At halftime last night in Pauley Pavilion, I sat down to tap out a text message to a fellow LRT traveler who was stuck in Austin for the weekend. “I have a sinking feeling this could be another Kansas or Tennessee,” the message said. Just minutes later, I felt unfortunately prophetic as the Bruins had erased a twelve-point halftime deficit and grabbed the lead with twelve minutes to play.

But this Texas team handled it differently than last year’s squad did in squandering huge leads to the Vols and Jayhawks. They took every punch that the Bruins threw in a brutal heavyweight fight and came back swinging. The Longhorns refused to let UCLA get further than four points ahead down the stretch, putting themselves in position for a game-winning Damion James dunk with only eight seconds left. This team not only weathered the storm; they came out on top for the first-ever road victory over a #1 team in school history.

The blue stars are aplenty in this one, as it seems in retrospect that every player came up with a big moment. Connor Atchley continued his emergence as a breakout star, grabbing four rebounds and scoring nine points — three of them on a clutch trifecta to tie the game with 64 seconds left. But even more importantly, he frustrated Kevin Love on the low blocks and ran a fantastic game in transition. Yet again, Atchley’s performance was so solid and well-rounded that it’s hard to believe this is the same nervous kid from the Elite Eight team.

D.J. Augustin was again the maestro, scoring 19 points and dishing out four dimes in a game with 39 scouts in attendance. While Darren Collison may have been the bigger name coming into this one, Augustin’s stock rose tremendously with those critical eyes watching a gutsy performance that underscored his icy nerves. With roughly three minutes left in the game, the Longhorns trailed by four following a Luc Richard Mbah a Moute layup. Augustin led the Horns down the floor, called out an offensive play, and then quickly drilled a three-pointer over a stunned Collison.

Throughout the second half, Ben Howland had the Bruins increasing their defensive pressure, meeting the Longhorn guards well beyond the perimeter and forcing the issue. At first, Augustin struggled with it, and UCLA clawed their way back into the game. But he remained calm and adjusted, leading Texas through a nerve-wracking final twelve minutes to victory.

Although Damion James will be long-remembered for his dunk off of a missed Augustin shot — or was it a pass? — the sophomore from Nacogdoches quietly kept the Horns in the game with jumper after silky jumper. DaMo has been occasionally utilizing his mid-range game early in the season, but when the UCLA contest became dicey, his 16-foot jumper was the go-to play. James finished the night with 19 boards and ten rebounds in 37 minutes on the floor.

Justin Mason did the little things right in this one, as it seemed like his extra hustle was always the determining factor in a loose ball or a team rebound. Jay chipped in four assists on the night and scored seven, including a big three that kept the Horns in it when UCLA tried to jump out to a commanding early lead.

Combo guard A.J. Abrams had a quiet night by his standards, scoring only seven against a Bruins D that did an excellent job locking down on the hot shooter. A.J. kept them busy though, constantly racing around the court in an effort to get free, which consequently kept the floor spaced out. He did hit a trey in the midst of a 17-0 Texas run in the first half, extending his streak of consecutive games with a three-pointer to 45.

Abrams was especially quiet during a long stretch in the second half, one which further highlighted the importance of Atchley to this ballclub. One of the most important things that Connor does for Coach Barnes is set really solid screens, especially when A.J. is cutting along the baseline to get open in the corner. With Atchley out of the game due to foul trouble, it became even more difficult for a tiring Abrams to outrun defenders and find space. While A.J. might get a ton of the points, just as much credit has to go to Connor for freeing him up.

Clint Chapman had an excellent game in limited minutes, fighting hard for four rebounds in front of his family. Chapman played his high school ball in Oregon, and there were quite a few smiling faces that made the trip and greeted him after the victory. While Clint is still struggling with his role in the offensive sets, his work defensively and on the glass were incredibly important when Atchley’s fouls started to mount.

Even when taking a step back from the individual accomplishments, the picture still remains rosy. An incredibly undersized Texas team took it to the Bruins in this one, actually winning the rebounding battle by a 34-27 count. They limited freshman stud Kevin Love to eleven points and five rebounds, and rendered him so ineffective that he sat the final two minutes of the game.

The Longhorns also pushed the tempo against the slow-down Bruins, which allowed them to build a twelve-point halftime lead behind ten fast break points. But even when UCLA adjusted their defense in the second frame, the Longhorns adapted on the fly and found a way to score buckets. Even with no second-half points on the fast break, Texas managed to win in a half-court battle.

Coupled with a neutral-court win over #7 Tennessee last week, the Longhorns currently have the strongest resumé in the NCAAs. And while there are still two tough tests ahead this month with Big 10 powers Michigan State and Wisconsin, this victory gives Longhorn fans a lot to be excited about. Rick Barnes and his team have shown that they’ve got what it takes to win, no matter what style of game you throw at them. And in a sport with as much parity as college basketball, that’s about all you can ask for on any given night.

It is only the first year of the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series, but the conference showcase has already brought us a slew of great games. Sunday night, Kansas needed overtime to knock off a pesky Arizona team, while K-State and Oregon also played an extra five minutes in their game on Thursday night. Tonight, the marquee game takes place at Pauley Pavilion, where the top-ranked UCLA Bruins play host to the freshly-ranked #8 Longhorns. It’s the first game involving two top-ten teams this season, and would surely be the most-hyped of the year…if not for the fact that ESPN doesn’t want folks watching it on FSN.

By the numbers

Texas has seen its RPI drop to 22 since Wednesday, a combination of playing a weak Texas Southern squad and having past opponents drop a few games yesterday. UCLA is still near the top of the charts, checking in at #4 in Ken Pomeroy’s RPI approximations.

When you watch a Ben Howland team, you always know you will get a ton of defense. This Bruins squad is certainly no exception, with their defensive efficiency ranking in the top five. They allow opponents to score only 79.4 points per 100 possessions, which is going to create a clear clash of styles against a Texas team that is tops in the country offensively, scoring 133.1 points per 100 possessions.

UCLA has won most of their games this year with ease, beating opponents by an average of 23 points per game. Their closest call came in the CBE Classic championship game, where Michigan State led for 39-and-a-half minutes. UCLA clawed back for most of the second half, finally taking the lead in the final thirty seconds before icing it with free throws.

Starting five

The biggest challenge for the Longhorns will be freshman center Kevin Love. Michigan State worked hard to keep him in check when they played UCLA, throwing a ton of bodies at him to pick up fouls and make the kid work for his buckets. Love finished 9-of-12 from the line that night, leading to a 21-point performance.

He’s also going to create a huge problem for a Texas team that struggles with rebounding. Love is a vacuum on the offensive glass, and the Longhorns have not shown a ton of promise on either end when it comes to securing the boards. This UCLA team likes to grind it out in half-court sets, and if Texas allows them a ton of lengthy possessions with multiple offensive rebounds, they will be playing right into the hands of Coach Howland.

Forward Alfred Aboya didn’t miss a beat after shattering his eye socket against Yale last weekend. He was back in Wednesday night’s game against George Washington, sporting some yellow goggles borrowed from the Lakers, who apparently had been keeping them in storage since the 1970’s. The lengthy kid from Cameroon was averaging just a shade under 22 minutes per game prior to the injury, but still saw the floor for fourteen minutes against the Colonials. He is not a huge offensive threat and is not nearly the rebounder that Love is, but will likely cause matchup problems for Texas with his 6’8″ frame.

The other Bruin coming off of injury is point guard Darren Collison, who saw his first action of the season against GWU. On the short-list of candidates for “best point guard in the country,” this guy has a gold star next to his name. Despite the fact that watching the anemic Bruins offense is sometimes similar to undergoing an ice-pick lobotomy, he is an excellent floor general with great court vision. In his debut against the Colonials, Collison scored fourteen and had five assists in 26 minutes of play.

Forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute is the other half of UCLA’s Cameroonian duo. As you’ll no doubt hear 27 times in tonight’s broadcast, Mbah a Moute is a prince in his native village of Bia Messe, and his father runs the Cameroon Employment Fund, which trains citizens and helps them find work. As for his game, Prince Mbah a Moute is deceptively quick for his size. He often grabs steals which seem to come out of nowhere, and has an average shot which will get him a few buckets per game. Again, his height will create a mismatch as he is the third-tallest starter for the Bruins, yet is five inches taller than Justin Mason, the third-tallest Longhorn starter.

During Collison’s lengthy absence, speedy little guard Russell Westbrook took the reins for the Bruins. While at the point, he seemed to be a little too hyper for the UCLA style of play, jacking up shots earlier than Howland liked. He seemed to settle down over time, though, and is averaging over 13 points per game heading into this one. If Augustin is sticking Collison, I think Abrams could potentially struggle with Westbrook’s speed. But since the Horns are likely going to be packing the lane in this one, I don’t think that will be exploited as easily as it could against a tighter perimeter defense.

Key reserves

Lorenzo Mata-Real is quite possibly the ugliest player to step on a basketball court in the last 30 years. But he’s also a solid rebounder off of the bench for Coach Ben Howland, grabbing over seven boards per game so far this year despite only seeing about 22 minutes per contest. He’s not much of a scoring threat, but he is going to cause some problems for the Horns inside, particularly when Howland leaves both Love and Mata-Real on the floor at the same time.

The X-factor in this game could end up being Josh Shipp. The Bruins are a very poor 3-point shooting team, hitting only 33% of their shots from behind the arc so far this year. But Shipp can occasionally get hot from long range, and if that happens today the Horns will have to pick their poison. (Westbrook is also a threat from long-range, but has only ten attempts so far on the season.) The likelihood of the Bruins beating Texas with threes isn’t that high, but if you do see UCLA starting to light it up outside, prepare for a long day filled with the Longhorns having to defend on two fronts.

What to look for

It looks like Texas will have to force the tempo in this one if they want a chance to win. UCLA is not nearly as strong offensively as the Longhorns, so a high-scoring game plays in Rick Barnes’ favor. In addition, Howland’s defense will likely be pressuring out high, extending beyond the perimeter. We saw what this did to the Texas offense back in March against USC, and it wasn’t pretty. To avoid that, Texas should push the transition game and not get lulled into a half-court battle.

We’ll probably see a lot of rotation from the Texas bigs, especially if they are picking up fouls down low trying to defend Kevin Love. Alexis Wangmene and Clint Chapman might be looked at to absorb fouls, while likely playing more minutes than they are used to. Even Dexter Pittman could be useful, although only in short spurts, as he doesn’t really fit in the up-tempo game that Texas will need to play to win.

All told, this is going to be a hell of a tough assignment for the Longhorns. Obviously, if they shoot like they did last Saturday, it will be tough to beat them. But against a tough Ben Howland defense, don’t hold your breath waiting for it to happen. If Texas can push the tempo and keep the score up, they’ve got a shot. If UCLA controls the tempo, look for the Bruins to pull out a win by five to ten points.

The Pac-10 reclaimed the lead in the showdown with the Big 12, as USC downed Oklahoma, 66-55 and Oregon used a second-half comeback and overtime to topple K-State, 80-77.

That wasn’t the only OT road victory for a ranked team, as #19 Gonzaga topped St. Joe’s, 70-65. Elsewhere, Wake Forest suffered its first loss, going down on the road in Charlotte, 63-59.

More from the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Showdown Classic Showcase Tournament Extravaganza tonight. The one LRT is most interested in will be #6 Washington State at Baylor (8 PM CST, ESPNU). Baylor has some solid wins so far this year, but this is a massive test. We will soon know how legit the Bears are when we see how well they hang with Tony Bennett’s excellent Wazzu squad. Also, Iowa State heads to Corvallis to face Oregon State in the nightcap (10 PM CST, FSN).

Today is yet another travel day, and there’s still 12 hours of work and school to squeeze in before the flight to L.A. So, there may not be a Horns in the League update tonight, and the three-part trip log from shitty beautiful Newark won’t start running until tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy the hell out of that Washington State/Baylor tilt, as I’ll be stuck watching CNNAirport in DFW at the time. Faaaantastic!

Last night

T.J. Ford missed another game with his neck injury, but the Raptors still defeated the Grizzlies, 103-91.

The Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Hawks, 96-80, with Royal Ivey playing only five minutes. Royal with Cheese had a blank stat line, save for his 0-for-3 shooting performance.

Daniel Gibson scored only five points as the Cavs were absolutely destroyed by the Pistons, 109-74. D-Gib added two assists and a rebound in his 22 minutes, but picked up four personals on the night.

LaMarcus Aldridge just missed a double-double, pulling down nine rebounds to go with his 22-point night. Even that wasn’t enough though, as Indiana still knocked off the Blazers, 95-89.

The Magic blasted the Sonics out west, 110-94. Maurice Evans had 20 minutes off the bench for Orlando, scoring seven and grabbing three boards. Kevin Durant paced Seattle, dropping in 22 points while adding six rebounds and four assists.

Tonight

Chris Mihm and the Lakers host the Utah Jazz at Staples. (9:30 PM CST, TNT)

The ACC won their lopsided “challenge” with the Big 10 for the ninth straight year, grabbing eight of the eleven games. In Columbus, Ohio State didn’t make a field goal for over ten minutes in the second half, and North Carolina escaped with a road win, 66-55. Michigan State was one of few bright spots for the Big 10, thumping NC State, 81-58.

In the Big 12, Texas A&M moved to 7-0 on the year with a 76-63 win over Alabama and Kansas stayed perfect by blowing out FAU, 87-49. Mizzou was led by Stefhon Hannah’s 28 points, fell just short against the Razorbacks, 94-91. In Lubbock, Texas Tech needed a second-half comeback to overcome a thirteen-point deficit, but ultimately the Red Raiders topped TCU, 71-58.

Darren Collison is back for UCLA just in time for Sunday’s showdown against the Horns. The junior guard returned in an 83-60 shellacking of George Washington, finishing with fourteen points and five assists. He wasn’t the only injured Bruin back on the court, as Alfred Aboya was sporting garish yellow goggles to protect his shattered orbital bone. Any hopes that we’d see a depleted UCLA team on Saturday can now be trashed along with your Michael Olawakandi poster.

The Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series continues tonight, with one of the higher-profile matchups taking place in Manhattan, Kansas. The Wildcats host Oregon (8 PM CST, ESPN2), while USC hosts the Sooners in Westwood (10 PM, FSN). The Big 12 starts play tonight holding a 1-0 lead in the challenge thanks a Jayhawk victory over Arizona on Sunday night.