A wrap on the OU game and a preview of the Okie Lite game will be coming late, late tonight when I return from work. For now, a quick look at the Big 12 game tonight.

Missouri (11-5 overall, 0-3 Big 12) at Kansas (15-2, 2-0), 8 PM on ESPN
Mike Anderson’s Tigers dropped a close one at home to the K-State Wildcats this weekend, while the Jayhawks needed overtime to discard Iowa State’s upset hopes. The Cyclones forced sixteen Kansas turnovers, including seven alone by Brandon Rush. Missouri is known for its pressure defense, so that may be their only hope in this one. Matt Lawrence also needs to snap out of the 1-for-6 three-point slump he’s been in over his last two games.
The pick: The Jayhawks’ immense talent and deep bench hold off a pesky Mizzou team for the first half, but pull away in the second.

This Saturday marks the first day that the entire league is playing, so let’s take a look around the conference before things get tipped off. As always, games are listed in Central time.

Kansas (14-2 overall, 1-0 Big 12) at Iowa State (11-5, 2-0), 1 PM on ESPN
The two games I’ve predicted incorrectly have both been Cyclone victories, but I don’t think they stand much of a chance at home in this one. The Jayhawks are firing on all cylinders, as displayed in an absolute beatdown of Oklahoma State on Wednesday night. Don’t expect this one to be a miracle upset.
The pick: Iowa State’s perfect conference season only lasts a week. Kansas thumps them soundly.

Oklahoma (9-5, 1-1) at Texas (12-3, 2-0), 2:30 PM on ABC
My OU-Texas breakdown can be found in the preceding post.
The pick: Texas wins going away, while somewhere in Indiana….Kelvin Sampson flings a denim sports coat in disgust.

Kansas State (10-6, 0-2) at Missouri (11-4, 0-2), 3 PM
Both teams have failed to live up to expectations early in Big 12 play. Mizzou desperately needs a win with Kansas looming next on their schedule. An 0-4 start could be absolutely deadly for Mike Anderson and the Tigers.
The pick: Stefhon Hannah and Mizzou right the ship on their home court…just in time to get pounded by the Jayhawks.

Texas Tech (13-4, 2-0) at Baylor (10-5, 0-2), 3 PM
Baylor played both Oklahoma State and Texas A&M tough, while Texas Tech comes in as winners in seven of their last eight. Everybody knows that Aaron Bruce can play, but not many people know of Baylor freshman Tweety Carter. The man’s name is Tweety for Christ’s sake! Where’s the media attention?!?
The pick: My “upset” special of the week — Baylor pulls off their first conference win in front of a lackluster crowd more interested in the free pizza giveaway.

Texas A&M (14-2, 2-0) at Colorado (4-8, 0-2), 6 PM
Billy Gillispie takes his defensive-minded Aggies on the road to Boulder for a high-altitude meeting with scoring machine Richard Roby. Unfortunately for the Buffs, there’s not much more going on for them offensively. This could be quite the snooze-fest in front of less than 3,000 bored Colorad….ians?
The pick: Texas A&M wins with a score good enough for the PGA tour.

Oklahoma State (15-2, 1-1) at Nebraska (11-4, 0-1), 7 PM
This has the potential to be a letdown game for the Cowpokes after getting manhandled by KU just a few nights ago. Then again, they are playing a middle-of-the-road Nebraska team in a state where basketball gets the apathetic treatment. Mario Boggan is looking to get back on track after scoring eight points in that Kansas game, and he shouldn’t have a problem doing so in Lincoln. Of course, the game is a question mark at this point, as Oklahoma State is having issues getting out of Stillwater and the game has already been pushed back six hours already.
The pick: Oklahoma State gets back on track with a win….if they actually play.

TV: ABC, 2:30 PM Central

This update comes from a very dry tent outside a very wet Frank Erwin Center, where the hardiest of O-Zoners are counting down the minutes to tipoff. Pre-game campouts are a great tradition at UT, and although they are not to the degree and scale of Duke’s Kasoisuoaiuofiueskyville, they are hopefully a step towards a more dedicated student fanbase. Or we could just continue to not fill our arena when we have one of the best players in the country. I could see how that’s more appealing……when compared to a screwdriver to the testicles.

Oklahoma comes to town in about thirteen hours, and they’ll be playing without their favorite elbow assassin, Longar Longar. Sans Longar — whose middle name is unfortunately not Shortar — the Sooners will be effectively losing four inches of height on the floor. In addition to being a lanky freak-of-nature, Longar is also one of the nation’s best offensive rebounders. His two-game suspension will hopefully allow the Horns to force OU into more one-and-done situations in their half-court set.

After having already lost freshman Keith Clark to injury at the end of December, Longar’s absence will leave Jeff Capel’s Sooners with a shortened bench. After coming off the pine for much of the season, senior forward Nate Carter will likely see his minutes increase. Oklahoma already starts three guards, and I can’t see Capel going to the four-guard look that Villanova toyed with last year when facing their own injury problems.

Sophomore Taylor Griffin may be the toughest assignment inside for Texas. While he only averages seven points a game, he is statistically one of the best defensive rebounders around. He snatches nearly one out of every four defensive rebound opportunities, which could present a problem if Texas is taking quick shots from outside that aren’t falling.

Senior guard Michael Neal has not been having a good season so far, but if the past is any indication, the Longhorns need to be wary of his three-point stroke. He’s only hitting at a 22.4% clip this year, but was knocking down threes over 44% of the time last season.

Joining Neal in the backcourt is freshman standout Tony Crocker. The first-year star dropped fifteen points on a tough Alabama squad in a road loss earlier this month and is taking about a quarter of his team’s shots when he’s on the court. On a Sooner team that spreads the ball out pretty well, that is actually the highest rate on the squad. If Oklahoma is going to pull off an upset without their big man, they may need a big game from this diaper dandy.

For Texas, this game should likely be an easy win. The Sooners are no longer the Big 12 powerhouse of past years, although it will not take Capel long to rebuild the program to that point. That being said, there are still a few stats that fans can keep an eye on. Oklahoma typically goes to the line less than their opponents while committing less fouls. This means that they are very prone to picking up their fouls while the opponents are shooting. As a result, Texas should look to attack the basket, especially without Longar’s flailing elbows in the lane.

The Sooners also have one of the lowest adjusted tempos in the country, while the Longhorns generally have a very high number of possessions per ballgame. Oklahoma has a top-five defense rated by efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions), while Texas has the sixth-most efficient offense in the country. Will the Sooners be able to grind the pace down and play their style of basketball, or will Texas force transition and run the score into the 80’s and above?

Of course, one thing we can always count on is a solid game from Kevin Durant. Through the first two conference games, KD is averaging 35.5 points and 14.5 rebounds. While he certainly can’t keep up that insane pace for all sixteen games, he should still see some pretty hefty numbers in this contest. I’m confident in predicting a fifth-straight double-double for the kid.

Texas Box Office announced that there were 1,600 tickets available as of 9:30 AM on Friday. Any student seats not used in the mezzanine will also go on sale at tipoff. So, if you’re in the Austin area and don’t have plans yet, give TBO a call and grab a pair upstairs. Otherwise, tune in to ABC at 2:30 central for all the action.

Kevin Durant led the way as the Longhorns cruised past the Missouri Tigers last night, earning their second conference win by an 88-68 score. The game was never in doubt, as Missouri only led the game for a total of 33 seconds. Texas quickly took their own lead on a Damion James three-pointer at the 19:11 mark in the first half and never looked back.

Durant scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Longhorns (12-3, 2-0), giving him his fourth consecutive double-double. He’s averaging 28.3 points and 15.3 rebounds per game over that stretch. At this point, the discussion has to move beyond simply freshman of the year and you have to give the kid serious consideration for the Naismith award. Of course, there’s still another fifteen games to go and anything can happen, but he seems to be a man playing among boys every time he steps on the court.

Missouri (11-4, 0-2) brought the high intensity and pressure that new coach Mike Anderson has been famous for since his days at Alabama-Birmingham. They forced Texas into fifteen turnovers, but failed to capitalize upon them all night. In fact, Texas actually won the points-off-turnovers battle by a 19-7 tally.

Mizzou showed a zone against the Longhorns for much of the game, and Texas had no problem shooting over it. The Horns hit 8-of-15 from behind the arc in the first half, and nailed their first two in the second half as well. The hot shooting led to a massive 27-point advantage for Texas with 12:33 to go in the game.

The Longhorn offense ground to a halt over the next five minutes and Mizzou put on a little run of their own, closing the gap to 69-55 with just over seven minutes left. During that stretch, Texas seemed content to work the ball around the three-point line, failing to attack the zone. This team is very good when D.J. penetrates and finds the open man amidst the collapsing zones, and it’s crystal clear how bad our offense can be when we don’t. It looked like the team got a little too comfortable shooting over the zone and didn’t know what to do when that didn’t work. But you simply can’t overlook the fact that they moved the ball around very well for much of the game in order to get themselves those open three-point shots.

Augustin put forth an amazing effort, playing 37 minutes in the contest. He only turned the ball over twice against the pressure defense of the Tigers, and logged six assists to go with his thirteen-point night. A.J. Abrams joined the point guard in the double-digit club, adding sixteen points on a night where he went 4-for-7 from behind the arc.

J.D. Lewis continued to see significant minutes, a testament to how much his defense has improved since last season. While J.D. can hit the three, he’s not the team’s only three-point threat. He’s needed to spell our three starting guards, and the less of a liability he is on the defensive end, the more playing time Barnes gives him. Lewis made a couple of bad turnovers against the Tiger defense, but did knock down two three-pointers.

One of the best moments of the night came in Dexter Pittman’s one minute on the floor. He blocked a Mizzou shot and Texas was heading back on offense. But the ball was lost in transition, and Pittman turned around just in time to see it. The scene looked like a lineman noticing a fumble, as Big Dex lumbered back to the ball and completely laid out to cover it up. The Erwin Center erupted, the bench jumped up and celebrated, and Pittman was all grins. It was only a moment in a much longer game, but it really highlighted the kid’s energy, work ethic, and determination. I can’t wait until he’s ready for significant playing time, because he’s going to be something special.

Connor Atchley had a very quiet sixteen minutes, picking up four rebounds and getting to the line for four free throw attempts late in the game. He still can’t finish when somebody fouls him next to the basket, but the fact that he’s down there fighting is a huge step forward from his play last year. What I found most important about Atchley’s defense was the fact that he did not pick up a single foul in those sixteen minutes. You can usually count on James and Atchley to combine for seven or eight fouls a game, so it was great to see the opposition on the charity stripe a little less in this one.

Mizzou’s Matt Lawrence only gets a few sentences. His horrible defense was definitely on display, as he showcased the flashy footspeed of a quadraplegic. But his three-point shot was left somewhere back in Columbia. The kid knocked down just about every shot he took during warmups, but whiffed on all three during the game. Que triste.

The Horns have one more home conference game before a three-game road swing, so be sure to come out to the Erwin Center this weekend. Tip is at 2:30 central on Saturday against hated rival Oklahoma (9-5, 1-1). Kelvin Sampson might not be there, but they still wear crimson, they still don’t have teeth, and they’re still Sooners. So let’s fill the drum and watch Kevin Durant drop another 30-plus on that trailer trash.

Conference play is in full swing around the country, which means that the Big 12 has a nice lineup of four games tonight. Once again I’ll bring you a rundown of the games going on around the league. This one comes to you from my tailgate chair outside the Erwin Center, so you know it’s extra-special. Like the little bus I rode to elementary school.

(All listed tips are in Central time.)

Nebraska (11-3 overall, 0-0 Big 12) at Iowa State (10-5, 1-0), 7 PM
Iowa State is coming off of an amazing comeback victory on the road in Columbia, Missouri. Nebraska has won four in a row, including a road win over Frank Haith’s Miami Hurricanes. Other than that, I know nothing about either team. Helpful writeup, eh?
The pick: I’m going with Nebraska, based solely on their win over Creighton. I might as well flip a coin.

Colorado (4-7, 0-1) at Oklahoma (8-5, 0-1), 7 PM
It’s Richard Roby vs. the Sooners in this one. Jeff Capel is doing good things with a tough situation following the departure of Kelvin Sampson in Cingulargate. Rumor has it that all CU players will be wearing full body armor to avoid the flailing elbows of Longar Longar.
The pick: OU evens their conference record with a home win over the scuttling Buffs .

Missouri (11-3, 0-1) at Texas (11-3, 1-0), 7 PM
My game preview can be seen in the previous post.
The pick: Texas handles the pressure and earns another home win.

Oklahoma State (15-1, 1-0) at Kansas (13-2, 0-0), 8 PM on ESPN2
This is the marquee game of the night, not only in the Big 12, but in the entire NCAA. Kansas gets the first of its three home games with the best of the Big 12 “South.” Is Oklahoma State for real? As tough as it is to play in Allen Fieldhouse, it might not even matter. Hopefully this game lives up to the billing and the hype.
The pick: Kansas takes a close game in the final minutes and Darrell Arthur rips off his face post-game to reveal he is actually Satan.