Tip: 6 P.M. CST | TV: Versus Just as Texas fans finish watching Dennis Franchione’s last loss in College Station, Rick Barnes and the Longhorns will kick off semifinal action in the Legends Classic in Newark, New Jersey. Texas is matched up with New Mexico State in this evening’s game, the same team whose season they ended just eight months ago in Spokane. While much of the personnel is the same for NMSU, the Aggies are still searching for an identity under new coach Marvin Menzies, who took the gig after working under Rick Pitino at Louisville the last two seasons. Last year, Reggie Theus had the Aggies run an up-tempo game, forcing turnovers with intense defensive pressure. This season, New Mexico State is averaging 20 of their own turnovers per game, compared to 17.5 for their opponents. The biggest question thus far for the Aggies is who will step into the point guard role. With the departure of Elijah Ingram, Menzies is left shuffling a platoon of guards at the 1, including K-State transfer Fred Peete, sophomore Chris Cole, and 5’9″ freshman JayDee Luster. While Texas has always been a defensive-minded team, the Horns have showcased more full-court pressure than usual in their first three games. If the Horns ratchet up the intensity on defense, there is a high likelihood that they can turn the inexperience of the NMSU backcourt into some fast break points. In the frontcourt, the Aggies return seven-footer Martin Iti and 6’9″ Brazilian Hatila Passos. Neither are particularly polished offensively, but earn their points by crashing the offensive glass. While Passos has grabbed eight rebounds per game on the young season, their leading board man is small forward Justin Hawkins (8.5 RPG). At 6’7″, he’s a slashing attacker from the wing who could easily create matchup problems for the Horns when they are running their three-guard look. Hawkins is also the second-leading scorer for the Ags, dropping in 13.5 points in the first four games. Losses have affected NMSU this year, as incoming freshmen Herb Pope and Jahmar Young are still not eligible to play due to academic concerns. The university has been working with a consulting firm to put together an appeal to the NCAA, and while Pope is not expected to be cleared anytime soon, Young may earn an earlier reprieve. The Aggies are also without big man Tyrone Nelson, a kid out of Hempstead, Texas. Last season, he was accused of robbing a pizza delivery man and was suspended for three games by coach Reggie Theus. In the offseason, he was given his walking papers. For Texas, this game should provide a good opportunity to test the inside game they are working so hard to establish. While the NMSU bigs aren’t huge offensive threats, they can fill the lane on defense and should truly test Connor Atchley, Damion James, and Alexis Wangmene as they attack the rim. The Horns are still without Gary Johnson, so if any of the Texas big men get into foul trouble, it will be interesting to see how Barnes utilizes Chapman and Pittman to fill the minutes. Defensively, Texas has favored the man-to-man so far this season, but have worked their zone defense quite a bit in the second half of their blowout victories. In New Mexico State’s season-opening loss to Ohio University, the Bobcats showed a 2-3 zone that dared the Aggies to shoot over it. The Ags obliged, and jacked up 28 three-point attempts, of which they only connected on six. It may behoove Barnes and the Horns to try the same defensive scheme today. And as Dexter Pittman has only played when the Longhorns are in a zone, look for him to grab more minutes if Texas goes that route. If the football game runs long, you will likely miss the first few minutes of this one. But flip over to Versus (it’s in the 400 package for TW Austin customers) and catch tonight’s doubleheader, which concludes with Tennessee/West Virginia. Enjoy all the turkey leftovers, and let’s hope for two wins over two different groups of Aggies today. |
