It’s moments like these that I sometimes question my sanity. Rolling into Austin at 3 in the morning with a ten-hour shift calling my name at 5:30 A.M. Realizing I have to get in a car before the sun comes up tomorrow morning and drive 16 hours to Ames, Iowa by myself only to watch a game, check out their campus, and turn around to go back home. Looking at the hours of footage of the Cyclones I have saved on the DVR and wondering when exactly I’m supposed to sleep. These are the moments where I think maybe this is all just a little bit crazy.

But then I think about the incredible things I’ve experienced over the last season-and-a-half on this journey. Sixty-four consecutive games. Kenton Paulino’s buzzer-beater to go to the Elite Eight. The triple-OT thriller in Stillwater. Double-OT victory over the Aggies. A 72-hour round-trip adventure to Spokane, Washington that I’ll never forget. Thirty-plus games of seeing Kevin Durant. In person. Damion James’ dunk to silence the Pauley Pavilion crowd. These are the things that keep me going. Well, those things and a lot of energy drinks.

For now, I’ve got to try to cram in an hour or so of sleep, but I’ll get to the OU wrap later this afternoon. I’ve still got that ISU tape to watch and some service to do on the car, so there’s no telling when it will all get done. But check back here for more Texas basketball coverage before I hit I-35 yet again only 24 hours from now.

The Longhorns head to Norman tonight as they kick off the toughest stretch of their season. Six of the next seven games for the Longhorns come against teams in the Top 50 of the RPI, with four of the games coming on the road. While beating the Sooners will be no easy task, Texas can’t afford to fold in February, and a win today will start things off on the right note.

Unfortunately, tonight’s game is at 6 P.M., so that’s going to put a squeeze on the usual game preview. Here’s my best attempt at a down-and-dirty look at the game.

By the numbers

Oklahoma comes into this game as winners of three of their last four games, the sole defeat coming on Saturday against the Aggies in College Station. The Sooners are one game back of Texas in the conference standings and are in the mix for the third or fourth bye in Kansas City.

Offensively, the Sooners are a bit streaky and often go cold for long stretches. But when they are on, they really can click. Their offensive efficiency is 31st-best in the country according to Ken Pomeroy. And for a team that sometimes forces up a bunch of poor shots in a row, that tells you just how excellent they are during the hot streaks.

What keeps the Sooners in the games when they are going cold is a really solid defense, which checks in at 38th in DefEff rankings. Teams often jack up a ton of threes against the solid inside D of Oklahoma, but hopefully the Horns won’t feel married to the perimeter. It is important to attack the lane and draw fouls on the Sooner bigs…as long as A.J. Abrams and D.J. Augustin are the ones shooting the free throws. The nightmare scenario for Texas would be a game in which their threes aren’t falling and the guards refuse to dribble penetrate and draw the post players on defense.

The starters

It all flows through big man Blake Griffin, who will be starting his second game since a knee injury suffered at Kansas on January 14th. He returned only two weeks later and provided ridiculous numbers off the bench before returning to the starting five against College Station just a few days ago. But don’t think it’s going to hamper his game, because he hasn’t backed down an inch since rejoining the team. He’s still a threat for a double/double on a nightly basis, and when teams try to put multiple defenders on him, he’s a deft enough passer to find other big men Longar Longar and Taylor Griffin.

Austin Johnson runs the point, but is much more of a ball-control guard than one who likes to penetrate and score. He’s averaging eight points a game, two of which seem to come off of a back-door cut every game. The Sooners love to use a big to set the high screen for Johnson, who typically rolls to the basket wide open. In the five OU games I’ve watched this year, it has worked at least once against literally each opponent. Hopefully the Horns will be smart enough not to chase the screener out to nearly the three-point line, because the Griffin brothers aren’t long-range threats, and Longar is streaky from that far out.

Tony Crocker is one of three Sooners averaging more than 10 points per game, and he does it by putting the ball on the floor and attacking the basket. He’s also able to knock it down from outside, hitting 45% of his attempts from behind the arc. He’s a really long guard, checking in at 6’6″, so he’ll create some problems for whichever Longhorn is stuck with him.

Down low, Longar Longar has finally developed into a really scary player. He can still play excellent defense and block a shot into the mezzanine, but his offense is now a legitimate threat. Part of this is the addition of Blake Griffin to the lineup, drawing defenders away from the lanky center, but Longar has also practiced his shots and post moves. He can knock down jumpers, sink turnarounds from the baseline, and even make the defenders look silly with a set of moves leaving them behind the layup or dunk.

It seems like David Godbold has been in the OU backcourt even longer than Hollis Price, but this will actually be the last time the Horns ever face him in Norman. He’s crashing the boards really well from OU’s three-out, two-in sets, but is fortunately the lowest-scoring starter for Coach Jeff Capel. The Sooners aren’t rebounding very well for a team with such a solid frontcourt, so hopefully Texas can keep this guard off the glass and further exploit the rebounding advantage.

Off the bench

With Keith Clark academically ineligible this semester, Capel is left with a fairly short rotation. Guard Omar Leary can give some much-needed rest to the three starters, and is pretty damned good for a sixth man. He’s a JuCo transfer, so he’s ready to produce in his first season with the team. Leary can stick a three-pointer with a man right on him, but is also really quick off the dribble if defenders play in his face.

Blake’s big brother Taylor Griffin also gives some minutes in the frontcourt, but is really the only productive bench player Capel can use in the post. Freshman Cade Davis is still pretty raw at the forward position, but can grab a few rebounds and putbacks on occasion. If the Longhorns can get Longar and the Griffin brothers in foul trouble, it will really force the hand of Jeff Capel and the Sooners.

For now, we must get on the road, but be sure to tune in early tonight to catch this one. The game is airing on the Deuce and should be over just in time to watch that big one from Chapel Hill.

Virginia Tech (14-8 overall, 5-3 ACC) at NC State (14-7, 3-4) – 6 PM CST, ESPNU – The Wolfpack are quite possibly the most disappointing team of the year, but they are still in the mix for an at-large bid to the NCAAs. The key to their tournament push is the current stretch of nine games, six of which are on their home court. Tonight will certainly be a challenge for State though, as the V-Tech bigs will provide a good match-up for J.J. Hickson and Gavin Grant.

Michigan (5-16 overall, 1-8 Big Ten) at Ohio State (15-7, 6-3) – 6 PM CST, ESPN – Also known by its alternate title, “When Rivalry Week Goes Bad.” This might be an epic showdown on the gridiron, but until John Beilein gets his system and players in place, this series is going to be dominated by the Buckeyes.

#22 Florida (18-4 overall, 5-2 SEC) at #7 Tennessee (19-2, 6-1) – 8 PM CST, EPSN – The Baby Gators have made an incredible run to start the season, but they still have yet to record a truly marquee win. Thompson-Boling isn’t an easy place to steal a victory, but if Florida wants to loudly announce its presence as a legit young threat, escaping with an upset on the road would certainly do just that.

#11 Butler (19-2 overall, 8-2 Horizon) at Valparaiso (14-7, 5-4) – 8 PM CST, ESPN2 – The Bulldogs seem to be cruising through Horizon League play at this point, but their only two losses have both come on the road in conference play. Shawn Huff and the Crusaders hope to hand Butler a third tonight, but the senior-laden Bulldog squad is tough to rattle down the stretch.

Northern Iowa (14-8 overall, 6-5 MVC) at Creighton (15-6, 6-5) – 8 PM CST, ESPNU – It’s been an off year for both the Panthers and Jays, but a victory tonight could keep the winner in the hunt for second in the conference. Just three weeks ago, Creighton pulled off the 68-59 road win over NIU led by Nick Bahe’s 15/6 line. Tonight, the Panthers will be looking for tiny guard Jared Josten to lead the team to sweet revenge.

And here are the ESPN Full Court listings for those who are as addicted as I am…

South Florida (10-12 overall, 1-8 Big East) at #6 Georgetown (18-2, 8-1) – 6:30 PM CST – The Bulls live and die by the play of behemoth Kentrell Gransberry, but he’s having a tough time carrying the team all by himself. Against Georgetown on the road, USF might just want to roll over and play dead.

DePaul (9-12 overall, 4-5 Big East) at Providence (12-9, 3-6) – 6:30 PM CST – There’s a ton of good basketball being played night-in and night-out in the BEast, but this game certainly isn’t it. The Blue Demons have some raw talent but can’t ever seem to get it consistently clicking, while Providence has spent the last few weeks getting knocked around by the league’s upper-level teams. Ought to be quite the match-up.

#18 Texas A&M (18-4 overall, 4-3 Big 12) at Iowa State (13-9, 3-4) – 7 PM CST – It’s tough to say whether Hilton Coliseum will be rowdy for the ranked Aggies or if the rough conference start will keep Cyclone fans at home. If Iowa State actually has its true home-court advantage, Texas A&M’s well-documented road struggles could come into play once more. But I think it’s much more likely that the talented Aggie squad steamrolls the ‘Clones in this one.

#5 Kansas 90, Missouri 71 – Four of the five suspended Mizzou players returned for the Border War and foul trouble plagued the Kansas big men, but that still wasn’t enough to give the Tigers a chance in this one. Sasha Kaun had four personals while Darrell Arthur and Cole Aldrich each picked up three, but a twelve-point halftime lead was more than enough for Kansas to cruise. The Jayhawks won their fifth-straight game against Mizzou, led by Brandon Rush’s 19 points on the night.

Louisville 71, #16 Marquette 57 – Louisville overcame its recent road woes and put a stop to Marquette’s own home cooking with an easy win at the Bradley Center. The Cards held the Golden Eagles to only 32% shooting on the night and led by a comfortable margin the whole way, snapping a 14-game home winning streak in front of 17,736 Marquette faithful. The win puts the Cards firmly in third place in the Big East, just months after discipline problems and injuries appeared to leave the team rudderless.

#23 Saint Mary’s 89, Gonzaga 85 (OT) – The Game of the Night certainly lived up to its billing, as the fans in Moraga were treated to an extra five minutes of basketball before their hometown Gaels finally put away Gonzaga. It was the third home win over the Bulldogs in the last four years for the Gaels and moved their mark in the McKeon Pavilion to 13-0 on the year. Now the Zags, Gaels, and University of San Diego are all tied for first in the WCC, with each team getting one more crack at the other two before the regular season is complete.

Negligible movement in the polls this week, with the Horns sliding two spots to #12 in both rankings. The Jayhawk loss on Wednesday in Manhattan sent Kansas down a few rungs, slotting them 4th in the AP poll and 5th in the USA Today/ESPN ranking. Texas A&M and Kansas State were the other two Big 12 teams earning spots, with the Aggies sitting at 18th in both polls and the Wildcats checking in at 20th (AP) and 24th (Coaches). Baylor received votes from both the media and the coaches.

The big story this morning is, of course, the sudden departure of Bob Knight. His sudden retirement forces son Pat to hold the reins for the rest of Tech’s season, starting with a road game against Baylor on Wednesday. The odd timing has caused speculation that Knight was perhaps involved in another altercation, or that his wife’s medical problems have become too serious to allow the General to remain on the sidelines. I know I’m not alone in hoping that neither of these things are true, and wish Coach Knight the best of luck in his further endeavors. For two more (differing) views on the story, check in with William S. Reid at CNNSI.com or Pat Forde at ESPN.

Tuesday morning means another round of Bracketology to mull over. This time, Lunardi has the Longhorns as a 4-seed, one of six Big 12 teams in his field. Only the Big East has more in the hypothetical Big Dance, placing a full half of their 16-team conference in the mix. Other B-12 squads who were deemed worthy by Lunardi include Kansas (1-seed), K-State (3), Baylor (6), Texas A&M (7), and Oklahoma (10).