Leaving Madison Square Garden on Friday night, it was difficult to feel anything but optimism. Sure, losing a close game to a top-five team can be frustrating for any fan. But what we saw from the Longhorns in New York City bodes very, very well for the future.

While many have focused on the bizarre finish and Cory Joseph‘s ugly heave with seconds left, there were so many positive things to take from the pair of games played in the 2KSports Classic at Madison Square Garden. We’ve already talked about the overtime win over the Illini, but there was even more to love in the loss to Pitt.

1) Jordan Hamilton is taking charge – Hamilton still has issues forcing shots and sometimes fails to look for the open man as often as his teammates do. But when you’re the most prolific scorer on a young team coming off a season played completely without leadership…can you blame him?

Jordan scored 28 points on 8-of-18 shooting, including a 5-for-8 mark from behind the arc. Two of those three-point misses actually came in the final few minutes, when Hamilton took quick threes in possessions where the Longhorns might have been better served by working it inside and earning points the hard way. But when a kid is 5-of-6 and has the hot hand, you can’t fault the decision-making too much.

In the future, Jordan will need to make wiser decisions with the basketball and not try to take the entire team on his shoulders every single trip down the floor. But maturing into a leader is a journey that’s rife with speedbumps and detours, so these criticisms are minor in the grand scheme of things. It will be exciting to watch Hamilton mature over the course of this season.

2) Tristan Thompson doesn’t play like a freshman – Ho hum. Just another 40-minute, 11-point, six-rebound performance for a kid who is only in his fourth collegiate game. Thompson even added three more blocks to his total in the loss to Pitt, giving him eight in his two games at MSG. If you can fault him for anything at this point, it might be that he doesn’t know how to take a break.

With such a thin frontcourt, having the freshman be able to play entire games while avoiding foul trouble is an incredible gift. When Thompson is able to limit fouls and perform so well, it decreases the minutes that Matt Hill and Alexis Wangmene have to play, and it makes it easier for the two reserves to produce without pressure.

3) The Texas frontcourt didn’t back down – It’s all we’ve been talking about all season. Heck, we even led off our previous paragraph with it. The Longhorns have a thin frontcourt, and unless Thompson is sharing the court with Wangmene or Hill, they are undersized against most opponents.

Still, Texas took it inside against a big, physical Pitt team and actually beat them on the glass. In fact, the Longhorns held Pitt to just 36% of their offensive rebounding chances, a far cry from the 50-plus percentage they had enjoyed in the first four games.

In addition, the Longhorns were at their most successful when they attacked the paint on offense. They consistently drew fouls against the Panther big men, forcing coach Jamie Dixon to give more minutes to guys typically buried down the bench. Unfortunately, the Longhorns went against this gameplan when it came down to crunch time, and that failure to stick to a successful formula led to a narrow defeat.

4) Frontcourt reserves did their part – As mentioned above, when Thompson plays so well, it means that Rick Barnes doesn’t need as much from his bench players. Against the Illini, Wangmene stepped up and played well. Versus the Panthers, it was Hill who had the good game. Matt only played 12 minutes against Pitt, but he worked hard for three boards, played admirably on defense, and added a free throw. The two bench forwards are not going to be lighting up the stat sheets anytime soon, but these small contributions are much more than Texas fans were expecting coming into the year.

5) There’s room to grow – The Pitt team that won the 2KSports Classic is an experienced one with excellent depth. The Longhorns, on the other hand, are young and are still meshing as a group. If you take another look at these teams in March, you’ll likely see a very similar Panther squad to the one that took home the title. The Longhorns will likely be playing much better basketball.

With the exception of last year’s disaster, Coach Barnes always improves his team throughout the year, especially on defense. The Texas defensive numbers so far this season aren’t up to his standards, so you can be sure the Horns will be tougher to score on once Big 12 play rolls around. In addition, there are a lot of youthful mistakes that probably won’t be cropping up in the second half of the season. Texas may not have won the tournament, but they made quite an impact with their performance in New York City.

The Horns continue the new season with a home game against Sam Houston State tonight at 7 P.M. We’ll be back with a preview later this afternoon.

While the final result of last night’s game was a disappointing one, there’s certainly a lot of encouraging things to take from it. We have so much to discuss about the Pitt game and what it means moving forward. But after two days chock full o’ basketball, we’re taking a little time off to check out the City. We’ll be back with much more hoops talk later this weekend.

For the second time in as many years, the Texas Longhorns and Pitt Panthers meet in an early-season tournament championship. But for fans of both programs, tonight’s matchup will look very different from the 78-62 Texas win in last year’s CBE Classic at Kansas City.

In that one, the Panthers were crippled by injuries and academic issues, while the Longhorns used four players who have since graduated or left for the NBA. Meanwhile, the Panthers have healed and added another year of experience. In short, the tables have definitely turned.

Pittsburgh now boasts an incredibly deep and talented roster, even if most of their players aren’t household names outside of the Big East. The Panthers have always dealt with the underdog label, despite being one of the most successful teams of the decade. Tonight, however, they come in with a top-five ranking and high expectations for success in March and April.

By the numbers

As with every Jamie Dixon-coached team, this year’s Panther squad is well-disciplined, defensively-suffocating, and highly efficient. On paper, there’s very few games that they should ever lose.

The Pitt brand of basketball has long been slow-down basketball, and through the first four games of the 2010-11 season, that trend has continued. The team’s 66.8 possessions per game is ranked 239th-fastest in the nation — or 107th-slowest, if you’re a glass-half-empty kind of fan. It will certainly be a contrast in styles tonight, as the Longhorns are clipping along at the 19th-fastest pace in NCAA hoops, with 71.7 possessions per game.

As usual, the strength of the Panther offense is on the glass. They are cleaning up more than half of their offensive rebounding opportunities, which makes them nearly unstoppable when combined with a 53.4% effective field-goal percentage. They are fairly steady with the ball, turning it over just 13 times per game, which equates to only 18% of their possessions.

Despite shooting just 3-of-10 from behind the arc in last night’s win over Maryland, the Panthers are loaded with long-range threats. Junior guard Ashton Gibbs led the Big East in three-point percentage two seasons ago, and has made more than 48% of his long-range attempts so far this year.

Meet the Panthers

Pitt’s team is loaded with overachieving role players that any coach would kill to have on his roster. They run eight or nine deep on any given night, and their team mentality shows in every aspect of the game. On offense, quick, crisp ball movement leads to open looks and tons of assists. On defense, most players can adequately guard any position, allowing the Panthers to constantly switch on screens.

The aforementioned Gibbs is a very difficult matchup for any opponent, as he is the true definition of a combo guard. When he’s not knocking down threes, he can sink it from anywhere on the court or dish out a quick assist to the rest of his talented team. In the summer of 2009, Gibbs worked his way up to a starting role on the U-19 national team coached by Dixon, and won a gold medal in the process.

Tiny Travon Woodall joins Gibbs in the backcourt, and as his 9.5 points per game attest, his height doesn’t hold him back. Just 5’11”, Woodall is lightning-quick and constantly causes defenses to have to rotate and help when he zips past his man. While he’s yet to start a game this season, this sixth man is averaging more than 24 minutes per game and has logged 15 assists.

Brad Wanamaker is one of three starting seniors, and he contributes in every way. He’s yet another lockdown defender for Coach Dixon, and his 17 points per game come from a variety of positions. Wanamaker can comfortably play as the off-guard or the small forward, and his versatility allows the team to throw out many different lineup combinations.

In the middle, Gary McGhee is another senior leader for the Panthers, although he isn’t going to wow you on offense. He cleans up misses and puts in the easy ones, chipping in just four points per game. McGhee is a big body that makes it difficult for opponents to score inside, and he constantly cleans up the defensive glass to limit the other team to one-and-done possessions. In last year’s meeting in Kansas City, the big man logged a double-double against the Horns with 11 points and 10 boards.

The third senior in Dixon’s starting five is Gilbert Brown, a fifth-year man who was academically ineligible when these teams met last year. This summer, he led the team in scoring during their overseas trip to Ireland, and is averaging nearly 10 points a game so far this season. Brown is yet another offensive threat for the Panthers that can explode at any moment, as evidenced by the three times he posted 20-plus points last year.

At power forward, Nigerian-born redshirt freshman Talib Zanna is making a quick impact. He was the star of last night’s game, leading Pitt with both 14 points and 11 boards. He only has four blocks in four games, but he has the length and reputation of a serious post defender. Like Texas big man Alexis Wangmene, he was discovered as a part of the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program. He also speaks five languages, which means he’ll likely be Dick Vitale’s most-loved linguistic topic since Sydmill Harris.

The deep Panther bench is loaded with talent, and these athletic reserves will likely make a big difference in tonight’s game. While Texas often uses Wangmene, Jai Lucas, and Matt Hill to give the starters a blow, the Panthers can continue attacking when they go to the bench.

In addition to Woodall, the Panthers can also count on quality performances from Dante Taylor, Lamar Patterson, and Nasir Robinson. Taylor is Pitt’s first McDonald’s All-American in the Jamie Dixon era, and he’s primed for a breakout season. He spent much of his freshman year as a role player, but is leading the team in blocks despite playing just 15 minutes a game. He’s also one of Pitt’s top rebounders, grabbing 6.5 per contest.

Patterson is an athletic small forward who hopes to make a splash after playing just 10 games last year before suffering a season-ending injury. He sees just over 17 minutes per game off the bench, and contributes a quiet 4.8 points and three rebounds a night.

Robinson, meanwhile, missed the first three games of the year before making his debut against Maryland. Despite being just 6’5″, he knows how to work inside and will grind out a few points every game. He’s yet another solid defensive player for Dixon and the Panthers, as the Longhorns will discover in just a few hours.

Keys to the game

As always, the number one key when facing the Panthers is to attack the defensive glass. Pitt doesn’t miss that many shots, so the Longhorns simply cannot allow the Panthers to continue their trend of reclaiming more than half of their misses. If Texas can hold Pitt to one-and-done possessions, they have a chance to escape with the tournament title.

Against a physical team, there’s always the danger of picking up a ton of fouls. For a very thin Texas team, they absolutely must avoid foul trouble. Wangmene and Hill have given nice chunks of minutes against the likes of Louisiana Tech and Navy, but Texas will struggle if that pair has to play 20-plus minutes each against a very talented Pittsburgh frontcourt.

Additionally, the Longhorns have found lots of easy points this year by forcing mistakes. Texas must pressure the Panther ballhandlers and look for fast break buckets. Gibbs is a talented scorer, but he’s had problems in the past with coughing it up. He seems to have settled down this year, with just under three turnovers per game, but perhaps a high-pressure approach from the Horns can give him the yips.

If Texas can force some Panther mistakes, they can also likely dictate the tempo. While it’s certainly easier to impose your will as a slower team, in past years the Longhorns have been able to make some perennially-slow opponents pick up the pace. Yes, it’s a gamble to push the pace with a short bench, and Texas is probably tired after playing an overtime game that ended just 19 hours before this one tips. But it’s much easier to win when you are playing to your own strengths, so the Longhorns should throw caution to the wind and turn this into a track meet.

As with last night’s game, the start time for tonight’s championship is going to be impacted by the consolation game that precedes it. There is typically a 20-minute window between games, so look for this one to start no earlier than 6:20 back in Texas.

As the minutes ticked down in last night’s semifinal in the 2KSports Classic, the storyline felt all too familiar for Texas fans. The Longhorns went over seven minutes without a field goal, letting their nine-point lead completely evaporate. For many burnt-orange faithful, another narrow, last-minute defeat seemed imminent. But this time, the Longhorns flipped the script.

Cory Joseph hit a jumper with 24 seconds to play to put Texas up by two, but Illinois quickly responded with a game-tying drive from freshman Jereme Richmond. The Longhorns regrouped heading into overtime and burst out of the gates in the extra five minutes. Texas surged ahead by scoring the first eight points of overtime and withstood a late barrage of threes from Bill Cole to hang on to a 90-84 win.

What looked good

The first half was an offensive showcase for both teams. Illinois and Texas combined to shoot 53% from the field while lighting up the scoreboard with 90 points. Despite the up-and-down tempo, Texas controlled the basketball. In the first half, the Longhorns coughed it up just four times, and finished with just 10 turnovers in 45 minutes of basketball.

More importantly, Texas dominated the fast break scoring in a game with very few offensive miscues. While Illinois only had 12 turnovers of their own, Texas scored 17 points off of then. The Illini, meanwhile, managed just seven points off of the Texas miscues.

The breakout star of the game was freshman Tristan Thompson. In each of his first two games, the Canadian product played 25 minutes. Against the Illini, he led all Longhorns with 40 minutes on the court. He contributed in every way possible, and didn’t show any signs of fatigue down the stretch. He was lights out from the floor, shooting 8-of-11 on the night. He showed off a beautiful turnaround jumpshot for the national TV audience, and emerged as a shot-blocking machine. Thompson had five swats in the game, many coming as he provided help D on a teammate’s blown assignment.

A huge concern for this Longhorn team is the lack of frontcourt depth, but Alexis Wangmene played well in his brief relief of Thompson. Typically, the bench forward position has been split between Wangmene and Matt Hill, but with Thompson playing 15 more minutes than usual, Matt’s role was rather limited.

Wangmene finished the night with six points, essentially doubling his career average. He knocked down both his free throws — quite a noteworthy accomplishment for any Longhorn — and added a putback and a silky J from the elbow. Wangmene still had some defensive lapses, including one play where he closed out on an already-guarded three-point attempt, leaving his man all alone for an easy rebound and putback. But if Thompson is playing as well as he did last night and can stay out of foul trouble, this kind of simple, quality performance is all Texas will need from the Wangmene/Hill combo.

What needed work

As always, the most glaring deficiency for the Longhorn team could be found at the charity stripe. Texas finished with a 56.8% free-throw percentage in the game, but that number dipped as low as 45% midway through the second half. The one glimmer of hope in the midst of the perpetual free-throw nightmare was how Texas performed at the line in crunch time. As they struggled through that seven-minute field-goal drought, the Horns knocked down 8-of-10 free throws to stay in the game.

A huge cause of those lengthy field-goal blues was the terrible trend of the Texas offensive possessions turning into simply isolate-dribble-shoot. Jordan Hamilton was a repeat offender, often driving the lane before forcing up bad shots against two and three defenders. The Texas guards were also guilty of this on numerous ocassions, so the team will have to work on kicking it out for midrange Js, three-pointers, or simply to reset the offense.

Another cause of the second-half futility came from the lack of Texas depth. With Coach Rick Barnes trying to steal some rest for his starting five — who combined to play more than 78% of the team’s total minutes — the lineup combinations in the second half made it tough to score.

There was actually a brief stretch where Dogus Balbay, Jai Lucas, and Wangmene were all on the court at the same time. With Lucas’ short stature and Balbay’s allergy to any shot besides a layup, that group was essentially buying rest for the starters while trying their hardest to maintain the Longhorn lead.

Without a doubt, the lack of depth is going to lead to a few losses this season. Whether it’s a result of foul trouble or just a tired starting five, the Texas bench will have to play extended minutes at some point this year, and there’s simply not enough offensive skill waiting on the pine for that to work.

Defensively, both teams had issues last night. Illinois was working hard all night freeing up Demetri McCamey and D.J. Richardson, running the Texas guards through screen after screen off of the ball. Unfortunately, the Horns had problems with switching on those screens, and they gave up a lot of open looks as the Illini guards zipped past Texas bigs on the perimeter. Fortunately, Texas made adjustments down the stretch and guys stuck with their man.

Looking ahead

With the win, the Longhorns now advance to the championship game of the 2KSports Classic benefitting Coaches vs. Cancer. For the second time in as many years, the Horns will tangle with the Pitt Panthers in their November tournament championship.

Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 local time here on the east coast, but that is of course subject to the length of the preceding consolation game between Maryland and Illinois. A pregame look at the Panthers is headed your way in the next few hours.

After last season’s monumental meltdown, Texas fans were treated to a new-look Longhorn squad last week as they opened the year with a pair of easy victories in the 2KSports Classic. The Texas offense moved more freely, Jordan Hamilton seemed to be a completely different player, and the defense suffocated its first two opponents to the tune of a 34.3% effective field goal percentage.

Skepticism could still be found in all corners of the Burnt Orange Nation, and with good reason. After all, last year’s team looked unstoppable as it marched to a 17-0 start. But this week’s hot internet topic is the fabulous breakdown of the Texas coaching clinic by Scipio Tex of Barking Carnival, and it has some fans drinking the Kool-Aid once more.

In Scipio’s breakdown, we learned of Rick Barnes’ off-season dedication to overcoming his coaching shortcomings, namely by developing a coherent offensive attack. When pieced together with what we saw on the court last week, it all makes sense. What Barnes and Co. claim to have worked on has already translated to game-time action. But, fans are also well-aware of the glaring deficiencies this team has, and are also well aware of the fact that neither Navy nor Louisiana Tech could exploit those weaknesses.

Tonight, Texas will finally be pushed by a quality opponent in the Illinois Fighting Illini. Not only is Bruce Weber’s team much more talented than the aforementioned 2KSports whipping boys, but they are also the first challenge for a thin, undersized Texas frontcourt. The Longhorns certainly have the athletes to hang with the Illini — Vegas currently has the Horns as 3.5-point underdogs — but will they have the grit to pull off a tough upset?

By the numbers

While Illinois’ average tempo of 69.4 possessions per game is just 82nd in the country, there’s no doubt that they have the most success when pressuring opponents into mistakes. The Fighting Illini are forcing just over 18 turnovers per game, which equates to more than 21% of their opponents’ possessions.

Offensively, the Illini have been tough to stop. Their 59.7% effective field-goal percentage (a statistic giving added weight to 3-point buckets) ranks 25th nationally, while their eye-popping 63.2% success rate inside the arc puts them 13th in the country.

Statistically, the two offensive weaknesses for Illinois are found inside. They fail to attack the rim enough to earn many free throw attempts, getting to the line just 26.7% of the time they shoot the ball. When Illinois misses shots, they also are failing to grab a significant number of offensive boards. With just 29.8% of their offensive rebounding opportunities being capitalized upon, the Fighting Illini rank 214th nationally. Against a much-smaller Texas team, look for those numbers to improve tonight.

Meet the Illini

The Illinois team lives and dies with senior point guard Demetri McCamey. At 6’3″, 200 lbs., he’s a strong, stocky guard with prescient court vision. In a game against Purdue last season, McCamey dished out 16 assists, and this year is averaging eight per game through the first three contests. He’s quick enough to get to the rim, strong enough to finish there, and even has enough self-control to log a few assists each night after he’s already left his feet with the basketball. While Demetri is certainly one of the best point guards in the country this season, he’s also a quality scorer that leads his team with 14.7 points per contest.

Joining McCamey in the backcourt is sharpshooter D.J. Richardson. The 6’3″ guard was a teammate of Avery Bradley and Cory Joseph at Findlay Prep, and as both Longhorns are well-aware, he needs only inches of space to get off a quick three-pointer. After a season in which he was named the Big 10’s Freshman of the Year, Richardson has started off on the right foot, knocking down 46% of his long-range attempts in the first three games this year. When D.J. isn’t dropping long-range bombs, he can also be counted on to lock down the perimeter, where he is arguably the team’s best defender.

At forward, senior Mike Davis is making a big impact this season. He’s been a rebounding machine, snagging nearly a fifth of the team’s boards so far. Davis bulked up in the offseason in the hopes of being more physical in the tough Big 10 Conference, which could make him a difficult matchup for the Longhorns. Freshman Tristan Thompson and the platoon of Matt Hill and Alexis Wangmene will have to contend with this bruising style of play and keep Davis off the glass.

A constant double-double threat, Davis is averaging more than 12 points per game. But while he’s a great rebounder and a quality post defender, his favorite way to score is with the midrange jumper. Thompson and Gary Johnson are serviceable defenders away from the rim, but Hill and Wangmene often have difficulty when their defensive assignments pull them away from the paint. It will be interesting to see how the Texas frontcourt handles Davis on the defensive end.

The other Illini starting forward is Bill Cole, a scrappy player who earns praise from the coaches for his hustle. He’s not going to fill up the stat sheet — Cole is averaging just 3.7 points and 3.3 boards per game — but he’ll often be found diving to the floor for loose balls or setting screens to open up the Illinois scorers.

In the middle, Coach Weber relies on 7-foot, 1-inch Mike Tisdale. He can score at will, but was often criticized last season for incredibly weak defense. This year, he’s still not going to win any All-Conference honors for his work on D, but his length has an undeniable effect down low. Tisdale’s averaging 9.3 points and a team-leading 7.7 boards per game, while blocking more than two shots per game. Like Davis, Tisdale can knock it down in the midrange, and will again cause matchup issues for the Horns.

If having the 7’1″ Tisdale wasn’t enough for Weber and the Illini, freshman Meyers Leonard also checks in at 7-feet. He’s still a raw talent, but all high school scouts have been drooling over just how much raw talent he posseses. Leonard is only playing about 17 minutes a game off the bench, yet still averages four rebounds and more than five points per contest. For a Texas team that will likely struggle in the paint tonight, having a second giant on the bench is just one more edge for Illinois.

The Illini essentially run nine deep, with Brandon Paul being the busiest reserve. He’s playing more than 19 minutes a game, and is still the team’s third-leading scorer despite coming off the bench. He’s undoubtedly an explosive scorer that can change the fabric of any game, but his questionable decision-making is the thing holding him back. So far this season, the sophomore seems to be making better choices with the basketball. Texas has to hope, however, that they can pressure him into a few mistakes.

Also coming off the bench is freshman Jereme Richardson, who is making a quick impact. He’s the most-heralded recruit to arrive at Champaign-Urbana in years, and it’s likely just a matter of time until he usurps Cole for the starting role. He has incredible handles for a 6’7″ kid, leading to the inevitable “point-forward” label. His length enables him to grab a lot of rebounds when he’s not in the ideal position, and he should log his fair share of boards against Texas.

The final contributor for the Illini is forward Tyler Griffey, a sophomore in the mold of Cole. There’s only so many minutes on a team for the scrappy, “glue guy,” so for now Griffey’s impact is limited by Cole’s presence. In future seasons, he’ll likely slide right into that role. For now, though, he’s good for a few points a night.

Keys to the game

It’s a recurring theme throughout this game, and it will be a recurring theme throughout the season. This Texas Longhorn team is simply smaller in the frontcourt, and lack any real depth at those positions. Against Illinois, Texas must hold its own in the paint. They can’t let Illinois dominate the rebounding battle, and they cannot afford to give up a ton of easy points inside. If the Longhorns can somehow turn this into a battle of the backcourts, their odds for upset are much better.

Although the Illini are more experienced, they can often be careless with the basketball. They are averaging nearly 15 turnovers per game, coughing it up on roughly 20% of their possessions. If Texas can force Illinois mistakes, it will fuel the transition game and lead to easy buckets. The Longhorns scored 41 points off of turnovers in their first two games; if they can continue that trend, it will certainly make this game interesting.

Finally, Texas must stay out of foul trouble. Illinois is already deeper than Texas, and the Longhorns are thinnest in the frontcourt. Thompson, Gary Johnson, and Hamilton cannot be sitting on the bench for extended periods of time with foul trouble if the Longhorns are to have any hopes of winning this game.

A final DVR note

Since tonight’s game is the second of the semifinals, there is almost no chance that tipoff is actually happening at 8 P.M. central. We’ve put our best guess in the header bar at the top of this preview, but make sure to leave a lot of extra recording time as you set your DVR, VHS, or Betamax.