There was little doubt what cost the Longhorns a win over Connecticut on Saturday. Texas was constantly abused on the defensive glass, and in the end suffered a one-point defeat in overtime. On Tuesday night in Lubbock, there was also little doubt as to what Texas had focused on in practice since that loss. The Longhorns threw their weight around inside, racking up 42 rebounds and 50 points in the paint en route to an easy 83-52 win.

What looked good

Texas bounced back on the glass against Texas Tech, posting an impressive +19 rebounding margin. The Longhorns were especially strong on the defensive glass, grabbing 80.8% of the Red Raider misses. The commanding performance gave the team its best defensive rebounding mark since the season opener, when the Horns secured 84.3% of the misses by Navy.

Not only did the Longhorns limit the Red Raiders to one-shot possessions nearly every trip down the floor, but they also forced tough their opponents into tough looks. Tech shot just 39% from the field, the tenth time this season that Texas held an opponent to less than 40% shooting. The stingy defense and lack of offensive rebounds resulted in a paltry 0.738 points per possession for the Red Raiders, marking the eighth time this season the Longhorn D has held an opponent to less than 0.8 points per possesion.

Against Tech’s constant screens and off-ball motion, the Longhorns talked it out on defense. The good communication was obvious, especially considering that the majority of the student section in the half-empty United Spirit Arena left with 11 minutes to play. Fans were actually able to hear the Longhorn defenders calling out switches for the rest of the game.

The solid team defense forced Tech to take contested jumpers on most of their possessions. Even big man Robert Lewandowski was forced to take some tough looks thanks to solid post defense from Tristan Thompson, but unlike the rest of the Red Raiders, Lewandowski was able to knock down difficult shots. He finished the night with 13 points, many of them on great turnaround jumpers with a hand in his face.

Thompson should also be commended for his excellent work sealing off defenders when the guards were driving the lane. His heads-up play allowed Dogus Balbay and the diminutive Jai Lucas to repeatedly reach the rim for uncontested layups. The pair of guards, who were previously averaging around eight points per game, combined for 14 against Tech. Balbay in particular had a career night, grabbing five rebounds and dishing out three dimes to go with his nine points, despite having to play only 21 minutes in the blowout.

In the frontcourt, Gary Johnson bounced back quickly after struggling with his mid-range jumper against Connecticut. Although he finished just one point shy of a double-double — the first time in the last eight games he didn’t hit double-digits in scoring — Johnson shot a scorching 57% from the field.

Off the bench, Alexis Wangmene did great work on the glass. He grabbed five boards in just 16 minutes, a solid performance after he spent most of the UConn game on the bench. J’Covan Brown also played well in relief, logging more assists (three) than buckets (two). It’s clear that Brown is embracing his role as a combo guard, and has shed most of the bad habits that led him to be a shoot-first player in his freshman year.

What needed work

In a game that was this one-sided, most Texas fans know that there is only one thing we can harp on. Once again, the Longhorns struggled mightily from the free-throw stripe, knocking down just 62.9% of their attempts. As usual, the biggest culprit was the freshman Thompson, who made just six of 11. Senior guard Dogus Balbay also earned five free-throw attempts with his aggressive moves to the bucket. Unfortunately for Dogus and the Longhorns, he made just one.

Next up: vs. Oklahoma (8-8 overall, 0-2 Big 12); Saturday, 3 P.M.

Fresh off a heartbreaking overtime loss to Connecticut on Saturday, Texas jumps right into conference play with a road game against Texas Tech tonight. Although United Spirit Arena seems to claim one ranked opponent as an upset victim every season, the Longhorns have to be happy with the relatively easy start the conference schedule-makers afforded them. The Red Raiders sit at just .500 heading into this game, while Texas’ second opponent, Oklahoma, was picked to finish near the bottom of the league by every major publication.

On paper, the Red Raiders should have a much better record at this point. They returned a solid nucleus of players in John Roberson, Mike Singletary, and D’walyn Roberts, but have stumbled through the season thus far, losing games to the likes of North Texas and TCU. Roberts, who was troubled by ankle problems at the end of last season, missed six more games in November, and has seen limited minutes since his return.

By the numbers

As usual, Texas Tech is a well-disciplined team that relies on constant motion and cutting to earn open looks. The Red Raiders take nearly 75% of their shots from inside the arc, a stat that is even more notable when put in a national context. Out of 345 Division I basketball teams, there are only 24 teams that take less threes than Tech.

That bodes well for the Longhorns, who just so happen to have the 2nd-best two-point defense in the country. Texas is holding opponents to just 38.5% shooting from inside the three-point line. To date, the Red Raiders are making more than 48% of their two-point shots. If the Texas defense can impose its will inside tonight, it could be a very long game for the Tech offense.

The Red Raiders are also very consistent with the basketball. They only turn it over on about 18% of their possessions, significantly better than the national average of nearly 21 percent. Against a Longhorn team that doesn’t force many turnovers, that trend should hold in tonight’s game.

One trend Texas hopes to end in tonight’s game is an inability to secure defensive rebounds. Against Connecticut, the Longhorns allowed the Huskies to reclaim more than 43% of their misses, and those extra possesions resulted in a tough loss. Fortunately for Texas, the Red Raiders are nowhere near as talented on the glass. Tech is ranked in the bottom half of D-I basketball with just a 32.1% offensive rebounding mark.

Meet the Red Raiders

The top four scorers for Tech are all seniors, while the team’s fifth-leading scorer, Robert Lewandowski, is a junior. Since Coach Pat Knight has his team running an up-tempo attack this season, with the Red Raiders seeing 71.5 possessions per contest, the team essentially runs 10 deep.

The core group for Tech is made up of six players who were major contributors last season — Singletary, Roberson, Lewandowski, Brad Reese, David Tairu, and Roberts. For more on those returning players, you’ll want to check out last season’s game preview.

The newcomers are led by Jaye Crockett, a freshman forward from New Mexico. He redshirted last season, giving him an extra year to bulk up for the rigors of Big 12 play. As a result, he’s made a quick impact in his first season, chipping in nearly six points and four rebounds a game despite averaging just 14 minutes.

Reserve point guard Javarez Willis is just 5’11”, and he’s taken a winding road to get to Lubbock. Coming out of Louisiana, Willis was rated as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, but failed to land offers from any major schools besides Tech. After signing with Coach Knight, Willis wasn’t able to academically qualify, and had to spend the last season at a prep school.

Now, finally a member of the Red Raider squad, Willis is providing about 15 minutes off the bench. He still needs a lot of work on ball control to be a viable point guard option, but has the luxury of learning the role as an understudy to a very experienced cast.

Paul Cooper is a juco transfer from Gulf Coast CC, the same school that produced fellow Tech forward Brad Reese. Cooper is only playing a little more than 10 minutes per game, but like Willis, he is building for next season. He’s clearly making the effort to improve, as he shed nearly 50 pounds after transferring from Gulf Coast. With more experience, he could make a splash in 2011-12.

Keys to the game

On paper, this is a game that Texas should easily win. The Red Raiders rely on mid-range jumpers and slashing to the rim, two methods of attack that the Longhorns have done a great job rebuffing all season long. There’s also no question that the Texas roster has more talent than the Tech one. But as we mentioned, United Spirit Arena has seen its share of upsets over the last few seasons. Add in the fact that the Red Raiders are experienced, while the Longhorns are fairly young, and perhaps the result isn’t so pre-determined.

When facing a disciplined, experienced team, everything boils down to fundamentals. Those types of teams aren’t going to beat themselves, so the Longhorns can’t do dumb things like waste possessions with turnovers. If Texas can just execute and avoid a letdown game after the emotionally-draining effort against UConn, they should return to Austin with a conference win.

The most important fundamental for Texas tonight will be good team defense. With Tech constantly moving off the ball, it takes just a split second to lose a man and give him a wide-open look. If the Longhorns can talk it out, switching and helping as needed, they should be able to frustrate the Red Raiders like they did in Austin last season. Fail to do so, and it will be more like last season’s second half in Lubbock, when the Red Raiders quickly erased a double-digit Texas lead and nearly came back for a victory.

The Longhorns also need to exploit their advantage inside. Outside of the 6’10” Lewandowski, the Red Raiders don’t consistently play anyone who is taller than 6’7″. Texas would be wise to pound the ball inside to Tristan Thompson and let Jordan Hamilton attack the paint off the dribble. Hamilton seemed hesitant to do so against the tall, stout interior D of Connecticut, so perhaps a breakout game against a less-imposing Tech frontcourt will increase his confidence heading into conference play.

Finally, we’ll be looking for a big game from Dogus Balbay. This isn’t really a key to the game, per se, as the Longhorns can easily win this game with a quiet performance from Balbay. But Dogus had the best offensive game of his career against Tech last January, so we’re hoping to see more slashing from the Turkish guard tonight.

With the Tech game less than 24 hours away, we’ll dispense with the introductions and get right into some post-game thoughts.

1) The game ball goes to Alex Oriakhi – Much has been written about Kemba Walker‘s performance in overtime, and there’s no denying that he single-handedly willed his team to victory in those extra five minutes. But without the sudden re-emergence of sophomore big man Alex Oriakhi, there’s no overtime for the Huskies to even play in.

Oriakhi looked like one of the nation’s most dominant bigs when he broke out at the Maui Invitational. In the three-game tournament, the sophomore tallied 45 points and grabbed 35 rebounds, logging double-doubles against both Michigan State and Kentucky. After re-entering the mainland, Oriakhi seemed to lose his mojo. He averaged just over eight points and six rebounds in the eight ensuing games, and saw his numbers dip even more in conference play thanks to foul trouble.

Against the Longhorns, Oriakhi tore down an eye-popping 21 rebounds, including 11 on the offensive end. He chipped in 11 points, and came up with the biggest block of the night when he rejected Texas’ game-winning attempt with ten seconds left in regulation.

If this is Alex Oriakhi that shows up the rest of this season, UConn will be a very tough team to beat. Without him, the Huskies are reduced to the Kemba Walker Show, and recent weeks have proven that he won’t be able to carry his team alone for much longer.

2) Free throws finally caught up with Texas – As a team, the Longhorns are currently the proud owners of a 64.8% free-throw mark. That’s good enough for 275th place in the country. To put it another way, there are only 70 teams in all of Division I basketball worse at the stripe than Texas.

Against UConn, the Longhorns made just 14 of their 23 attempts. Big man Tristan Thompson was a frustrating 1-of-6 from the line, including two excruciating misses in overtime. Jordan Hamilton was just 1-of-3 when he headed to the stripe, with one of his misses coming on the front end of a one-and-one.

It seems elementary to say that shooting 60.8% at the line cost a team the game when it was decided by just one point in overtime. But what is most frustrating about this never-ending free-throw nightmare is that while not only will it cost the Longhorns some wins against good teams, but it is likely also going to cost Texas a road game against a sub-par opponent. Losing an exciting, back-and-forth game to UConn is excusable. Losing in Lincoln or Norman? Not so much.

3) Damned if you Dogus, damned if you don’t – The Turkish Minister of Defense — better known by his given name of Dogus Balbay — is the biggest reason why Kemba Walker struggled so much on Saturday afternoon. It took 18 minutes for Walker to crack the scoreboard, and he finished regulation with just 15 points. Unfortunately, if you look at the substitution patterns late in the game, Balbay’s complete uselessness on offense essentially allowed the Huskies to force overtime.

With the Longhorns down one and just under two minutes on the clock, Coach Barnes called a timeout and subbed in Cory Joseph for Balbay. The offense-for-defense maneuver worked, and Texas took the lead on J’Covan Brown’s jumper. As Balbay watched from the bench, Walker immediately attacked the rim, drawing a foul on a helping Thompson en route to a three-point play.

There were a lot of moments in this game that all added up to a loss for the Longhorns. But Texas needs something, anything out of Balbay on the offensive end that will allow him to play more minutes. The team simply can’t afford to give an opponent’s best player an easier match-up in the most crucial minutes of the game.

4)Benchwarmers finally warmed up – J’Covan Brown had, without a doubt, his best game to-date on the 40 Acres. Sure, he still took a few questionable shots, but on Saturday afternoon, even two of those went in the bucket. He matched Jordan Hamilton with 20 points, despite playing 12 less minutes. From long range, a place he had struggled in mid-December, Brown was two for three. And on a day when nobody’s free throws seemed to go in, J’Covan made all four of his.

While not as strong as Brown’s performance, Matt Hill‘s contributions were important. He struggled early, but bounced back to come up with some key defensive stops and snagged a few defensive rebounds when Texas couldn’t even buy one. He logged six total boards in the game, and actually posted the best defensive rebounding numbers on the team when adjusted for minutes.

5) If at first you don’t succeed, hope you’re playing Texas – Easy putbacks have been a thorn in the side of the Texas defense all season long. Against North Carolina, those second-chance points nearly cost the team a big victory. With the Huskies scoring 24 of their own second-chance points on Saturday afternoon — 17 of them in the second half — the Longhorns were lucky to claw back and force overtime.

The worst part of the rebounding impotence is that it masked what was a quality defensive effort from the team. Texas held the Huskies to 38% shooting from the field, which is even more impressive when you consider how many shots UConn took just a foot or two from the bucket.

The optimist will simply chalk this up as an aberration, a result of the Longhorns selling out in an effort to stop Walker. The pessimist will declare that this is the inevitable result of having a frontcourt with little experience beyond the starters. The answer may lie somewhere between the two extremes, but there’s no doubt that the upcoming battles in a rugged Big 12 Conference will settle the debate. The first big test for the Texas frontcourt arrives next Wednesday, when the Longhorns take on an A&M squad that is currently eighth-best in the nation on the offensive glass.

Next up: at Texas Tech (8-8); 6 P.M., Tuesday

A year ago, a road game against UConn served as the turning point in a disappointing season for the Texas Longhorns, a season in which they ascended to the nation’s No. 1 ranking before spiraling into a free-fall that ended with a first-round NCAA exit.

When the Longhorns blew a 10-point second-half lead in Storrs last season, ultimately losing to the Huskies by 14 points, they had already suffered their first loss of the year to Kansas State. But the team’s inexplicable collapse in the final 20 minutes against UConn served as a microcosm of a season in which the team had an equally-frustrating implosion down the stretch.

With UConn losing both Stanley Robinson and Jerome Dyson in the off-season, this year’s match-up between the two teams seemed like an easy chance for Texas’ revenge. The Huskies entered the season as one of the youngest teams in the country, with a frontcourt surrounded by question marks.

Then, the Maui Invitational happened. Kemba Walker, who spent his summer working hard in NBA skills camps and with the USA Select team, exploded onto the national scene with 90 points in three games, leading his young team to a tournament title with wins over Michigan State and Kentucky.

The potential is certainly still there for a Texas revenge win. In recent weeks, the Huskies have struggled as they entered conference play, suffering a pair of road losses to Pitt and Notre Dame, while being forced to overtime by a South Florida team that now holds a 6-10 record. Stat guru Ken Pomeroy gives Texas a 78% chance to win this afternoon, projecting a 74-68 win for the Horns.

By the numbers

Coached by longtime legend Jim Calhoun, the Huskies are sound on both ends of the court. Their skill on both offense and defense gives them a per-possession scoring differential of 0.218, which ranks 29th nationally. As a point of comparison, the Longhorns rank 15th in that category, holding a 0.264 differential.

In eight of the last nine seasons, UConn has led the nation in blocks. The one year they didn’t claim the top spot, they slid all the way down to second. This year, the solid team defense has them blocking shots at a ridiculous pace once again, swatting 18.2% of their opponents shots. While not yet tops in the nation, that mark puts the Huskies at third in D-I basketball.

Thanks to that intimidating inside presence, the UConn defense simply doesn’t let teams score easily inside. Their defense is allowing opponents to shoot just 39.5% inside the arc, a mark that is 7th in the nation. The Longhorns come into today’s game just as stout inside, allowing just a 38.6% success rate, good for 3rd in the country. If today’s game settles into a half-court affair, it will either be a low-scoring battle or a showcase of three-point shooting.

On offense, the Huskies make their possessions count. Their turnover rate is a scant 17.8%, 38th in the country, while their offensive rebounding percantage is 4th in the country. UConn grabs 43.5% of their misses, but those numbers may be deceptive thanks to an incredibly weak non-con schedule.

The Huskies have played five opponents who place in the bottom 100 of Ken Pomeroy’s ratings, and the team’s recent foray into Big East play seem to indicate that perhaps that schedule left them a little unprepared. In UConn’s last two games — a road loss to Notre Dame and an overtime win at home over South Florida — the team grabbed just 31.5% of their offensive rebounding chances.

Meet the Huskies

If you’ve watched any college basketball at all this season, Kemba Walker needs no introduction. The junior guard is averaging 26.1 points per game, while his quick hands on defense have led to 2.4 steals per game.

The biggest knock on Walker’s game coming into the season was his lack of a long-range shot. A lightning-quick guard, Kemba was often stifled by defenses who sagged off thanks to his inability to knock down threes and long-range jumpers. As a member of both Chris Paul’s and LeBron James’ skills camps this summer, Walker put in tons of hours, and developed a long-range threat that has made him nearly unstoppable. Shooting 35.9% from behind the arc this year, Walker now forces defenses to play him tight, allowing him numerous opportunities to blow by and score at the rim or on pull-up jumpers.

Inside, Alex Oriakhi has made huge strides in his sophomore season. The Huskies desperately needed a post presence entering the season, and he has improved his offensive game enough to make an impact. Oriakhi has always been a solid rebounder, but his 10.5 points per game this season are more than double his five point-per-game output from last season. With 8.4 boards per contest, the sophomore is by far the leading rebounder on the team, and his work on the offensive glass is key to keeping the UConn offense clicking.

Jeremy Lamb is the only member of the deep six-man freshman class who has started every game, and his length and athleticism are invaluable at the wing. He’s scoring 7.7 points a night while pulling down 4.8 boards, and his long arms help when he’s out of position on defense.

Fellow freshman Roscoe Smith has joined Lamb in the starting lineup for UConn’s first three Big East conference games. He’s another lengthy, athletic kid, and he embodies the strong, physical post defense that UConn is famous for. This season, he’s averaging nearly two blocks a game and is second on the team with 32 offensive rebounds.

The other UConn big man who has cracked the starting lineup in Big East play is senior Charles Okwandu. The seven-foot Nigerian product isn’t much of an offensive threat, but he runs the floor well in transition, making it difficult for teams to get open looks even on the fast break.

While his raw block numbers aren’t tops on the team, tempo-free stats reveal that Okwandu is the best shot blocker on the team. In his limited minutes, the senior was blocking 12% of all opportunities heading into the Notre Dame game. Had he played enough minutes to qualify for the leaderboard, that would make Okwandu the 17th-best shot blocker in all of D-I basketball.

Coming off the bench, UConn has an exciting freshman guard in Shabazz Napier. Like Walker, he’s incredibly quick with the basketball, and he isn’t afraid to shoot from anywhere on the floor. He brings a much-needed three-point threat to a team that struggled behind the arc last season, and he’s averaging nearly two steals a game. The Longhorns will want to be careful when pushing the ball up after missed UConn baskets, because Napier loves to steal the initial outlet pass and turn it into an easy layup.

Sophomore forward Jamal Coombs-McDaniel also comes off the bench for Coach Calhoun, and he provides even more height at the wing. He gives the Huskies a very good rebounder from the 3 or the 4 spot, but coaches are hoping he can also add a three-point threat to his arsenal. So far this season, Coombs-McDaniel is just 6-of-27 from behind the arc, and it’s limited him to about 15 minutes a game.

Freshman Niels Giffey comes to Storrs by way of Berlin, Germany, and he brings the outside shot that so many European players love. Giffey is yet another really tall wingman for UConn, checking in at 6’7″, and his height makes him a valuable defender against teams with solid outside shooters.

Big man Tyler Olander is another freshman for UConn, and he started a handful of games for the team at the beginning of the year. Now, he’s relegated to the bench, and his minutes per game have dropped to about 13 per contest. He’s not a flashy player, but he’s a hard-nosed guy who scraps for rebounds.

In the offseason, senior Donnell Beverly was being pegged as a potential leader in the backcourt, someone who could work with Walker and provide a steady hand when the young team hit speedbumps. As it’s turned out, Napier and Lamb have contributed almost immediately, and Beverly hasn’t been needed for more than nine minutes a game. Statistically, he hasn’t been much of a factor this season, but he will give the younger guards a few minutes of rest this afternoon.

The most recent addition to the team is seven-footer Enosch Wolf, another European product who is still a very raw talent. His enrollment at UConn was delayed by a semester, so he missed out on practically the entire non-conference slate, and as a result, he doesn’t have a real role in the rotation. Enosch has only played six minutes per game in his first three appearances, but his nasty, tenacious play inside will undoubtedly be a key for the team in years to come.

Keys to the game

Make Walker work for his points – It’s no secret that Kemba Walker is going to score a bunch of points this afternoon. He had 12 straight games in which he scored at least 20 points, and the streak was finally broken when he chipped in “only” 19 in the loss to the Irish. What seems to be key, however, is how often Walker keeps the ball away from the rest of the offense when he’s scoring.

When Walker takes more than 40% of his team’s shots, they are 1-2 this season, with the one victory being a narrow four-point win over Wichita State in Maui. If the Longhorns challenge Walker’s shots and provide good help defense when he inevitably beats his man, they can make it much tougher for him to earn those points. If he is taking 20-plus shots tonight, Texas should find itself on top when the buzzer sounds.

Keep the Huskies off the offensive glass – Connecticut makes teams pay by extending their possessions on the offensive end. Make a good stop against the Huskies, and you’re often frustrated by an offensive board leading to an easy putback or an opportunity for the offense to re-set. Against quality competition in their last three games, the UConn frontcourt has looked much more mortal than they did in the first two months of the season. If Texas can limit the second and third-chance points, it will be tough for UConn to steal a road win.

Attack inside – The frontcourt was the big question mark coming into the season for the Huskies, and it’s still a bit of an enigma as the calendar turns to 2011. Alex Oriakhi has seen a severe drop in his production since Big East play began, averaging just 7.6 points and 3.3 boards per game. While many guys would love to have that line, Oriakhi started the season with three double-doubles in his first five games, including ones against Michigan State and Kentucky.

The biggest limiting factor for Oriakhi in conference play has been foul trouble, as he played just 19 minutes against Pitt and 23 against Notre Dame. If the Longhorns can attack Oriakhi and saddle him with fouls, the Huskies will be forced to rely on Okwandu and Wolf, two guys who lack the offensive threat that Oriakhi brings to the court.

Beat the defense – As with Michigan State just a few weeks ago, the best way to beat the skilled UConn defense is to push the ball in transition and score on the break and on the secondary break. The Huskies do a good job of staying in front of their men in the half-court, and solid help defense allows them to block a ton of shots when opponents do actually beat their man. As Notre Dame proved in a win over UConn on Tuesday night, if Texas can beat the defense down the floor, they will find it much easier to knock off the Huskies.

Earlier in the week, SI put out their Midseason Crystal Ball, with Seth Davis tabbing Texas for the Final Four, while my fellow stat-nerd, Luke Winn, selected the Horns as a Final Four “dark horse.” Meanwhile, Andy Glockner, Twitter’s most-responsive sportswriter, points out that Pat Knight should be on the hot seat in Lubbock.

With the UConn game just two days away, ESPN’s Andy Katz has a nice feature on Jordan Hamilton and the Horns. It’s an excellent read, so take a few minutes to click on over and read about the team’s revival.

Winn gets another mention for a pair of articles he put out this week. First, his look at Ohio State’s foul-aversion included eye-popping numbers and insightful quotes from top Buckeyes. If you’re into tempo-free numbers, you absolutely have to check out this piece. The stats will floor you.

Today, Winn’s weekly Power Rankings returned from a holiday hiatus, with the Longhorns ascending two spots to the No. 7 ranking. ESPN’s weekly power poll also saw a two-spot move by the Horns, who are now 10th.

The consistently impressive play of Jordan Hamilton is gaining some attention from the national media, as TSN’s Mike DeCourcy put the sophomore on his mid-season All-American team. Hamilton’s numbers also allowed him to just crack the top ten of stat guru Ken Pomeroy’s Player of the Year rankings.