A hearty welcome to all the football fans who may have made their way over here now that the pigskin season is officially over for UT. We hope you enjoy your stay in the world of college hoops, a wonderful place where computers don’t decide who plays in championship games and even the smallest of underdogs gets an equal shot in the best playoff in sports.

North Carolina steamrolled Nevada last night, but lost guard Bobby Frasor in the process. The junior guard tore his left ACL and will miss the rest of the season, but don’t immediately think this is a huge loss for the Heels. Frasor was only averaging 17 minutes and three points per game so far this year after missing a lot of action last season with a foot problem. While this might cause some extra wear and tear on starter Ty Lawson, the Heels still have five other reserve guards on the roster who can try to eat up minutes.

Closer to home, Big 12 foe Mizzou torched Coppin State, 72-38. Coach Mike Anderson shuffled his lineup in this one, putting Stefhon Hannah and DeMarre Carroll on the bench to open the game. Mizzou’s high-pressure defense stifled the Eagles all night, forcing 22 turnovers and holding them to only 25.5% shooting.

There’s mostly just bowl games on TV tonight, although there’s a little mid-major flavor on the U, where a highly-disappointing Southern Illinios team plays host to 17th-ranked Butler (8 PM CST, ESPNU). And although it’s not televised outside of the Deep South, Ole Miss puts their undefeated mark on the line when taking on cross-state rival Southern Miss in a neutral-site game at Southaven.

Last night

Orlando took care of business at home and moved to 19-11 on the year, dispatching the Knicks, 110-96. Maurice Evans hardly saw the floor, making only a free throw in roughly six minutes of play. Coach Stan Van Gundy has been frustrated with the Magic’s poor showing recently, as they had dropped seven of nine heading into this one. As a result, he has mentioned lineup changes are coming, and perhaps a smaller role for Evans is a part of that plan.

The Nuggets steamrolled Milwaukee behind Marcus Camby’s triple-double, winning 125-105 in the Pepsi Center. Although it was a bad night for the Bucks, Royal Ivey still managed to shine. The guard had 14 points in 19 minutes of play to go along with two assists and a steal. Ivey was scorching hot from long range, hitting 4-of-6 from behind the arc.

Tonight

It’s been a rough December for Cleveland, who lost LeBron James for an extended stretch and has gone 4-8 this month. Things don’t get any easier tonight as Daniel Gibson and the Cavs head south to face the Mavericks in a nationally-televised game. (7 PM CST, TNT)

Seattle helped to build the “Big Three” in Boston by dealing Ray Allen to the Celtics this summer for Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West, and rookie Jeff Green. Since then, the C’s have dominated the League, running out to a 23-3 record. Kevin Durant and the Sonics, on the other hand, have struggled to an 8-20 start with their young squad. Tonight the two teams meet for the first time at Key Arena, where Allen will be honored in a pre-game ceremony by his old team and city. (9:30 PM, TNT)

The holidays are over, which means that basketball is slowly ramping back up. Tonight features #1 North Carolina hosting Nevada (6 PM CST, ESPN2) and NC State heading to Seton Hall (6:30 PM, ESPNU). Most Texas fans will probably be busy watching Duane Akina’s porous defense getting lit up by Arizona State, but we’ve got to cover all the bases for those non-Horn fans who read the site.

Eddie Sutton is back? Unfortunately, he didn’t end up at Colorado, where we could’ve sworn we saw him watching the CU/Texas game last January. Instead, he’s going to step in for the San Francisco Dons and try to get that 800th win. He’ll likely get two more in his last 17 games, but I kind of hope he doesn’t. He left his Oklahoma State program reeling and is now returning to the game for a very self-serving reason. That doesn’t seem like the coach I had come to begrudgingly respect over his years with the Pokes.

Checking in with the polls this week, Texas is sitting at 9th in both the AP and Coaches. The sportswriters around the country are all over the map, with Luke Winn leaving the Horns in 5th and ESPN writers putting Texas ninth. Jay Bilas still had the Horns in 5th and “Bracketologist” Joe Lunardi slotted them 7th, but the rest of the writers were pretty much split between 9th and 11th for Rick Barnes’ club.

Bob Knight’s in trouble again with the Big 12 after questioning a call in the Tech loss to New Mexico. I’m not sure what purpose these “reprimands” really serve, but you can be sure it’s no skin off of ol’ Bob’s back. It’s incredibly stupid that such a minor comment is worth this much attention. After all, it’s not like Knight was saying the refs cost his team the game — they lost by 17 — but rather was responding to a simple question posed by a reporter.

We open by wishing our readers a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, delightful Kwanzaa, and of course, a fabulous Festivus. We’re alive and well, back in Austin and catching up on all the rest we missed last week. Of course, the constant driving means that sleep isn’t the only thing we’ve missed out on — daily Fast Breaks and the Horns in the League also pulled a Houdini.

That leaves us with another lengthy NBA update tonight, so we jump in the Way Way Back Machine and travel to last…

Sunday

T.J. Ford missed the Toronto game against Boston, still recovering from that scary injury suffered against Atlanta. The Celtics continued their league domination in the meantime, downing the Raps by a 90-77 count.

The Trail Blazers continued their hot streak, topping the Nuggets 116-105 in the Rockies. LaMarcus Aldridge missed the game with plantar fascitis in his right foot.

The Lakers won the battle of Los Angeles by downing the cross-town rival Clippers, 113-92. Chris Mihm rejoined Phil Jackson’s game plan, playing 15 minutes and grabbing three boards. Mihm also added a bucket in the winning effort.

Monday

Royal Ivey and Daniel Gibson got to see a lot of each other in their game, as the Bucks and Cavs needed two overtimes to find a winner. Cleveland finally came out on top, 104-99, led by LeBron’s 31 points. Royal With Cheese sat on the bench for the Bucks all night, while D-Gib scored twelve and logged five dimes in his 46 minutes of action.

Orlando fell just short on the road, losing 111-108 to the homestanding Mavericks. Maurice Evans was the busiest player off the bench, playing for 19 minutes as the sixth man. Mo scored four points on the night and secured five rebounds.

LaMarcus Aldridge missed another one with his foot injury, but the Portland winning streak continued following an 88-76 victory over New Orleans.

Tuesday

Chris Mihm and T.J. Ford both did not play, but did see their teammates grab wins. The Lakers topped Chicago 103-91, while the Raptors edged the Clippers, 80-77.

Wednesday

Mike Brown played fast and loose with his bench, and the Cavaliers somehow made Isaiah Thomas look good, stumbling at Madison Square Garden. Daniel Gibson played 30 minutes in the 108-90 loss, scoring seven points.

Sacramento torpedoed the Bucks at home, winning by a 102-89 count. Royal Ivey was perfect on the night, hitting all four of his shots and both of his free throws. Ivey finished with ten points in eight minutes, but did turn the ball over three times.

Orlando evened up their Texas road trip by topping the Rockets, 97-92. Mo Evans had a highly-effective 16 minutes of playing time, scoring eight points to go with four boards and an assist.

Although T.J. Ford was still unable to play, LaMarcus Aldridge returned to the court in Portland, where the Trail Blazers won their ninth-straight, 101-96 over Toronto. L.A. quickly got back on the horse, dropping 15 points and seven boards in his 37-minute return.

Kevin Durant had a respectable night with 18 points and five rebounds, but it wasn’t enough for Seattle. The Sonics dropped another one at the Key, this time 107-93 to the Hornets.

Thursday

The hype was LeBron vs. Kobe, but for Horn fans it was Mihm vs. D-Gib. Of course, that story-within-the-game disintegrated when Chris Mihm missed yet another one without a single word from Lakers brass regarding an injury. Daniel Gibson did play, though, scoring 15 points in 28 minutes of action.

Friday

What’s that? Three straight DNP’s for Chris Mihm? Awesome. The Lakers won, by the way. Zzzzzzzz.

The Magic blew one at home, letting Paul Milsap dominate them for 28 points off the bench. Yes, Paul Milsap. Mo Evans had seven points and three boards in the 113-94 loss to Utah.

LaMarcus Aldridge dropped 18 points and ripped down eight boards in Portland’s tenth-straight win, a 99-96 nail-biter over Denver. L.A. was also generous with the rock, dishing out five assists on the night.

Kevin Durant led the way for Seattle in their 123-115 win over the Raptors, coming alive in the third quarter en route to a 27-point night. We got a few weird looks in the Toronto bars by cheering for the Sonics, but without T.J. Ford, the Raps didn’t leave much for us to love.

Saturday

Royal Ivey had a minimal role in the 103-99 Milwaukee win over Charlotte. Ivey played seven minutes off the bench ad grabbed two boards, but also picked up two fouls and turned it over once.

T.J. Ford continued to contemplate his health and his future in the NBA while the Raptors got face-raped by the Suns, 122-103.

Sunday

Chris Mihm does exist! The Los Angeles Sasquatch saw ten minutes of action, scoring four and logging a rebound in a 95-90 win over the Knicks. I guess that means he’s due for another three or four DNPs now. Thanks, Phil!

The Cavs lost another one at home, falling 105-96 to Don Nelson’s Warriors. Daniel Gibson battled foul trouble that limited him to 32 minutes of play, but he still finished with thirteen points, five boards, five dimes…and two blocked shots?!?

The post-season is a long way off, but this Magic/Celtics rivalry in the East is getting interesting. Boston got the best of Orlando this time, winning 103-91 at TD Banknorth. Mo Evans played 25 minutes, going 4-of-5 from the field to finish with ten points and a rebound.

Monday

The League took a day off for Christmas Eve or something, leaving me with only the painful Monday Night Football telecast to watch. It’s a tough call — listen to drunk Aunt Millie’s boring stories, or have Tony Kornheiser and Joe Theismann make me consider seppuku. What’s a guy to do?

Tuesday

Daniel Gibson was scratched from the starting lineup by Mike Brown, one of the true geniuses of the NBA. (Good showing the Finals, coach.) D-Gib was a solid sixth-man, scoring 16 points in 30 minutes, including a sick 4-of-6 from behind the arc.

The Lakers finally won a Christmas Day game, toppling the Suns, 122-115. Chris Mihm didn’t play, of course.

Another game, another win for Portland. In a match-up of the last two #2 picks — both of whom happen to be Longhorns — the Trail Blazers grabbed a 89-79 win in front of the Rose Garden crowd. Kevin Durant had 23 points, six boards, four assists, and two blocks in the losing effort. Meanwhile, LaMarcus Aldridge was nearly invisible, scoring only two first-half points and nothing more. He did battle through his 10% shooting though, helping the team with five rebounds and a steal.

Tonight

Maurice Evans and the Magic look to steamroll the pitiful Knicks in Orlando. (6 PM CST, NBA League Pass)

The struggling Bucks and Royal Ivey hope for a change of luck on the road in Denver. (8 PM CST, NBALP)

Nothing makes a 22-hour drive home better than a demoralizing loss. With nothing but the endless road in front of you, there’s ample time to revisit every moment and autopsy the cadaver of the game until it’s nearly unrecognizable. Of course, that’s even more fun if you add a fast-moving winter storm into the mix.

After watching the Oakland/Oregon game that followed the Texas loss, we took an LRT traveler back into north-central Indiana to be with his family for the holidays. We rolled in around 3 A.M. and decided to check the weather before we pressed on. Unfortunately, we discovered that if we stuck to the current route, a snowstorm would be hitting Chicago at the same time we would be arriving. The decision was made to double back to I-69 and sprint south to Indianapolis in an attempt to skirt the front. We failed. Miserably.

Rain and 40-MPH wind gusts buffeted us from one lane to the other, and driving was reduced to a crawl. And when we finally made a 6 A.M. stop at a gas station for refueling, stretching, and scouting the hotel options ahead of us, the storm really made its move. In only an hour, the temperature dropped more than 10 degrees, snow blew in, and everything began to ice over. For two guys from Texas who hadn’t slept in about 21 hours, that seemed like reason enough to pack it in for a little bit of rest.

So, after six hours of much-needed sleep in Indianapolis, we’re going to try this thing again. It’s still windy and snowing, but at least now we won’t pass out behind the wheel. And when we get back to Austin, we’ll try to take one more look at this loss and put the thing to bed.

Everybody enjoy the holidays, and be safe out there.

Update (8:31 P.M. CDT): After a five-hour shift behind the wheel, it’s my turn to grab some sleep. We’re now in southeastern Missouri, with only 742 miles between us and Austin. In the meantime, here are a few thoughts on last night’s game…

1) This one underscored Augustin’s importance. With him out of the game late in the first half, Michigan State went on their big run as the Texas offense ground to a halt. Players dribbled around the perimeter for 25-30 seconds before jacking up poor shots.

2) Credit goes to the Spartans for some great defensive work, as they constantly collapsed into double teams against penetration. Augustin stuggled against it in the first half, and the other guards were completely unable to overcome it.

3) Where was the bench? I don’t recall them making any impact beyond J.D. Lewis hitting a three and Alexis Wangmene forcing a turnover. Yes, the bench is thin, but they will have to produce more than that the rest of the year.

4) The stats they showed in the arena had Texas with a ridiculously low number of assists. This is partially a result of scoring a lot from the line, but it is also a sign of how often the Horns were trying to create for themselves off the drribble, which was not a good idea against the MSU scheme.

5) It’s tough to beat a team who shoots 50%, but Texas didn’t do itself any favors in giving up so many easy buckets in this one. I’ll refrain from more comments on the defense until I get home and watch the tape, but it was certainly frustating.

All told, this is nothing more than a loss. I’m sure some fans are over-reacting after it, but some perspective should be maintained. It’s a tough pill to swallow because these were two great, evenly-matched teams who could beat each other on any given day. But Rick Barnes still has a great squad this season that will win a ton of games, and the sky is certainly not falling.

I’ll have a more in-depth look at the game sometime on Monday after we make it back to Austin.