Big Monday expands to the U this week, with the sister station airing a couple of mid-major tilts and a mid-pack match-up from the WCC. The usual Big East/Big 12 combo on the flagship looks to be pretty solid, while the nightcap is one you should definitely stay up for.

Louisville (16-6 overall, 6-3 Big East) at #16 Marquette (16-4, 6-3) – 6 PM CST, ESPN – Louisville is getting back into the swing of things, winning seven of their last nine heading into tonight’s Big East throwdown. But those two losses for the Cards both came on the road, and you can be sure that the Bradley Center and its giant celebrity cutouts will be ready for the ‘Ville.

Grambling State (3-12 overall, 3-5 SWAC) at Mississippi Valley State (7-12, 5-3) – 6 PM CST, ESPNU – I’m not even going to pretend to know anything about SWAC basketball, but it’s nice to see the U bumping up its coverage of the smaller D-1 schools as conference play marches on.

Villanova (13-7 overall) at St. Joseph’s (14-5 overall) – 7 PM CST, CSTV – Nova and St. Joe’s take a break from their conference schedules to battle it out in the Holy War tonight, and if you’ve got CSTV you should give this one a look. There’s nothing quite like the atmosphere of a Big Five game, and the fans will be fired up over this one.

Missouri (13-9 overall, 3-4 Big 12) at #5 Kansas (21-2, 6-1) – 8 PM CST, ESPN – One of the nastiest rivalries in college sports is rekindled tonight in Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks won the first meeting this year by a 76-70 count in Columbia and the Tigers would love to return the favor. But the altercation at a nightclub a week ago still has this Mizzou team playing shorthanded, so things could get very ugly tonight.

Hampton (12-7 overall, 6-1 MEAC) at North Carolina A&T (11-9, 5-2) – Two teams near the top of the MEAC standings battle it out for conference supremacy. But in all honesty, does this game matter in a one-bid league where only the tournament champion will be dancing?

Gonzaga (17-5 overall, 6-0 WCC) at #23 Saint Mary’s (18-3, 5-1) – 10 PM CST, ESPN2 – Game. Of. The. Night. Perhaps I’m a bit biased as I’m already planning a Pac-10/WCC road trip for next season, but this epic battle atop the West Coast Conference is going to be ridiculously exciting. The small gyms these teams play in are always electric for big games, and the Gaels are hoping to finally overcome the Gonzaga stranglehold on the WCC. Drink some coffee, pop some No-Doze, or just take a nap during the Mizzou/Kansas game. But whatever you do, don’t miss this one.

Portland (7-15 overall, 1-5 WCC) at Santa Clara (11-10, 3-3) – 10 PM CST, ESPNU – More WCC excitement over on the U, but it’s a bit overshadowed by the game down in Moraga. Santa Clara is hoping to break from the pack with a home win tonight and keep within arm’s reach of the three teams running away with it. Portland is scuttling, so hopefully they don’t lay down and take a beating in this one.

#4 North Carolina 84, Florida State 73 (OT) – The Seminoles tied the game on a three-pointer with 8.1 seconds left in regulation, but the Tar Heels cruised in overtime to defeat upset-minded FSU on the road. The big story of the day, though, was the ankle injury to point guard Ty Lawson. Today his x-rays came back negative, but Coach Williams doesn’t think he’ll be ready for the huge showdown with Duke on Wednesday.

#11 Indiana 75, Northwestern 63 – Eric Gordon’s wrist injury doesn’t seem to be slowing him down any more, as he dropped in 29 points for IU at home. The Wildcats played remarkably well in Assembly Hall, staying within two points of the Hoosiers until the 10:32 mark of the second half. Good defense carried IU the rest of the way, keeping them just a half-game back of Purdue and Wisconsin in the Big Televen.

#13 Wisconsin 63, Minnesota 47 – The Badgers raced out of the gates on the road, never allowing Tubby Smith’s team a chance in this one. Wisconsin turned the tables on Minnesota and their pressure D, forcing 18 Golden Gopher turnovers that led to 20 points. It was Wisconsin’s third road win in the first half of conference play and their fifth overall.

The first twelve minutes of Saturday’s game with the Baylor Bears felt all too familiar for Longhorn fans. Spurred by a hot 4-of-6 start from three-point range, the visitors had jumped out to a daunting 31-17 lead with eight minutes left in the first half. The team looked flat and the arena was dead — if you could manage to ignore the vocal Bear contingent in the upper deck that had bused down I-35 for this Big 12 showdown.

But unlike the debacle on Wednesday, Texas fought back with smart play. There weren’t defensive lapses to kill the comeback push, and there was a welcome lack of momentum-quashing technical and flagrant fouls. The Longhorns used some hot shooting of their own the rest of the way, while holding the Baylor sharpshooters to just 4-of-19 from behind the arc from that point on.

When all was said and done, the Bears had put a scare into the Longhorns for a fourth-straight time. But a much longer streak was still intact, a 21-game string of victories over the Bears dating back to 1998. This Baylor team is good enough to exorcise that demon on February 16th in Waco, but for now the Texas dominance continues.

Rick Barnes didn’t live up to his promise of keeping Damion James out of this one, but did keep him out of the starting lineup. Dexter Pittman earned the starting nod, and played hard-nosed basketball down low before picking up a pair of quick fouls and sitting the rest of the way. The message seemed to be received by James though, as he scored 17 to go along with eight rebounds in his 34 minutes on the court.

Point guard D.J. Augustin had a quiet scoring night, but played a very smart game. He was often turned back by the Baylor posts on drives to the bucket, but was smart enough to pull it back out and reset. Many times this season, Augustin would have pressed on in those situations and had a shot blocked or just turned it over. But in this game, he played much more like a floor general. He attacked the rim and drew fouls when he could, and he dished out seven assists when he couldn’t create on his own.

Justin Mason was tasked with running the point on a few possessions, even some where Augustin was on the floor. It was a new look for the Horns, and it actually seemed to work. It seems like this might be more exhausting for D.J. as he works to get open, but it was reassuring to see Mason handle the ball and finish with only two turnovers in the game. He also made a huge hustle play during a Longhorn run where he sprawled out on the floor to corral a loose ball and call the timeout. It got the crowd fired up, and it kept Baylor from stopping the Texas momentum.

During the initial spurt by Baylor, A.J. Abrams was about the only person performing for the Horns. He hit runners, he hit floaters, and he fueled the offense with 4-of-8 shooting from behind the arc on the night. His 20 points led the way for Texas, and he hit four clutch free throws, including a pair after a technical on Baylor coach Scott Drew.

The re-emergence of Connor Atchley continued, as the lanky forward hit 2-of-4 from long range and grabbed seven boards — six of them on the offensive glass. For a Texas team that is second in the Big 12 in offensive rebounding, Atchley plays a huge role. He keeps possessions going after some of the ill-advised shots that the guards occasionally throw up, and gets a few easy putbacks in the paint as well.

Atchley’s 14 points marks only the second time since the Oral Roberts game that he has reached double digits in scoring. Over that stretch, the Longhorns went 6-4, winning both of his 10+ point games. Clearly he is a key part of the offense, so one can only hope that this performance carries over to a tough test against a solid Oklahoma frontcourt on Wednesday.

Perhaps the biggest story of the night, however, was a solid outing from Gary Johnson. Apart from a good game against St. Mary’s, Johnson has struggled with his baptism by fire in the Big 12. He’s often appeared lost on defense, been out of position on rebounds, missed a ton of bunnies, and was abysmal at the line. Against Baylor, he attacked the bucket, drew fouls, and finished with a great 12/7 line. He even improved his free throw shooting, going 6-of-10 from the charity stripe after starting the year with a painful 4-of-16. Like Atchley, Gary is going to be needed down low on Wednesday night, and we hope that this is a sign of things to come for the affable freshman.

Clint Chapman was the only other Horn to play, as Coach Barnes used his shortest bench of the year. Chapman didn’t make a huge impact in the contest, seeing the court for only seven minutes to give some of the other bigs a breather. While he didn’t steal the spotlight, his role was important with Alexis Wangmene serving an unofficial suspension for his elbow against Texas A&M. Chapman was needed to simply eat up some minutes without making mistakes, and he was able to do that.

Texas certainly needs to work on sticking shooters a little tighter coming out of the gates, but we’ll leave the bitching for another day and just enjoy the victory while we can. It was reassuring to see the Longhorns battle through after taking it hard on the chin to start the game, and it was also great to see them bounce back from a 52% night at the line in College Station.

With the exception of next Saturday’s game against Iowa State, the rest of the month is going to be an absolute nightmare for the Horns, so every win is huge. This puts them in third place in the Big 12 with a chance on Wednesday to knock off one of the competitors nipping at their heels.

Texas returns home after a lopsided mid-week road loss to Texas A&M, hoping to rebound against Baylor this afternoon. In previous years, that would be just what the doctor ordered — beat up on the Bears, pad the stats, and move on to another conference test. But not any longer. This Baylor team is one of the league’s best and is the first one in school history to play Texas with a national ranking in hand.

Evidence of Scott Drew’s turnaround on the Waco campus could be seen last season, as Baylor took Texas down to the wire in all three games last season. That included a near-upset in the Big 12 Tournament where the Bears built a 20-point lead in the second half, but were overcome by the heroics of Kevin Durant and Craig Winder. This year, close enough isn’t good enough for Baylor, and they want to announce their legitimacy with a huge road win in Austin.

By the numbers

Baylor is a very solid team on both sides of the ball, with both offense and defense better on the perimeter. The Bears have an adjusted offensive efficiency of 112.3, while holding opponents to 93.4 points per 100 possessions. Baylor finds a lot of success in both departments by forcing turnovers and pushing the break, as 25% of their offense this season comes off of the transition game, according to Coach Drew.

On the other side of the ball, the Bears maintain great ball control with a turnover percentage (TO/possessions) that is 16th best in the entire nation. Scott Drew starts three solid guards and has two exciting younger ones that come off the bench, so forcing the issue will not be easy for the Texas defense.

Those guards are also great at guarding the three-point line, and they will make it difficult for D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrams to get going from long range. Baylor can be absolutely abused inside, though, as Oklahoma proved in their win on Saturday. The Sooner post play was so troublesome that the Bears switched to a 2-3 zone to stop the bleeding, so if Texas can establish inside play perhaps they can open up their outside shooters this way.

The starters

Austin native Curtis Jerrells is the team’s leading scorer and one of the three excellent guards for the Bears. He’s started all 19 games for Baylor this season and averages 14.4 points per game. As is the case with all of the BU backcourt players, he’s quick with the ball, has great handles, and can attack the rim off the bounce. He’s a pretty good shooter from long range, too, but is overshadowed by some even better sharpshooters on the roster.

Aaron Bruce is benefiting from a more balanced Baylor attack this year. Without having to carry the entire team on his back, he has exhibited better shot selection and become an even more efficient scorer. He only plays 25 minutes a game this year, leaving him with fresh legs late in the games. He’s the best three-point shooting starter for the Bears, knocking them down at a scary 42.4% clip.

The other starting guard for Coach Drew is Henry Dugat, who is averaging 12.1 points per game coming into this one. Like Jerrells and Bruce, Dugat can attack the paint and score, or shoot it in your eye from behind the arc, where he’s hitting at 37% on the year.

The key big man down low is Kevin Rogers, and he is picking up the trash for Baylor in the paint. He’s the team’s leading scorer and seems to quietly rack up his points each game on putbacks and tip-ins. The Bears don’t have a ton off assists on the books, but the ones they often record come after one of the guards draws a collapsing defense in the lane and leaves the bigs wide open down low under the rim.

Josh Lomers is improving in his second season on the Brazos, but he still looks a bit raw. He reminds me a lot of Connor Atchley in his first two years, in that the kid clearly has potential but isn’t fully realizing it yet. Lomers was an absolute stud back at Boerne High, but the post players in high-level D1 basketball are a far cry from the poor kids he was abusing back in mid-level UIL play.

Off the bench

Tweety Carter is the smallest guy on the court for Baylor, and possibly the fastest. He can knock it down from anywhere, and was the leading all-time scorer in Louisiana high school history. His three-point percentage is a sky-high 43.3%, but teams that play up in his jersey will find him blowing by for an easy layup.

The other solid guard off the bench is freshman LaceDarius Dunn, another long-range dead-eye who is also a 43.3% shooter behind the arc. I know it sounds like a broken record, but Dunn is another quick one who is going to cause problems for the tired Texas guards when he comes in well-rested off the bench.

Delbert Simpson and Mamadou Diene are key reserves in the Baylor frontcourt, with walk-on Mark Shepherd earning some minutes as well. All three are still pretty unrefined, although Diene’s post defense can change the flow of a game. He’s a really long kid down under the rim, and he loves to block shots with authority. Offensively, he’s not much to write home about, but if Texas doesn’t stay on the boards, he’s going to get some garbage buckets.

Shepherd does all the little things right, much like former high school teammate Ian Mooney. He moves well without the ball, sets good screens, and hustles all over the place. He only averages two points a game, and if you see him shoot, you’ll understand why. But he’s something of a glue guy when the starters need a breather, and he’s fundamentally sound.

Simpson, a JuCo transfer, has really soft hands in the paint but often seems a little too excited with the ball. He’ll force shots that aren’t there instead of looking for the open man, and sometimes shuffles his feet in his rush to get the ball off. If Texas emphasizes the post game for a third-straight contest, he’ll likely be relied on for minutes when the Baylor bigs get into foul trouble.

What to look for

The key in this one is going to be limiting the Baylor three-pointers. For a Texas team who doesn’t like to guard the perimeter with any consistency, this will be a tall order. The Bears can quickly take the home crowd out of it with a long-range barrage, and they have made a ton of runs from deep deficits this year simply by riding the three-ball. Texas cannot afford to give up open looks downtown, and need to force Rogers and Diene to beat them down low.

For Texas, they need to try to expose the weakness inside for Baylor. Dexter Pittman should get a bunch of minutes again and needs to be fed the ball to take advantage of the Bears’ post D. If Rick Barnes doesn’t follow through on his threats to bench Damion James, DaMo will need to crash the glass and give another double-double performance.

And finally, if this game is close, Texas needs to improve from the line. The Bears lead the Big 12 from the line, hitting 73% of their attempts at the charity stripe. As has been well documented, the Horns haven’t been able to consistently hit free throws since early December. If the game is decided by a few points, this free throw disparity could unfortunately give the edge to the Bears. And when you consider that all three of the Baylor losses have been by seven points or less, the chances are good for another close one today.

As of 5 P.M. yesterday, there were still 1,000 tickets left for this one. I suspect that walk-up crowds will make it a sell-out, but if you’re thinking of catching the game, please come down to the Drum. If you happen to stay home, check out the affiliate list that’s linked at the top of this post to see which of your local networks will be carrying this ESPN+ telecast.

Texas A&M absolutely destroyed the Longhorns on Wednesday night, and there’s no positive spin to put on that. Texas did not want to guard anyone, turned the ball over like a Little Dribblers team, and shot below the Mendoza line for much of the first half. Thanks only to some garbage layups in the final minutes, they finished with a world-beating 38.2 shooting percentage. But as I mentioned yesterday, there were a few good things happening which could bode well for the near future, if you can get past the unabashed beatdown you saw the Ags lay on the Horns.

Dexter Pittman is ready – This is the most obvious bright spot in the game, as Big Dex gave 14 minutes off the bench and was the leading scorer with 14 points. If it weren’t for the bizarre first-half technical, Dexter might’ve been able to provide even more in the second half instead of having to sit with four fouls.

The Longhorns started feeding the ball to him against Tech a few days earlier, and it looks like Barnes and the staff are ready to make Dexter and the other post players a big part of the offense. If that is successful, it frees up Damion James and Connor Atchley to play further away from the basket, where they can not only knock down jumpers, but also beat less-agile forwards off the dribble as they attack the bucket.

Connor Atchley is shooting threes – Connor still doesn’t look like he’s completely regained the confidence he had early in the year, but he took some long-range shots in College Station and knocked down two of them in the second half. A big part of the Texas struggles over the last seven weeks has been the dip in production from Atchley and Justin Mason, so this is a really good sign for the Horns as they head into a hellacious February schedule.

A.J. Abrams is getting open – The Texas A&M guards are a hell of a lot taller than Abrams, and usually that would mean he wouldn’t be able to get any shots off. He needs screens to free him and give him enough space to get the threes off before a 6’4″ guard rejects it into the ninth row. Against the Aggies, he came off of curls and hustled enough to get some really good looks. The other side of this coin is that it really raised his confidence level, and A.J. took some threes later that he didn’t need to be taking. It’s great that he’s getting more space again, but he also needs to work on shot selection as the season rolls on.

Only one other note to be made about Wednesday night’s game, and that is to briefly touch on the unfortunate incident with Alexis Wangmene. I’ve only seen the play twice — once at full-speed, and once in slow-motion on the JumboTron — and it didn’t seem at the time to be premeditated. But the fact of the matter is that the instinctive reaction to a bump on the head should not be a quick elbow to the nearest player. That was completely out of line, and I’m glad that there weren’t severe injuries as a result. Props to all players for keeping their heads after the incident, and also to Wangmene for manning up to his mistake with apologies to the Aggies and their fans after the game.

This is a great rivalry that has become even better with the emergence of the Texas A&M program over the last few seasons, and I’d hate to see it devolve into a nasty, overly physical cage match like the Duke/Virginia Tech series. Hopefully this won’t lead to any other incidents in Austin in three weeks, and we’ll be treated to another exciting battle with the Ags at the Erwin Center.

A tough game awaits with Baylor in less than 24 hours, so I’ll be bringing you the pre-game thoughts in the wee hours of the morning.