton scored 37 points on 46% shooting, including an 8-of-17 mark from behind the arc. If there’s any opponent left in the tournament field that can help Jordan bust out of his slump, Oklahoma would be it.