If you happened to check the website yesterday (or have LRT’s feed set up on your RSS reader), you may have noticed our quiet and unassuming return to coverage. For the rest of you, chances are you won’t even notice the return for another few days…or more. But this is the time of year when everyone tries to make changes in their lives, and the ones we’re making are allowing more time for writing. We can’t promise things will be as consistent as last season, when there was content here on a daily basis. But we can promise that we are damned sure going to try.

The recruiting bonanza continues for Rick Barnes and the Longhorns, as they’ve now secured a verbal commitment from 2011 point guard prospect Myck Kabongo, beating out the likes of Villanova, Kansas, and Florida. The high school sophomore is a teammate of 2010 Texas commit Tristan Thompson, but he credits Barnes and assistant Rodney Terry with selling him on the program. This verbal is just the latest in a string of recruiting successes for the Longhorns, who have already inked one of 2009’s top classes in Avery Bradley, Jordan Hamilton, and Shawn Williams, in addition to landing Florida transfer Jai Lucas for next season. When you throw in Thompson and fellow ’10 commit Daniel Bejarano, it seems that Texas will be loaded for years to come.

While Gallagher-Iba Arena is certainly never an easy place to play, Texas A&M might have lost a huge opportunity when they stumbled there on Saturday. The defeat came in the conference opener for the Aggies, who now have a murderous four-game stretch approaching that could easily sink their aspirations for a league title. Mark Turgeon’s squad hosts a salty Baylor squad tomorrow night before the Sooners come to town this weekend, but then also must travel to Lawrence and Austin the following week to take on the Jayhawks and Longhorns. For a Texas A&M team that has hardly been tested in non-conference play, this opening slate will truly be a trial by fire.

Kansas JuCo transfer Mario Little won’t take a medical redshirt this year, despite missing the first twelve games of the season. The guard has seen limited action in three games, including a lightning-quick foul-out in East Lansing this weekend. But with the hardship option still on the table until tonight’s game against Kansas State, Little informed Coach Self of his intentions to finish out the season. The decision will give Sherron Collins some much-needed veteran help in a backcourt that starts freshmen Brady Morningstar and Tyshawn Taylor.

The Texas Longhorns face their biggest test of the young conference season as they head to Norman tonight for a top-ten matchup with the rival Sooners. Both Oklahoma and Texas have hopes to win the conference this season, and the home-and-home series between the two teams will play a huge part in deciding the league’s champion.

The Longhorns have won six straight against the Sooners, and eleven of the last fourteen matchups between the two teams. Prior to that, Oklahoma enjoyed their own dominance in the series, reeling off eight straight wins under former coach Kelvin Sampson. But even with recent history on their side, the Longhorns will have their hands full against a very talented Sooner squad which hasn’t lost at home since the Longhorns last visited on February 6th, 2008.

By the numbers

Based solely on the efficiency stats, tonight’s game looks to be a battle of strengths. All season, the Longhorns have survived with a stifling defense that is ranked 13th in the nation. Oklahoma, on the other hand, has been unstoppable with the ball, scoring 1.168 points per possession, an impressive clip that is 11th-best in the country.

Unfortunately for the Longhorns, their offense does not match up as well with Oklahoma statistically. Texas’ offensive efficiency is only 75th nationally, while the Sooners’ D checks in at 45th. Combining all of those ratings gives the Longhorns a +0.205 differential per possession, while OU enjoys a more robust +0.250 margin. While these fractions of a point may seem miniscule, over the course of a 65- to 70-possession game, it can easily add up.

In terms of tempo, the two teams are nearly identical, with both averaging just a shade under 70 possessions per contest. The Sooners do look to push the ball in transition off of defensive rebounds, but their half-court offense is so efficient that they are far from a run-and-gun team. If the Texas defense can make a difference in this game, they should stay close enough with the Sooners to have a shot as time winds down.

The starting five

The Sooners return a very experienced roster with a key addition in the backcourt, making them one of the scariest teams in the conference and the country. This year, Capel is going with a three-out, two-in look, relying on the Griffin brothers to provide a strong scoring presence in the paint.

The one newcomer in the starting five is heralded freshman Willie Warren, who was named a McDonald’s All-American and Gatorade Texas Player of the Year during his senior season at Fort Worth’s North Crowley High. Warren is an incredibly quick guard who creates his own shot and has an uncanny knack for getting to the rim. Although he was plagued by the typical early-season freshman struggles, the guard has exploded in his last five games, averaging 21 points per game over that stretch.

The presence of Warren in the backcourt has really opened things up for senior point guard Austin Johnson, who has long struggled with leading the OU offense. Johnson is not terribly quick with the ball, but the extra attention defenses are giving to Warren is allowing the point guard more room to drive. As a result, Johnson has made fewer unforced errors and is dishing out 3.3 assists for every turnover this season.

The key player for the Sooners is Blake Griffin, a sophomore who is averaging a double-double with 22 points and 14 boards per game. Despite the possibility of being a high NBA draft pick last June, the younger Griffin returned for his second year and is one of the leading candidates for the Naismith Award. His skill set is incredibly impressive for a guy his size, which has pro scouts salivating. Griffin is not only a near-lock within ten feet of the basket, but he is a defensive stud, has great mid-range, and can handle the ball extremely well. This allows him to pull big men out near the perimeter, opening up the lanes for his teammates, and also exposes his less-talented opponents to being taken off the dribble.

The older guy in the frontcourt is Taylor Griffin, who has been overshadowed by his kid brother the last two seasons. But he’s also benefitting from the focus defenses are giving Blake, as he often finds himself wide open for dump-offs under the basket and gobbles up easy putbacks on weak-side rebounds. Taylor is only averaging nine points per game, but his presence keeps defenses honest when they want to key solely on Blake. He’s also the team’s second-leading rebounder with just over six boards per game.

Tony Crocker is the primary long-range threat for the Sooners, although his numbers have decreased slightly this year. Crocker is only hitting 34% of his threes this season after logging an impressive 42.4% rate from behind the arc last year. He’s also adept at attacking off the dribble, so if Texas plays him too tightly on the perimeter, he can quickly get to the rim for an easy two. Checking in at 6’6″, he could create also a match-up problem for the Longhorns, who sometimes elect to go small with a three-guard look.

Keys to the game

Hit the threes – Oklahoma struggled early against Arkansas, Purdue, and Kansas State, falling behind all three teams in the first half. The common thread in those games was an unencumbered barrage from behind the arc, as the Sooners allowed those three opponents to shoot a combined 16-of-33 (48.4%) from long range in the first half of those games. Oklahoma managed to claw their way back for victories against K-State and Purdue, but Texas can really help their chances by attacking the weak perimeter defense.

The key to doing so will likely be A.J. Abrams, who has been practically a ghost during the last month. Fortunately, history bodes well for A.J., as he lit up the Sooners for seven three pointers in their last meeting, which came at the Big 12 tournament last March. Without a resurgence from Abrams tonight, the Longhorns may find it tough to earn their points inside against a stout post defense.

Keep OU off the charity stripe – With the Sooners pounding the ball down low to the Griffin brothers, they enjoy a distinct advantage at the free throw line. Oklahoma averages ten more free throws per game than their opponents, while nearly 25% of their scoring comes from the charity stripe. With the Longhorns missing an inexcusable 36% of their own free throws, this stat could be the difference in the game.

Weather the crowd – Texas has performed well in hostile road environments this season, grabbing a win at the Kohl Center last month against Wisconsin three weeks after they beat Villanova in an alleged neutral-site game that was 95% Wildcat fans. And even though they fell short against Arkansas in the electric Bud Walton Arena last week, the Longhorns have proven they aren’t shaken by road crowds. Tonight’s top-ten contest will take place in front of the craziest crowd the Lloyd Noble Center has seen in years, so the Longhorns will have to maintain that same poise when the Sooners go on their inevitable scoring runs.

No time for a preview of today’s game, as I’m running late to the arena already. You can visit last year’s preview to brush up on a few of their returning players and the high-speed brand of basketball we’ll be seeing today.

There are still a ton of tickets left for this one, and in the middle of finals the student support should be pretty light. If you’re in Austin with nothing to do, you should definitely hop in the car and fly down to the Erwin Center. Parking might not even be an issue for this one.

The Texas Longhorns make their annual appearance in the New York metropolitan area with tonight’s showdown against Villanova in the Jimmy V Classic. The Wildcats come in with an unblemished 8-0 mark, but their opponents are a combined 23-40 on the year. This will certainly be Villanova’s biggest test to date, but it’s also another opportunity for Rick Barnes and Texas fans to see exactly what their team’s identity will be.

Villanova’s biggest struggle this year has been keeping a complete bench. Big man Dwayne Anderson is recovering from a stress fracture in his foot, which has limited to him only seven minutes all season. Casiem Drummond, who has battled his own share of injuries, recently announced his intentions to transfer to another program. Guard Corey Stokes will be in the starting lineup tonight, but did suffer a hand injury prior to the Niagara game. Add all of this to the fact that Coach Jay Wright doesn’t want to burn Maurice Sutton‘s redshirt, and you have a Villanova team that really only runs seven deep.

The starting five

Fans of college basketball remember Scottie Reynolds as a former Oklahoma recruit, one who could be playing with Blake Griffin and Damion James right now in Norman if not for the misdeeds of Kelvin Denim Sampson. But instead, Reynolds has flourished in Pennsylvania and has emerged as one of the top point guards in the Big East. He still shoots more than most one guards — his 14 points per game are second on the team — but Reynolds is now much more of a floor general than he was when these teams last met in 2006.

With fans and opponents already well-aware of Reynolds, the surprise this season for Villanova has been the emergence of big man Dante Cunningham. Until this season, he was known only as the YouTube sensation that dunked on Kevin Durant at the Wachovia Center. But just eight games into the 2008-08 campaign, Cunningham is taking Villanova on his back. The senior forward is averaging 17 points and eight rebounds a game this year, including double-doubles against Fordham, Rhode Island, and Penn.

Texas is going to have its hands full with Dante in the paint, but the Longhorns also have the luxury of depth. Like they did with Stanford last season, look for Texas to throw a lot of different bodies at Cunningham to wear him out in a physical contest. Although using Dexter Pittman typically forces the Longhorns out of their man-to-man defense and into a zone, Barnes used the big man in this way against the Lopez twins in that Sweet 16 game.

For Villanova, the X-factor in tonight’s game could be the aforementioned Stokes. Despite his hand injury, the sophomore guard is hitting a ridiculous 51% of his three point attempts so far this year. Texas historically struggles with defending the three-point line, as Notre Dame and UCLA gladly reminded us. If Texas is too busy packing the lane to stop Cunningham, Villanova could still ride to victory on a breakout performance from Stokes on the perimeter.

In Nova’s three-guard look, Corey Fisher fills the last backcourt spot. Like Stokes, Villanova’s other Corey was ranked in the top 30 by Rivals coming out of high school. In only his second season, he’s already averaging double digits in scoring and routinely uses a lightning-quick burst of speed to break out in transition or blow past defenders on the perimeter. Texas has put up excellent defensive numbers against top-flight guards this year, but they cannot afford to overlook this sophomore.

Big man Antonio Pena fills the second forward slot for Coach Jay Wright. Coming out of high school, some ‘Nova fans were hyping Pena up as a future NBA star, but he has yet to truly show it at the college level. This season, Pena’s toughest obstacle has been simply controlling his fouls, as he’s fouled out of three games and picked up four in another contest. If Pena cannot play quality defense against lesser opponents, he is going to have a hell of a time trying to defend in the physical Big East. And in tonight’s contest, a very deep Texas frontcourt could exploit Pena’s mental lapses and keep him on the bench with foul trouble.

Off the bench

If Pena does indeed battle foul trouble, a thin Villanova bench will have to step in. Shane Clark is the only true frontcourt option off the pine, unless Anderson is able to finally make a full return from his stress fracture. Clark is only 6’7″, so if Texas can force Villanova to have to give him significant minutes, they should easily control the game down low.

In the backcourt, Reggie Redding provides a fourth option for the guard-heavy Wildcats. Against Niagara, Redding earned the starting nod in place of the injured Stokes, and finished the night with 14 points from the wing. Like Stokes, Redding checks in at 6’5″ and could create some match-up problems. He can easily shoot over the shorter Texas guards, and he’s quick enough that he can beat Damion James or Gary Johnson off the dribble. He likely won’t be the difference in the contest, but it will be interesting to see how Texas handles both Redding and Stokes.

The only other viable option for Villanova is Frank Tchuisi, a Cameroonian forward. He doesn’t see very many minutes, but could get some extra action in this one after Drummond’s decision to transfer.

Keys to the game

Dominate the glass – Texas has a sizable advantage in this one, and must prevent easy putbacks for Cunningham and Pena. The Longhorns have done an excellent job so far this year, winning the battle on the glass by seven rebounds a game. If they can corral the caroms tonight, it should make things a lot easier.

Balance the scoring – Jay Wright always has good defensive teams, and this year’s squad is no different. You can be sure that the Wildcats will not let A.J. Abrams score 31 as he did on Thursday night. That means that other Longhorns will have to step up and chip in a few extra points.

Disrupt the ‘Cats – Villanova has the third-most efficient offense in the nation, so Texas must disrupt their half-court sets. Judging from the defensive performance that Texas has put forth thus far, the chances are good that the Wildcats won’t enjoy their typical 1.2 points-per-possession tonight.

Rick Barnes has made it a point to schedule top-quality competition every season, and he isn’t afraid to take on these challenges in far flung locales. This bold scheduling is surely a reason that his teams are always well-prepared for the neutral-site showdowns of the NCAA’s postseason. But if you’re a crazy fan who has been traveling to each and every game for nearly three straight years, it can really tack on the miles.

Each year Texas travels to the NYC area for an early-season game or tournament, and this year’s northeastern swing looks to be a good one. Tomorrow night the Longhorns take part in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden as they face the Villanova Wildcats, who are still undefeated heading into this one. Those of us in the Garden on Tuesday night are also being treated to Stephen Curry and Davidson taking on West Virginia in the other half of the doubleheader.

The full Villanova preview will be up on Tuesday morning, and we’re hoping to get back to the whole daily posting routine at that point as well. The old, dead computer has been replaced by a sparkling new machine, and things seem to be running smoothly thus far. (You can knock on wood during this parenthetical break.) In the meantime, you can whet your appetite with Kevin Armstrong’s feature on Villanova’s Coach GQ, Jay Wright.