The Texas Longhorns face their biggest test of the young conference season as they head to Norman tonight for a top-ten matchup with the rival Sooners. Both Oklahoma and Texas have hopes to win the conference this season, and the home-and-home series between the two teams will play a huge part in deciding the league’s champion.

The Longhorns have won six straight against the Sooners, and eleven of the last fourteen matchups between the two teams. Prior to that, Oklahoma enjoyed their own dominance in the series, reeling off eight straight wins under former coach Kelvin Sampson. But even with recent history on their side, the Longhorns will have their hands full against a very talented Sooner squad which hasn’t lost at home since the Longhorns last visited on February 6th, 2008.

By the numbers

Based solely on the efficiency stats, tonight’s game looks to be a battle of strengths. All season, the Longhorns have survived with a stifling defense that is ranked 13th in the nation. Oklahoma, on the other hand, has been unstoppable with the ball, scoring 1.168 points per possession, an impressive clip that is 11th-best in the country.

Unfortunately for the Longhorns, their offense does not match up as well with Oklahoma statistically. Texas’ offensive efficiency is only 75th nationally, while the Sooners’ D checks in at 45th. Combining all of those ratings gives the Longhorns a +0.205 differential per possession, while OU enjoys a more robust +0.250 margin. While these fractions of a point may seem miniscule, over the course of a 65- to 70-possession game, it can easily add up.

In terms of tempo, the two teams are nearly identical, with both averaging just a shade under 70 possessions per contest. The Sooners do look to push the ball in transition off of defensive rebounds, but their half-court offense is so efficient that they are far from a run-and-gun team. If the Texas defense can make a difference in this game, they should stay close enough with the Sooners to have a shot as time winds down.

The starting five

The Sooners return a very experienced roster with a key addition in the backcourt, making them one of the scariest teams in the conference and the country. This year, Capel is going with a three-out, two-in look, relying on the Griffin brothers to provide a strong scoring presence in the paint.

The one newcomer in the starting five is heralded freshman Willie Warren, who was named a McDonald’s All-American and Gatorade Texas Player of the Year during his senior season at Fort Worth’s North Crowley High. Warren is an incredibly quick guard who creates his own shot and has an uncanny knack for getting to the rim. Although he was plagued by the typical early-season freshman struggles, the guard has exploded in his last five games, averaging 21 points per game over that stretch.

The presence of Warren in the backcourt has really opened things up for senior point guard Austin Johnson, who has long struggled with leading the OU offense. Johnson is not terribly quick with the ball, but the extra attention defenses are giving to Warren is allowing the point guard more room to drive. As a result, Johnson has made fewer unforced errors and is dishing out 3.3 assists for every turnover this season.

The key player for the Sooners is Blake Griffin, a sophomore who is averaging a double-double with 22 points and 14 boards per game. Despite the possibility of being a high NBA draft pick last June, the younger Griffin returned for his second year and is one of the leading candidates for the Naismith Award. His skill set is incredibly impressive for a guy his size, which has pro scouts salivating. Griffin is not only a near-lock within ten feet of the basket, but he is a defensive stud, has great mid-range, and can handle the ball extremely well. This allows him to pull big men out near the perimeter, opening up the lanes for his teammates, and also exposes his less-talented opponents to being taken off the dribble.

The older guy in the frontcourt is Taylor Griffin, who has been overshadowed by his kid brother the last two seasons. But he’s also benefitting from the focus defenses are giving Blake, as he often finds himself wide open for dump-offs under the basket and gobbles up easy putbacks on weak-side rebounds. Taylor is only averaging nine points per game, but his presence keeps defenses honest when they want to key solely on Blake. He’s also the team’s second-leading rebounder with just over six boards per game.

Tony Crocker is the primary long-range threat for the Sooners, although his numbers have decreased slightly this year. Crocker is only hitting 34% of his threes this season after logging an impressive 42.4% rate from behind the arc last year. He’s also adept at attacking off the dribble, so if Texas plays him too tightly on the perimeter, he can quickly get to the rim for an easy two. Checking in at 6’6″, he could create also a match-up problem for the Longhorns, who sometimes elect to go small with a three-guard look.

Keys to the game

Hit the threes – Oklahoma struggled early against Arkansas, Purdue, and Kansas State, falling behind all three teams in the first half. The common thread in those games was an unencumbered barrage from behind the arc, as the Sooners allowed those three opponents to shoot a combined 16-of-33 (48.4%) from long range in the first half of those games. Oklahoma managed to claw their way back for victories against K-State and Purdue, but Texas can really help their chances by attacking the weak perimeter defense.

The key to doing so will likely be A.J. Abrams, who has been practically a ghost during the last month. Fortunately, history bodes well for A.J., as he lit up the Sooners for seven three pointers in their last meeting, which came at the Big 12 tournament last March. Without a resurgence from Abrams tonight, the Longhorns may find it tough to earn their points inside against a stout post defense.

Keep OU off the charity stripe – With the Sooners pounding the ball down low to the Griffin brothers, they enjoy a distinct advantage at the free throw line. Oklahoma averages ten more free throws per game than their opponents, while nearly 25% of their scoring comes from the charity stripe. With the Longhorns missing an inexcusable 36% of their own free throws, this stat could be the difference in the game.

Weather the crowd – Texas has performed well in hostile road environments this season, grabbing a win at the Kohl Center last month against Wisconsin three weeks after they beat Villanova in an alleged neutral-site game that was 95% Wildcat fans. And even though they fell short against Arkansas in the electric Bud Walton Arena last week, the Longhorns have proven they aren’t shaken by road crowds. Tonight’s top-ten contest will take place in front of the craziest crowd the Lloyd Noble Center has seen in years, so the Longhorns will have to maintain that same poise when the Sooners go on their inevitable scoring runs.

If you had a chance to watch the Davidson/Oklahoma NIT regional final last night, you may have been watching the two best players in the country go back and forth. Perhaps it’s a bit of hyperbole, but it’s tough to not gush when watching Blake Griffin dominate with a sick line of 25/20 against a Davidson team led by Stephen Curry‘s 44 points. As a Texas fan, I’m certainly not looking forward to the combo of Little Griffin, Big Griffin, and Willie Warren twice this year, but am looking forward to seeing Curry and the Wildcats take on West Virginia in person just before the Horns play Villanova.

The Texas cities making bids for the Final Four went two for three earlier today, when the NCAA named Arlington and Houston future Final Four sites. The 2014 event will be held at the new Cowboys space station out in Arlington, while Reliant in Houston will follow up their 2011 Final Four with another in 2016. San Antonio was one of five cities whose bids were not selected.

It seemed that perhaps Ole Miss could make a run as a darkhorse NCAA candidate with the SEC having a bit of a down year. But after losing Trevor Gaskins at the start of the year, the Rebels took another huge blow when junior guard and leader Eniel Polynice had season-ending knee surgery. It’s a tough break for Andy Kennedy and the Rebs, who were bringing in a serviceable freshman class to compliment the nucleus of a team that started 13-0 last year.

Hoops is certainly back in full swing, with ESPN broadcasting college basketball all damned day. Unfortunately, we’re not quite in full swing here at LRT with insanity at the McJob and cramming to get everything ready for Maui by Friday. We’ll try to get back to the daily content sometime this week, and look for some cosmetic changes around the site before December arrives. You can thank the 20-plus hours on airplanes to and from Hawaii.

The Big 12 is off to a hot start, with its members logging a perfect 19-0 record through last night’s games. The conference probably won’t match its solid RPI numbers from last year, when it spent most of the season slotted as the second-toughest league in the nation. But the Big 12 teams are taking care of patsies so far, something that couldn’t be said even during last season’s strong start — yes, we’re looking at you, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.

Oklahoma faces the league’s stiffest test yet when it hosts Davidson tonight in the NIT Season Tip Off. It’d be great to watch this Top 25 match-up on TV, but the “Worldwide Leader” has better things to show. Like Kansas hosting the mighty Florida Gulf Coast (ESPNU, 8 PM CT). Or maybe Billy Wrong Way Gillispie getting demolished by The Anointed Ones better suits your fancy (ESPN, 8 PM CT)? If you thought VMI was bad, Billy Clyde, just try not to clench the muscles…

Tulane preview will be headed your way this afternoon. In the meantime, you can find us in a basketball coma with remote in hand.

Edit (3 P.M. CT): ESPN2 will now be broadcasting the Davidson/Oklahoma game at 8 P.M. You’ll definitely want to check that one out once the Horns are finished discarding the Green Wave.

Luke Winn has a great Q&A with Ian Mooney in his tourney blog. Amongst the highlights are the locker room pranks, Dexter Pittman’s poor sense of geography, and Mooney’s future as the Texas point guard. Check, check, check it out.

Lute Olson is now back as the Arizona coach in a full-time capacity, and he gave an exclusive telephone interview to ESPN’s Andy Katz. If Coach Olson is correct about how many of his players will return next season, the state of Arizona is going to be a basketball powerhouse. The ASU/’Zona series could quickly gain traction as a top-flight rivalry with national implications.

In coaching news a little closer to home, on Thursday Jeff Capel signed a three-year extension with Oklahoma. Capel — whose name had been floated in the South Carolina coaching search — will also enjoy a $300,000 raise per season, bringing his total compensation above the one-million dollar mark. It looks like fans in Norman will get to enjoy angry stares and pouting sessions for years to come.

And you thought the Aggies hated the Longhorns? I’m sure that anyone reading this page has seen the Sheraton commercial where fans from nasty rivalries share elevators, computers, and even chicken wings. But you may have been confused by the juxtaposition of Lousville and Memphis, rather than the Cardinals and Kentucky Wildcats. But according to UK assistant athletic director Jason Schlafer, the Wildcats were asked first, but declined citing no prior relationship with Sheraton hotels. Or perhaps just an unquenchable fire of hate for the school just down the road?

If you just can’t wait for this evening’s Elite 8 games to start, the tubes of the interweb have more than enough content to hold you over. Luke Winn previews and predicts the Elite 8 games, while the folks at Rush the Court take a more detailed look at today’s doubleheader. But March Madness All Season breaks it down the most, with in-depth looks at both Carolina/Louisville in the East and UCLA/Xavier from the West region.

We’ve mentioned a few times this weekend how difficult it is to beat the same team three times in one season. But how about going 7-0 against three teams from one state? Or winning six in a row and 11 out of 14 against your hated rival? Apparently it’s nothing but child’s play for the Texas Longhorns, who held the Oklahoma Sooners under fifty points for the second time this year and cruised to a 28-point victory in front of 19,000 disappointed Kansas Jayhawk fans.

The Horns were led by the insanely hot shooting of A.J. Abrams, who knocked down seven three-pointers just a day after going 0-for-5 from behind the arc against Oklahoma State. The diminutive guard finished with 24 points on the day to lead the team, giving him nearly half of OU’s entire output in the game.

The contest was dicey for the first 22 minutes, as the Sooners rode the broad shoulders of Blake Griffin to keep pace with the Longhorns. In the first half alone, he nearly had a double-double — only one more rebound would have done the trick — and had OU in a 36-all tie with 18 minutes to play. But when Abrams lit up, the Texas defense locked down, giving the Sooners no chance as the Longhorns finished the game on a 41-13 run.

The only real negative to come from this game was the early struggle on the defensive glass. Just as against the Cowboys one day prior, Texas let Griffin and the other Sooners pick the offensive glass clean for easy putbacks and longer possessions. The Longhorns simply cannot afford to do that against the quality teams they will be playing over the next three weeks.

There was also one troubling piece of news that came from the sideline rather than the game on the court. Although Gary Johnson was dressed out and walking, he had a large black boot on his right foot. From my vantage point in the corner of the lower level, it looked a lot like the one that Matt Hill has worn throughout his injury troubles. Here’s hoping that Gary will in fact be ready for next weekend’s games.

If he isn’t, Longhorn fans can take solace in the improved play of the Texas big men during this tournament. For a second straight day, Alexis Wangmene turned in a minute-eating performance for Coach Barnes, but this time added the scoring threat. Lex had seven points and four boards in his 14 minutes and looked very impressive in the post. He’s still got a long way to go if he’s going to become a dominant force inside, but the moves are definitely there.

Dexter Pittman also stepped up in Johnson’s absence, absolutely cleaning the glass in his nine minutes of work. Big Dex picked on the Sooners for seven boards and a bucket, even adding a block to round out the stat line. It was very nice to see Pittman be able to play for significant stretches rather than being yanked after a few seconds on the floor. Perhaps this will increase his confidence and also signal a change in the way he’s used down the stretch.

Texas now moves on to face Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament championship game for the third time in the last three years. Game preview will be up in a few hours, along with our 5th-best buzzer beater in NCAA tournament history.