If you’re a University of Texas grad who happens to be living in the Pacific Northwest, we’d love to see you in the burnt orange section for Friday’s game — and hopefully Sunday’s, too. While priority is being given to Longhorn Foundation donors, basketball season ticket holders, and students with the LASP, I can guarantee you that there will be tickets left over from our allotment when the 12 P.M. deadline passes.

So what to do if you want one of those remaining tickets? Call the Texas Box Office at (512) 471-3333 after 12 P.M. CDT on Tuesday, or click on over to TexasBoxOffice.com and place an order. You can’t order tickets for the session including the Oregon-Miami game and Notre Dame-Winthrop match-up, but there may be tickets available outside the arena if you’re interested in those two games. Each session ticket is $56, while the service charges come in at $10 per order.

Orders can be picked up at will call from the arena in Spokane on game day, beginning an hour before the session. I hope to see some of you Seattle and Portland-based Longhorn fans at the games.

The Longhorn Road Trip just got a whole lot longer. Thanks to the genius of the the NCAA Selection Committee, Texas — a “protected” four seed — will be playing its first two rounds over 2,000 miles from home, with a possible Sweet 16 date in East Rutherford, New Jersey their reward for a pair of victories.

Does anybody actually know anything about Spokane, Washington? Or have any tips of what to see along the way? I’m guessing there won’t be a whole hell of a lot once we get past Denver, but looking at mountains for 891 straight hours ought to be grand. If you’ve got any sights or restaurants for us to check out, feel free to leave them below in the comments.

Honestly, the entire Big 12 got shafted by the committee. A&M is a 3-seed that gets sent to Lexington, while Memphis gets sent to New Orleans as a 2-seed? Why aren’t the Tigers close to home in Lexington while the Aggies play closer to home in Nawlins? And that doesn’t even address the fact that A&M could end up playing Louisville in the second round, only 75 miles down I-64 from the UL campus.

Then Kansas is given a 1-seed, but is rewarded with a regional where 2-seed UCLA gets to play only five hours from home? I realize that the top seeds are only supposed to be protected in the first two rounds — unless, apparently you’re a top four seed from the state of Texas — but is preserving the S-curve so important that a 1-seed should get jobbed that badly?

Why not ship UCLA to the San Antonio regional and send Memphis out to the San Jose regional? I’m assuming, of course, that the S-curve held perfectly for these top eight seeds. If that’s so, you’ve got the overall third-best team (Ohio State) playing the fifth-best team (UCLA) if chalk holds to the Elite Eight, while the fourth-best team (Kansas) gets the sixth-best (Memphis) and no top seeds are absolutely screwed by road games in the second weekend.

That’s enough bitching for now. At least Texas has two winnable games in front of them. We’ll be driving to Spokane on Wednesday and Thursday, so there will likely be few updates to the website in the middle of the week. A preview of the New Mexico State Aggies should be coming on Thursday night once we arrive at the hotel.

It’s a rainy morning here in Oklahoma City, but it’s still Championship Sunday for the Big 12 Conference. Despite the weather, the Ford Center is sure to be full of loud, blue-clad KU supporters — and a bunch of other Jayhawk “fans” wearing maroon and road-cone orange. Last Saturday these teams played for the Big 12 regular season title, and now, just eight days later, they meet with the conference tournament on the line.

For Texas, this is their fourth appearance in the Big 12 tournament title game, but the Horns have yet to hoist the trophy. Kansas, meanwhile, has dominated the league since its inception in the 1996-97 season. The Jayhawks are 3-1 in Big 12 championship games, including a win over the Longhorns last year in Dallas.

Kansas is an amazingly solid team from top to bottom, despite the lack of a senior on their roster. Guard Brandon Rush, a Terrence Howard lookalike, leads the team in scoring in his sophomore year. Joining him in the backcourt is another great scorer, Mario Chalmers. The pair combined for 36 points in the win over Texas last weekend.

In the first matchup, the Jayhawks easily won the battle on the glass. As the hot Longhorn shooting began to cool, Kansas grabbed nearly every miss and limited Texas to one-and-done possessions. Big man Julian Wright is a beast on the boards for KU, as his rebounding average is the only thing higher than his socks. Wright is pulling down eight boards a game, and had thirteen against the Longhorns in the last meeting.

Sasha Kaun is the closest thing to a weak link on the Jayhawk roster, and that’s not saying very much. The big white guy could be a star on most any other team, but is really a fifth scoring option when he’s on the floor. He’s prone to point-blank misses and is painfully bad at the free throw line, but his 6-foot 11-inch frame could still easily cause problems for a much smaller Texas team.

Freshman superstars Darrell Arthur and Sherron Collins are both McDonald’s All-Americans that come off the bench for Bill Self’s Jayhawks. Nothing like the luxury of a few McD’s AA’s coming in to spell your starters. Collins is a fireplug of a guard, and possibly the fastest guy I’ve seen on a court this season. He’s averaging nearly ten points a game despite averaging only 20 minutes, and is a very solid shooter from behind the arc.

Arthur — who chose the Jayhawks over the Longhorns — was picking up a ton of fouls quickly as a starter early in the year, but has really found his niche as the sixth man. He’s averaging ten points and five boards a game in only nineteen minutes, so he will without a doubt be providing double-doubles if and when he regains his starting role next season.

Russell Robinson is yet another great guard for Coach Self. He finds passing lanes that most don’t even know are there, and is averaging four and a half assists and 28 minutes per game. Besides the preternatural passing sense, I’m not sure why he’s such a favorite of the Jayhawk fans. I really hope it’s not just because they love shouting “New York!” when he’s introduced before games.

After yesterday’s win over a tired OSU squad, today the Longhorns could be the ones suffering from bonked legs. Texas has a much shorter bench than the Jayhawks, and the Longhorn starters have had to play more minutes over the last two days. But after the incredible comeback win on Friday night, I’m starting to believe that this Texas team could really fight through anything and be in a position to win at the end of every game.

The Horns are obviously not going to repeat their incredible shooting performance from the first half of last Saturday’s game. But at the same time, I don’t think they will play as poorly as they did in the start of the second half. I’m sure that Kansas will come out showing intense pressure extended out to the perimeter, as that is what threw the Horns out of their offensive rhythm. Hopefully Texas will be able to adjust a little better than they did in the second half last Saturday.

Texas also needs to improve its rebounding if it wants to fare better in this one. They need second-chance opportunities, and they can’t afford to give up easy follow-up buckets to the Jayhawks after shutting them down on defense. Without an improvement on the glass, the Longhorns won’t be able to turn this matchup into a victory.

I’m sensing another close game between the Big 12’s top two programs, but think the Jayhawks will ultimately win another conference tournament. Texas certainly has a shot in this one, though.

Don’t forget the Selection Show on CBS tonight at 5 P.M. Central. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to chime in with my thoughts until late, late tonight, as we’ve got a six hour drive back to Austin once they unveil the brackets. I’d really rather hang myself with pantyhose than go to Columbus, so if you happen to see that the Longhorns are being sent to Ohio for the first and second rounds, try not to laugh.

Just a quick hit from Oklahoma City, as we’re soon heading to the Ford Center to try to scalp our way into the semis. While it was hilarious to see the Ags fall flat on their faces after talking shit all afternoon, the win by Oklahoma State is making tickets harder to come by.

If you happened to miss last night’s incredible comeback victory over Baylor, you saved yourself the craziest rollercoaster of emotions I’ve ever experienced at a sporting event. Of course, you also didn’t get to see the biggest comeback in Big 12 Tournament history and in Rick Barnes’ tenure on the 40 Acres. C’est la vie.

Kevin Durant started the game by missing his first ten or eleven shots. But the cold shooting wasn’t limited to KD. Tons of good looks from the Horns were just rimming out, and point blank shots were banking hard off the glass. Combined with Baylor’s hot shooting, Texas’ offensive impotence gave the Bears a huge 18-point halftime lead.

In the second, BU pushed the lead as large as 20 points before the rally began. Kevin Durant scored 24 points in the second half alone and kept the team fired up as they dug their way out of the hole. The surprise player of the game was senior Craig Winder, who played twelve minutes off the bench in relief of a largely ineffective Justin Mason. Winder scored eight points, including a bucket with just under two minutes left to take the lead.

All told, it was a game that truly defied explanation. But I may try to revisit it after the weekend comes to a close. For now, we push onward to a quick look at this afternoon’s game.

The win sets up a semifinal matchup with the Oklahoma State Cowboys today at roughly 3:20 P.M. For a recap on their star players, please check out my pregame thoughts from the triple-overtime game in Stillwater and the blowout in Austin.

I think the key thing to remember in this one is that the Pokes are going to be playing their fifth game in eight days. While the Horns have a short bench, they did get some good minutes out of Winder last night to keep the three starting guards fresh. The OSU fatigue might not be a visible factor until the game gets to crunch time, but the Horns need to make sure they are ahead or within striking distance when those final five minutes roll around.

For now, it’s off to downtown OKC and the Ford Center. TV is ESPN2 for this contest (Big XII markets check your local listings), so be sure to tune in. Otherwise, you just might miss a 30-point comeback or a four-overtime thriller.

For the third time in six weeks, the Texas Longhorns and Baylor Bears are going to tangle on the hardwood. The first contest resulted in a narrow five-point victory for the Horns in Austin, while the final minute of the game in Waco turned into a nailbiter with Texas finishing on top by a point. This time, the two teams play on a neutral court in the Big 12 Tournament in Oklahoma City.

Baylor advanced to the tournament quarterfinals by absolutely dismantling the 6-seed Missouri Tigers, 97-83. But while the green-and-gold faithful were certainly pleased with the school’s first tourney win since 2001, perhaps the biggest Bear fan on Thursday night was Connor Atchley.

Over the last four games, Atchley has hit something of a slump. He seems to have lost the confidence he was building late in the season, losing position on rebounds and disappearing from the offensive mix. But in his two games against Baylor this season, he was the most important Longhorn on the floor. In the previous two match-ups, C.Atch had a combined 24 points, fourteen rebounds, and three blocks. If there’s anything that’s going to get his confidence back for a great March run, it’s another shot at the Bears.

It’s certainly tough to beat the same team three times in one season, particularly one that has played you tough in the first two battles. Tonight is a scary proposition, as Texas comes into this contest with nothing but pride on the line. The Horns are already assured an NCAA berth based on their resumé, and seem to have played themselves well beyond the dreaded 7-to-10 seed range. At this point, the Big 12 Tournament is nothing but an opportunity to get a pretty trophy. Granted, if Texas is to win another game over A&M, the argument could be made that they deserve to slide up the S-curve — but is that even worth it with the short bench at Rick Barnes’ disposal?

If you can’t remember what to look for in the Baylor Bears, you’ve got both of my earlier game previews to provide greater detail on the opponents. In the first game, Texas played a Baylor team at full strength, while the second time around, superstar Aaron Bruce rested a bum ankle on the bench.

As always, Kevin Rogers is a threat against a less-talented Texas frontcourt. But he’s also very foul prone, which serves well to negate that threat. In both of the first two games, he finished with four personals. The rest of the Baylor frontcourt plays well below their potential, leaving Texas most concerned with the perimeter game of the Bears.

Bruce is obviously a tough defensive assignment. In the first game, Baylor constantly ran screens along the baseline to free up their Aussie star for open three-point looks. We’re sure to see a ton of the same tonight, although Texas cannot afford to only focus on Bruce. Austin-product Curtis Jerrells can knock down the three, as can Henry Dugat and young Tweety Carter. It seems that Texas has taken some steps forward in their perimeter defense since the early February disasters, but tonight will certainly let us know exactly how far they have progressed.

Horn fans should also keep an eye on the production from Damion James and Matt Hill. Late in the season, James has really blossomed into the offensive threat we were all looking for, and his increased output will be necessary for a deep March run. Having all five starters as viable scoring options makes the Longhorns a very tough team to game-plan for, particularly with the short turnarounds between tournament games.

Meanwhile, Hill is coming back from a stress fracture that sidelined him for a month and a half, including both of the earlier games with Baylor. With Texas essentially running a six-man rotation during the homestretch of the season, it will be extremely helpful for Matt to provide some much-needed bench relief in the frontcourt. I don’t think that Dexter Pittman will fare well against Baylor’s up-tempo attack tonight, so that leaves only Atchley and Hill to rotate in for Barnes down low.

As I mentioned earlier, a win today is not that important for Texas. The 2003 Final Four team lost their first Big 12 tournament game and then went on to win four straight games in the Big Dance. I would not be disappointed to see Craig Winder out there eating up minutes for Coach Barnes while he rests the overworked backcourt of D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrams. If that results in a loss, so be it. I’d rather our team be on a full tank of gas next Thursday or Friday. And besides, who honestly wants to spend a whole weekend in Oklahoma?