Villanova held Kevin Durant to only a single second half point on Saturday. That’s right — one point in twenty minutes. For a guy who had been averaging nearly a point for each minute of conference play. Needless to say, the Longhorns struggled, falling 76-69 to the Wildcats on Saturday afternoon.

The bright spots were few and far between in a game that was tough to watch. Although Texas led for much of the first half, it never really felt like they were in control. The offense came to a screeching halt against Villanova’s zone, where the length was waiting out top. The Horns simply stood around, lackadaisically tossing the ball around the perimeter before throwing up a three pointer. And when you go 3-for-13 from behind the arc in the first half, that’s not a great game plan.

It’s easy to attribute the senior-citizen rec-league offense to tired legs after the Horns played 55 minutes of basketball on Tuesday night in Stillwater. And it certainly did look like Texas was tired. Players stood with hands on their hips after the under-8 TV timeout in the first half. Kevin Durant and D.J. Augustin missed free throws off the front of the iron in the second.

Defensively, things didn’t look much better. Texas was completely unable to deny entry passes into the lane and often had to give away fouls to avoid allowing easy buckets. Matt Hill had five of those fouls in only eight minutes of play, which was the only evidence on the stat sheet that he was even in the game. Zero points, rebounds, and assists filled out the rest of his line.

Freshman Scottie Reynolds played a great game for the Cats when they needed him the most. Curtis Sumpter missed the game due to a knee bruise, but thanks to Reynolds, Villanova’s offense was still able to get by. The freshman chipped in 26 points — including 12-of-13 from the line — and played all but two minutes.

Three-point threat Mike Nardi was mostly off, only going 3-for-11 from behind the arc. But it seemed that the ones he did make came at big moments in the second half, helping Villanova build a twelve-point lead and then helping to quiet Longhorn rallies down the stretch.

D.J. Augustin was the only UT player who seemed to want to give any effort against Nova’s zone. His dribble penetration made up most of the offense in the second half, as he provided 25 points in only 32 minutes of play. Augustin was awarded Big 12 Rookie of the Week yesterday for his efforts against Villanova and OSU.

Despite looking lethargic and indifferent for most of the game, Texas managed to put together a brief surge late in the game. With 2:23 left, A.J. Abrams hit a three and trimmed the Wildcat lead to only two. But Texas could not make another field goal, going 0-for-6 the rest of the way. Their only points in the final 153 seconds came from a trio of J.D. Lewis free throws. Meanwhile, Villanova knocked down 8-of-10 free throws over that same stretch to ice the game.

A two-game losing streak is never fun, but it’s definitely not the end of the world. A 20-win season is still within reach if Texas can go 7-5 to close out Big 12 play. And thanks to Texas Tech’s upset on Saturday, the 3-1 mark that the Horns are sporting has them still tied for second in league play.

So when Texas heads to Nebraska on Wednesday night, it’s not only a chance to end the brief skid and right the ship, but also to stay right in the thick of things in the top-heavy Big 12 conference. Game preview comes your way late tonight.

I want to apologize for the recent lack of post-game updates. Much to my surprise, there are actually quite a few of you who check the blog regularly, and I know how much it sucks to visit a favorite page and see no new content.

I knew when I started this journey it was a pretty crazy idea, but I really had no idea of how physically draining it was going to be until this last week or so. Between the start of classes, holding a job, and actually travelling to the games, it’s starting to take its toll. But I wouldn’t trade this for anything — including a few extra hours of sleep each night — and I’m going to continue to bring you updates as often as I can.

Hopefully later tonight I’ll get my post-Villanova thoughts out on paper. But of course, homework comes first, and for some reason I have an insane amount for only having attended the T/TH courses once so far. So maybe by “later tonight” I actually mean “very early on Tuesday morning.” But it’ll be there for you to mull over as you down the morning coffee. And sometime this week you can also expect a ton of pictures to be available. I got a lot of work on the gallery pages done while flying to and from Philly, so by the end of the week you’ll at least be able to see the photos from New York, Phoenix, Houston, Tennessee, and a few home games.

So again, thank you for reading. And I must once more offer my apologies for failing to bring you timely post-game updates for the last three games. But keep coming back, because I promise I’ll be here all throughout conference play and into the post-season.

This isn’t going to be much of a game preview, as we spent the night drinking in Conshohocken, got almost no sleep, and have to pick up some others at the 30th Street Station in an hour or so. But here’s some quick things to look for from Villanova in today’s game.

Can we stop Sumpter?
Last year the Horns didn’t have to face Curtis Sumpter, as he went down with injury early in the year and the Cats switched to a four-guard lineup. Texas is going to have a tough time matching up with Nova’s taller team, particularly the versatile Sumpter who can hit from pretty much anywhere on the floor.

Can we keep them off the offensive glass?
This was a huge problem for Texas late in regulation and throughout the three overtimes with the Cowpokes on Tuesday night. And rebounding isn’t going to get any easier against the big men for Villanova. Senior Will Sheridan is the most efficient offensive rebounder according to Ken Pomeroy’s exhaustive statistic analysis. Sophomore Dante Cunningham will see a ton of minutes down low, where he’s hitting at a 68.3% clip. Texas can’t afford to give these two guys a ton of offensive boards and easy putbacks.

Will Scottie Reynolds go off?
Freshman guard Scottie Reynolds has been on an absolute tear as of late, scoring 27 in Wednesday night’s dismantling of Notre Dame. In Nova’s five conference games, Reynolds is averaging 17.8 points per game. It’s not quite a Durant-esque 34 PPG in conference play, but Reynolds is certainly hot and can make a big difference in this one.

Will the three-point shooters get hot?
Eminem wannabe Mike Nardi also returns for Villanova this season, and can hit from three-point range with ease. Last year, Texas was able to eke out a three-point win by shutting down the Cats’ shooting behind the arc. To be successful in this one, the Horns won’t need to shut them down quite as much from three-point range, because the return of Sumpter makes Villanova a more conventional team than the 05-06 midget squad. But that doesn’t mean that Texas can lay off of Nova’s shooters. They can hit a ton of threes and change the complexity of the game in only a few minutes.

That’s all for now from Philadelphia, where I hear it’s always sunny. Hook ’em Cats!

We’ve returned from Stillwater in full health, having survived the mushy weather and the other drivers. And what a freakin game we got to see for our efforts. We were rewarded with front row seats right behind the Texas bench, and saw the best regular-season college basketball game I’ve ever witnessed. But for now, let’s do a quick hit as we run through the Big 12 and I run out the door for another shift of making the money. As always, tip times are Central.

Nebraska (11-4 overall, 0-1 Big 12) at Oklahoma (9-6, 1-2), 7 PM
The Cornhuskers play their first game in a week after having their home date with OSU postponed this weekend. Oklahoma plays its second without the suspended Longar Longar Longar Longar Longar. In other news, Norman still sucks.
The pick: The Sooners bounce back from the trouncing delivered by the Horns this weekend and protect their home court.

Baylor (11-5, 1-2) at Kansas State (11-6, 1-2), 7 PM
K-State has not looked very good without injured star Bill Walker, but managed to take a road win in Columbia, Missouri last weekend. Meanwhile, Baylor knocked off Texas Tech at home for their first conference win. The crowd shouldn’t be a huge factor in this one, which should stay close throughout.
The pick: On the surface it’s a toss-up, but the loss of Walker is huge for the ‘Cats. I’ll give Baylor the tough road win in a chilly Manhattan.

Iowa State (11-6, 2-1) at Colorado (4-9, 0-3), 8 PM
The Cyclones hung with a great Kansas squad this weekend, finally falling short in overtime of their upset bid. Colorado also threatened their own upset, hanging with A&M for 35 minutes before the Aggies delivered the proverbial steel-toed facekick. The Buffs get to stay at home tonight as they search for their first conference win. Don’t hold your breath.
The pick: Dear Iowa State, I’m sorry for ever doubting you. Please forgive me, and don’t beat Colorado too badly. Love, Ryan.

TV: ESPN2, 8 PM Central

The road ahead to Stillwater looks to be a treacherous and icy one, so it looks like we’re going to have to get an early start and take it slowly. With that in mind, I’m going to save the Oklahoma post-game for later this week and do a double-dip with the Okie State postgame. Here’s a look ahead at tonight’s game.

The Longhorns (13-3 overall, 3-0 in Big 12) have moved up to #21 in this week’s AP poll, while they have once again cracked the USA Today Coaches poll, coming in at 23rd. Those rankings could be short-lived, however, as the team takes on its first real Big 12 test in the #12/#14 Oklahoma State Cowboys (15-2, 1-1).

Unfortunately for Horn fans, the Cowboys present a huge matchup problem. They have a very solid frontcourt that is going to get a huge chunk of points in this contest. The star is Mario Boggan, who is averaging 21.1 points per game and 7.4 rebounds. He is coming off of a very poor game against the Kansas Jayhawks, in which he had only eight points while turning it over five times and not securing a single rebound. Based on Boggan’s presence and our lack of an inside game, I would expect Texas to be running a lot of zone in this ballgame. Hopefully the Horns can keep him from having a huge bounce-back game, but I wouldn’t bank on it.

Joining Boggan in the Cowboys’ strong frontcourt is center Kenny Cooper. While he is only averaging 3.8 rebounds per game, he is an absolute beast on the offensive glass. He is grabbing 17.7% of his offensive rebounding chances according to Ken Pomeroy, which is good for seventh individually in the entire nation. Cooper’s numbers are actually a bit deflated because he was not the starter until Obi Muonelo went down in December. Damion James and Kevin Durant are going to have their hands full snatching their defensive boards from this vacuum.

JamesOn Curry is back for Sean Sutton’s Cowboys, and he’s looking much more like the budding star we saw back in 2004-05. He’s eating up the most minutes for Oklahoma State, playing about 35 a game. JamesOn Trial is also the team’s second-leading scorer, dumping in 18.5 a night, although that average has dipped to sixteen a game in OSU’s two Big 12 games.

Junior Marcus Dove is likely going to be shadowing Kevin Durant all night, as he is really only on the court for defensive purposes. On the offensive end, Dove is a huge liability, turning over the ball 37% of the time he touches it and only averaging 6.2 points a game. He is definitely going to have his hands full with KD, but he will also certainly be one of the best defenders that Durant has had to take on thus far.

Oklahoma State has two weaknesses — depth and ballhandling. In particular, sophomore guard Byron Eaton and Dove have a tendency to turn the ball over. Kansas exploited this in their 30-point pounding, forcing the Cowboys to turn it over 20 times. Texas should look to do the same and try to capitalize with a bunch of transition buckets.

The lack of depth on the Cowboys bench will be a bit harder to exploit because of the weakness of Texas’ own bench. The Cowboys only really run seven deep now that they have lost Muonelo, although Adarius Bowman joined the team after the football season and gives them a few extra minutes off the end of the bench. Texas has a severe drop-off in talent between the starting five and sixth man Connor Atchley, so while depth is a glaring problem for OSU, it is just as bad or worse for the Horns.

Texas needs to look to push the tempo in this ballgame and keep it from settling into a half-court affair. While Oklahoma State also tends to play an uptempo game, their big men would likely dominate on both ends of the floor if the offenses settle into their sets on a regular basis.

Personally, I’d love to see a win in Stillwater, especially considering I’ve witnessed Longhorn losses on the two visits I’ve made to Gallagher-Iba Arena. But having Boggan inside concerns me with the lack of an opposing post presence in the burnt orange and white.

Having seen this team survive against a rabid road crowd in Tennessee — the final two minute brain freeze notwithstanding — I think that they will hold their own in the noise machine of GIA. If they can dictate the pace and style, the Longhorns should have a shot. And on the road, that’s about all you can ever ask for.

The pick: The gut and the brain are pointing at Boggan and picking the Pokes. But the heart and its burnt-orange blood supply just can’t pick against Kevin Durant quite yet. Texas survives an incredible test, keeps an undefeated conference mark, and exorcises my own Gallagher-Iba demons.