The Longhorns had a fresh-faced 23-year old on the bench Saturday night. He sat with graduate assistants Connor Atchley, Royal Ivey, and Chris Mihm. He listened in from the back of team huddles. He even pulled freshman point guard Myck Kabongo aside for a few quick pointers. About the only thing Kevin Durant didn’t do at the IZOD Center last night was check into the ballgame. Coach Rick Barnes probably wishes that the NBA superstar could have.

With the most famous face of the Texas basketball program looking on, this year’s young batch of Longhorns surrendered a late lead and lost to Oregon State in overtime, 100-95, in the semifinals of the TicketCity Legends Classic. It was a script that likely seemed all too familiar for Durant, as his 2006-07 Texas squad lost their own November tournament semifinal to Michigan State on a last-second shot from Drew Neitzel.

For this year’s team, the well-known weaknesses of depth and rebounding came home to roost. Five Longhorns fouled out in the game, forcing little-used walk-on Andrew Dick to check in for action in the final seconds of action.

Unfortunately, it never had to come to that point. The Longhorns had the game in hand with less than 30 seconds left. Up by two points, J’Covan Brown missed a three as the shot clock expired and managed to race across the top of the key to secure his own rebound. But as he dribbled towards the left wing to await the inevitable foul, Oregon State’s Jared Cunningham stripped him from behind and flipped the ball to a teammate as he fell out of bounds.

Cunningham knocked down three of four from the line in the game’s final 18 seconds, while Kabongo made one of two and had his potential game-winning layup blocked at the regulation buzzer. The Longhorns would take an early lead in overtime, but the ensuing 9-0 push from the Beavers proved to be the difference in the game.

Wilting under the pressure of the final few minutes underscores the youth of this team. Players are still defining their roles, and no one seemed prepared to step up and be the leader in the clutch. Fortunately the season is a long one, and the Longhorns have many months to grow.

What looked good

In the first half, the Texas offense was humming. They moved the ball crisply around the perimeter and on kickouts off of the drive. The Longhorns were 6-for-12 from behind the arc in the first half, but strayed from the long ball after half. Texas shot just three three-pointers in the second half as Oregon State whittled away the five-point Texas lead.

Brown was again the star for Texas, just missing a double-double with 25 points and nine assists. He created shots for himself and for teammates with penetration, piling up the dimes with easy drop offs to the bigs underneath when the defense collapsed on him. There were still times that the junior guard tried to force things and play one-on-five, but Texas fans have to be happy with Brown’s commitment to finding his open teammates this season.

Brown was not the only one creating shots. Sheldon McClellan looked very confident with the ball, proving that he can put it on the floor and knife through the defense for good looks. Despite coming off the bench, McClellan scored 12 points on 56% shooting and grabbed five rebounds.

Jonathan Holmes also did a good job on the boards, snagging five in his 21 minutes of play. Unfortunately, his playing time was limited by foul trouble, an issue that dogged the entire Texas lineup all night.

The Longhorns also continued their success at the free throw line, knocking down 73.3% of their attempts. Texas will likely find themselves in a lot of close games this season, and every single point will be huge. Some fans might point to the eight missed free throws in this game and bemoan missed opportunity, but the overall trend is much more important than dwelling a few single shots. These new-look Longhorns are more than 11 percentage points better at the line than last year’s squad.

Fans can also take solace in the fact that Texas actually won the rebounding battle and did a solid job on the offensive glass. The Longhorns reclaimed 47.5% of their misses, a massive improvement over their first two games. The offense has been highly efficient through three games, and if they can build on this success on the glass and continue to extend possessions, it will only make them even tougher to stop.

What needed work

While the offensive rebounding was solid, Texas still had a terrible time on the defensive glass. They allowed the Beavers to grab 43% of their missed shots, leading to 26 second-chance points. Time and again the Longhorns let balls come off the weak side and fall into the hands of a waiting Oregon State player for an easy putback.

Most troubling about the continued issues on the defensive glass is that Texas struggles regardless of the opponent. The Beavers were a very average offensive rebounding team in their first three games, but absolutely obliterated their previous season high with their performance against Texas.

A big reason for Oregon State’s success was that Alexis Wangmene and Clint Chapman were practically non-existant on the glass, combining for only six rebounds in 42 minutes on the floor. Although they were the beneficiaries of the Texas drive-and-dish attack, scoring 17 combined points, they absolutely have to show up on the glass if Texas wants to find success this season. With games against intimidating frontlines like UCLA and North Carolina still to come, the Longhorn bigs have their work cut out for them.

Texas also looked wild and out of control at many points in the game. The Longhorns have proven to be a run-and-gun team so far this season, but didn’t have any issues handling the ball in their first two wins. Against the Beavers, however, they coughed it up 23 times, which equated to miscues on 28% of their possessions. Kabongo actually turned it over five times against just three assists.

Freshman Sterling Gibbs had the most trouble hanging on to the basketball. He absolutely froze against the Oregon State pressure, twice dribbling himself right into traps. He turned it over three times in just three minutes of play, including an inexplicable one in the final seconds of the game where he simply dribbled it out of bounds. Gibbs did have a couple of key buckets during the team’s late comeback bid in overtime, but he’s going to spend much of the year on the bench if he can’t hang on to the ball.

Jaylen Bond also had a rough night, and it all stemmed from problems on defense. He couldn’t seem to keep any of the Beavers in front of him, and was constantly drawing whistles by hacking from behind the play. He only played 22 minutes and still managed to foul out.

Cunningham played out of his mind for Oregon State, and Texas could do little to stop him. He scored 37 points, earning 20 of them in 23 trips to the line. Unfortunately, Texas is going to have trouble with strong, slashing players like him all season long. The guards and wings were picking up tons of whistles trying to contain Cunningham, and UT actually switched to a zone defense to limit the foul trouble. That led to too many open looks for their shooters — who fortunately made only two threes in the second half — as Texas’ closeouts weren’t very quick.

It’s also concerning that while Brown played with fire and intensity early, he disappeared for the second half and overtime. He had only eight points in the final 25 minutes of the game, and was clearly frustrated as the game came down the stretch. He yelled at McClellan for not passing the ball on one possession and had to be calmed down by Kabongo. Brown and Kabongo also appeared to squabble over who should be handling the ball on a later possession. With such a young team, Brown is going to need to be a leader, so he cannot afford to be petulant when he’s struggling.

All told, it was a tough loss to swallow, as the Longhorns were just seconds away from victory and have an even tougher task awaiting them in the form of NC State on Monday. There were a lot of teachable moments in the game and Coach Barnes will certainly take full advantage of building on them. But teams can learn from close wins just as much as they can from close losses, and for a team that might be sweating the bubble in March, this November win would have been huge.

The young Texas Longhorns looked impressive in their first week of action, knocking off a pair of solid mid-major teams in Boston University and Rhode Island. The Longhorns proved versatile in their two wins, using stifling defense to knock off the Terriers, while the Rams forced them to win a high-scoring duel.

With action in the Legends Classic now moving to the championship rounds in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the opponents change from mid-majors to major conference foes. Texas landed the most-favorable draw, getting the chance to square off with rebuilding Oregon State in the semifinals.

The Beavers are led by fourth-year coach Craig Robinson, who immediately won favor in Corvallis by turning a 6-25 Oregon State team into 18-game winners in his first season on the job. Since then, the results have been less impressive. Robinson’s record in years two and three was just 25-38, and that came in a time period when the Pac-10 Conference was on a downslide.

This year, Oregon State has avoided any early-season stumbles, knocking off Hofstra and Cal-State Bakersfield along with D-II West Alabama. With the rest of their non-conference slate peppered with the likes of Chicago State and Towson, tonight’s game against the Longhorns is one of the few chances the Beavers have to prove that they’ve turned a corner with a win against quality competition.

By the numbers

With the Longhorns coming off a high-scoring win over Rhode Island, they will be very prepared for the up-tempo style of Oregon State. The Beavers have had at least 71 possessions in all three of their games so far, and their adjusted tempo of 71.2 possessions per 40 minutes against D-I opponents is one of the fastest in the nation. Texas has shown it is willing to get out and run, so we are likely in store for another fun, offensive showcase again tonight.

Defensively, the most glaring number for Oregon State is a 40% success rate for opponents behind the arc. This Texas team is full of long-range sharpshooters, so the Beavers will have to improve their perimeter defense. The Longhorns have connected on 42.6% of their threes so far, led by Julien Lewis (7-for-14) and J’Covan Brown (8-for-19). If either of those two are allowed free reign behind the arc, the Longhorns could win this one running away.

Another area of concern for the Oregon State defense is their propensity to send opponents to the line. Oregon State’s defensive free throw rate (measured as free throw attempts divided by field goal attempts) against D-I opponents is just a shade under 60%, putting the team among the worst 25 teams in the country in that category.

Texas made hay at the free throw line against Rhode Island, taking a whopping 44 attempts at the line. If Oregon State continues its trend of handing out free throws like candy, look for the Horns to once again manufacture a lot of points at the line tonight.

While the Beavers have sent opponents to the stripe quite often, they have at least evened things out by taking a bunch of free throws of their own. Their own free-throw rate is an incredible 74.5%, which was ninth-best in D-I hoops heading into today’s games. With that kind of aggressive play from the Oregon State offense, there is a strong possibility of interior foul trouble for Texas, which is cause for concern with such a thin frontcourt.

Meet the Beavers

The leading scorer for Oregon State is 6’4″ junior guard Jared Cunningham. Known best for his authoritative putback dunk against Arizona last season, he has exploded out of the gate this year with a flurry of points. On Wednesday night, he dropped 35 on Hofstra and is averaging more than 22 per game so far.

Joining Cunningham in the backcourt is tiny sophomore Ahmad Starks, who is averaging 10 points per game. At just 5’9″, the speedy Chicago product easily weaves through traffic with the ball and showed some skill from behind the arc in last year’s Pac-10 tournament. That long-range success hasn’t carried over into this season, though, as Starks is just 3-for-13 on his three-point attempts so far.

Forward Devon Collier will be playing in front of family and friends tonight, as the Izod Center is just a short ride from his hometown of the Bronx. In the offseason, he tried out for the Puerto Rican national team, and the experience against top-flight talent appears to have paid off. After averaging just seven points per game last season, the 6’8″ sophomore has averaged 15.7 so far this year.

Junior Joe Burton is a great passing forward, and his great court vision actually has him leading the team in assists. Listed at 6’7″, 280 pounds, Burton is a load to handle on defense, and that extra attention has allowed him to dish out 21 assists in three games to go with his 35 points. The Longhorns will have to make sure they keep an eye on the cutters when Burton has the ball in his hands, or they will likely give up a few easy buckets.

In the middle, Australian center Angus Brandt rounds out the starting five for Coach Robinson. Like Collier, Brandt added some international experience this summer, representing his country in the World University Games in China. His minutes have been limited so far this season thanks to foul trouble, but Brandt is still providing eight points and nearly three rebounds per game while averaging just 16 minutes.

With Brandt spending more time on the bench, redshirt freshman Eric Moreland has had to pick up the slack. A native of Missouri City, Texas, Moreland is tied for the team lead in rebounds despite not earning a single start. In addition to his skills on the glass, the big man is also known for stout defense, and he’s chipped in two blocks and three steals so far this year.

Along with Moreland, the Beavers are getting quality bench minutes from sophomore guard Roberto Nelson. Although he has just 15 points through the first three games, he showed flashes of his scoring prowess down the stretch last season. While playing a full 40 minutes against Arizona State last season, Nelson dropped 34 points on the Sun Devils, and he logged another 12 off the bench against Stanford in late February.

Senior forward Kevin McShane is the final player in Oregon State’s core rotation, a position he earned after three years as a walk-on. Now a scholarship player, McShane has played nearly 15 minutes per game this season and is currently the team’s third-best rebounder.

In addition to the eight-man rotation, Coach Robinson has also used Challe Barton and Rhys Murphy for short stints. The pair average a combined 18 minutes and eight points per game off the bench. Barton, a 6’3″ freshman guard from Sweden, has appeared in all three games. Murphy — a 6’7″ slasher with a solid three-point shot — did not play in the team’s most recent game against Hofstra.

Keys to the game

1) Control the defensive glass – The Longhorns are currently one of the worst teams in the country when it comes to limiting offensive rebounds. Texas reclaims just 41.9% of their opponents misses, which leads to far too many extended possessions on defense. Fortunately, the Beavers haven’t had much success with their own offensive boards so far, grabbing less than 30% of their own misses. This might be the perfect recipe for Texas to get some confidence on the glass.

2) Hang on to the ball – Texas has done a great job controlling the ball in its first two games, turning it over on just 14% of their possessions. Oregon State likes to push the tempo, and it typically leads to miscues from their opponents. So far, the Beaver defense is ranked 33rd in turnover percentage, forcing their two D-I opponents into mistakes on 27.9% of their possessions. The young Longhorns cannot afford to get sloppy against a team that will capitalize.

3) Knock down the threes – Oregon State’s defense has had issues guarding the perimeter, while the Longhorns have been strong from long range so far. Texas should get its share of quality looks from outside, so Brown, Lewis, and the rest of the Longhorns need to take advantage of that weakness and knock down the triples.

A final note

Texas will be playing in the second game of a doubleheader tonight, so a start right at 8 P.M. Central is unlikely. Texas and Oregon State will tip off 25 minutes after the conclusion of the Vanderbilt/NC State game, so give some extra time at the end of those DVR recordings.

Of course, only those with the Longhorn Network can record tonight’s game on their DVRs. For many fans in Austin and other parts of Texas, that means Craig Way and the internet are their only options for keeping up with the Horns tonight. Fans can watch online at ESPN3.com, and can also follow our live updates from the Izod Center via Twitter @LonghornRdTrip.

The domino rally is underway in the coaching ranks, with Indiana’s huge vacancy being filled yesterday afternoon. But the hiring of Tom Crean in Bloomington means there’s another position open at Marquette, while the resignation of prolific perspirer Sean Sutton means it’s time for another job posting in Stillwater.

Head spinning with all of the coaching changes? Never fear, as LRT is here to keep track of everything for you.

Oklahoma State
Within hours of Sutton’s resignation, both Bill Self of Kansas and Billy Gillispie of Kentucky stated that they had no interest in coaching the Cowboys. Both men’s names had been floated for a few months in online rumors involving the very deep pockets of OSU booster T. Boone Pickens. At this point, brother Scott Sutton would be a reasonable choice to continue the family line, but many feel that Pickens is looking for a big splash with the next hire. Could Kevin O’Neill be in the mix considering that he will not be returning to the Arizona staff?

Rice
One place that Kevin O’Neill has interviewed is Rice University in Houston. While the Owls are certainly not a high profile gig, C-USA is a huge league with a very short list of quality teams. With the right hire, the Owls could quickly make some noise. Athletic Director Chris Del Conte worked in the Arizona athletic department and is apparently keen on the head AD position with the Wildcats in the near future, according to the Houston Chronicle‘s Moisekapenda Bower. This could mean that hiring O’Neill would earn Del Conte some points with the former employers, which might put Olson’s ex-assistant ahead of Belmont’s Rick Byrd and assistants Rodney Terry (Texas) and Mark Montgomery (Michigan State).

Louisiana State
While LSU has had more than an extra month to prepare for their coaching search, the Tigers played things close to the vest through the end of the season. But even with the lack of info coming from official sources, the media seems to be keyed in on three top candidates. Butch Pierre finished the season as interim coach and has expressed interest in the job, although former LSU player Johnny Jones has found a ton of success at North Texas and would love to work in Baton Rouge. Early press reports focused on VCU head man Anthony Grant, but he lacks the ties to the program that Pierre and Jones sport.

Oregon State
There’s nowhere to go but up for Jay John’s successor, thanks to an abysmal 6-26 season including the first 0-17 conference record in Pac-10 history. Interim coach Kevin Mouton was responsible for the last 11 of those losses and is reportedly not a candidate for the job. The Beaver brass seems to be focusing on WCC coaches at the moment, interviewing San Diego’s Bill Grier and expressing interest in St. Mary’s head man Randy Bennett.

California
The other vacancy in the Pac-10 is at Cal’s Berkeley campus, where sights seem to be set quite high…perhaps a little too high. The Bears reportedly want Pitt’s Jamie Dixon and Washington State’s Tony Bennett, although Dixon has spurned those advances. The San Francisco Chronicle and San Jose Mercury-News are offering differing takes on Bennett’s interest in the job, but both agree that Nuggets assistant Mike Dunlap is also a top candidate.

Marquette
With Crean moving on to Indiana today, the newest big-name vacancy on the block is in Milwaukee. As the move will not even be announced until 10 A.M. today in Bloomington, a list of top candidates is still being formulated somewhere in the caverns of the Marquette athletic department. But in a statement released on Monday, the Golden Eagles top staffers believe “a Marquette coaching vacancy will attract many well-qualified candidates.” We’re inclined to agree, and will be eagerly watching the newswire over the next few days to see which names pop up.

Other notable coaching vacancies include those at Kent State, Providence, San Francisco, and Western Kentucky. Kent State lost coach Jim Christian to TCU, while the Hilltoppers were left without a coach on Monday when Darrin Horn departed to fill the South Carolina vacancy following his team’s Sweet 16 run. At San Fran, Eddie Sutton has maintained all season that he was only coaching the Dons on an interim basis, so it will be interesting to see what angle they take in the coming weeks.

We’ll be watching the coaching carousel closely this off-season, so be sure to check back often for the latest updates.