We’re a million miles behind this week, so a lot of what we’ll be posting this afternoon will probably be nothing new to those folks who keep up-to-date with Longhorn basketball news. But this video clip of Greg Oden shopping at the grocery store probably is new to you, so it has to be highlighted first.

Yes, I realize Greg Oden isn’t in college anymore and that he’s about three years from the NBA pension kicking in. But I love this clip for a multitude of reasons. Let me count the ways…

1) The soundtrack. It’s gold, Jerry! Gold!
2) People in Portland are apparently retarded
3) Greg understands the concepts of gravity and mass
4) The mohawk is ten times worse when not in the context of the sports world
5) Another shitty sideline reporter who can hardly speak and earned her job by looking (allegedly) pretty

Lest our readers think that we drove off of I-30 and into a ditch on Sunday night, here’s a quick hello to let everyone know we’re still alive. The brief two-day writing sabbatical we’ve enjoyed will be coming to a close tonight, as it’s time to start looking ahead to the round of 16 that awaits the Longhorns this weekend.

The ticket situation has been a bit crazy the last two days, with the secondary market seeming a bit like the floor of the NYSE. So if you’re a Texas fan considering a trip to the game(s) this weekend, have no fear. You’ll definitely get in the arena. Hell, I’ve got six extra tickets of my own that might not even sell.

So as you look for the best seats for the lowest price, we’ll enjoy the last few hours of our break from LRT. The content will back in full force later this afternoon.

After an easy dispatching of the 15th-seeded Austin Peay Governors in Friday’s first round, the Texas Longhorns advanced to today’s second-round match-up with the Miami Hurricanes. A trip to Houston and the Sweet 16 awaits the winner, which for the Longhorns would be only a couple of hours down Highway 290 from their Austin campus.

Last year’s Longhorn team was absolutely crushed in the second round, falling prey to the high pressure of Tim Floyd’s USC defense. The Longhorns trailed by double-digits most of the game and made only a weak comeback attempt in the second half. But this year’s Texas team remembers that flame-out all too well, and their goals are much bigger. First, though, the young Horns will have to top the Hurricanes, a team led by one-time Texas assistant Frank Haith.

Observers might notice that the two teams seem similar at times, and that is to be expected when both coaches spent so many years working together. But the differences are still noticeable. The Hurricanes have more of a post presence than Texas, while the Longhorns have more talented athletes to run the probe-and-react style that Barnes favors. Miami runs nine deep on the bench, but Texas only goes that far down the pine as a last resort.

By the numbers

According to Ken Pomeroy, the Hurricanes are in the top-third of the country in both offensive and defensive efficiency. On Friday, the Hurricanes’ defense certainly frustrated the St. Mary’s Gaels, who seemed resigned to only penetrating the perimeter by a few feet before kicking it out for threes.

The big men for the Hurricanes are particularly tough on the defensive end, locking down the paint with ease. Their 2-point field goal defense is 25th in the nation according to Pomeroy’s metrics, and a cursory glance at the Miami post players can tell you why. Anthony King and Dwayne Collins are imposing defenders at 6’9″ and 6’8″, but the two bigs can also clean the glass. The return of fifth-year senior King is a huge reason why the Hurricanes are enjoying the NCAA tournament despite the media’s prediction of a dead-last finish in the ACC.

Miami doesn’t run a particularly up-tempo game, just barely checking in the top-third of pace according to Pomeroy. But if Haith wants to try to exploit his advantage of a deeper bench, he may elect to have the ‘Canes try to outrun the Horns. Texas has certainly shown it can play this style, as the convincing win over Tennessee will attest. And when you recall that most of the Texas starters earned significant amounts of rest in the blowout win on Friday, the Longhorns should be able to hang with an up-tempo attack.

A look at the starters

The star for Miami is little guard Jack McClinton, who took over the second half of Friday’s game and willed the Hurricanes to victory. McClinton led the team in scoring all season, averaging 17.7 points per game coming into the tournament. He can score from just about anywhere on the court, but is particularly deadly from three-point range.

Despite his scoring threat, at times it seemed like he was a little out of control on Friday morning. It’s hard to argue with a 38-point performance that leads to a tournament win, but it seems that McClinton could shoot his team in the foot at times by taking ill-advised shots and forcing things. Thanks to his small size, he shouldn’t be too much of a match-up problem for the short Texas backcourt, and I’d look for Justin Mason to draw the assignment. Hopefully the Big 12 All-Defensive Team representative can shut down the explosive McClinton.

The other guard earning the start for Miami is Lance Hurdle, another small guy who is a definite scoring threat. While he only averages about eight points per game, he really turned it on during ACC play. Hurdle reached double-digits in scoring eight times in conference play, including a 20-point game against North Carolina. While Texas will certainly have its hands full with McClinton, if Hurdle has another breakout game this afternoon, the ‘Canes have a strong chance at the upset.

James Dews is a third guard for the Hurricanes, playing the position that Mason occupies for the Horns. Dews is taller than the two true guards and grabs a few more boards, just like Mason. He’s a 37% shooter from behind-the-arc, and his 10-plus points per game is second on the team. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Haith shy away from his typical three-guard look in this one, hoping to exploit the advantage that Miami has inside. But if he sticks to the game plan, the McClinton/Hurdle/Dews troika should match up nicely with the A.J. Abrams/D.J. Augustin/Mason combo for Texas. May the best backcourt win.

As mentioned earlier, Collins and King make a huge difference in the post defense for Miami. But on Friday, the pair missed a lot of point-blank looks, so hopefully their offensive futility will carry over to this afternoon’s games. Collins also demonstrated an awful shot from the charity stripe, making him one of the few Hurricanes who aren’t automatic at the line. If the Longhorns are going to pick up fouls down low, he is the man to send to the stripe.

Off the bench

Wing Brian Asbury started a ton of games at the beginning of the year, but is now relegated to a sixth-man role for Coach Haith. But despite that reduced role, Asbury is still a key player. He averages nine points per game and is a quality rebounder, grabbing nearly five boards in less than 30 minutes per contest. If Haith does go to that big lineup I mentioned earlier, sticking Asbury in with Collins and King could give them the edge or force Rick Barnes to play Alexis Wangmene or Dexter Pittman more than he had planned.

Down low, Jimmy Graham is a high-energy guy who sent one block on Friday into another county. While he doesn’t play a ton of minutes, he’s a good rebounder and scores a few points per game. He’s one of many guys for Coach Haith that gives the Hurricanes depth in the post that Texas likely can’t match.

Reserve guard Eddie Rios is also high-energy, but it seems to hurt his game. On Friday he was all over the place with ugly passes, uglier shots, and just all-around reckless play. St. Mary’s took advantage when he was on the court, and Texas will need to do the same this afternoon when Rios is giving the starters a blow.

Raymond Hicks is the other active Hurricane who is getting significant minutes, and he’s yet another forward that could create match-up problems for Texas. He’s a solid rebounder and will score occasionally in the paint, so the Longhorns can’t afford to give up the piles of offensive rebounds that they conceded to Oklahoma State and Oklahoma in last week’s conference tournament.

The big picture

While Miami is a much bigger team than Texas, the Longhorns are a more talented, more athletic club. They will be forced to crash the glass today in an effort to limit the Hurricanes in the second-chance battle. If the Texas defense is playing a good game and also preventing the Hurricanes from extending their possessions with offensive boards, the chances for upset are slim. But if Miami is picking up trash baskets off of misses, they will hang around and could be in a position to win late in the game.

One weakness of the Hurricanes is poor ball control, and while the Longhorns are not a high-pressure team, they could earn some free points off of turnovers. Their solid defensive play over the last two months will be needed this afternoon, as sound fundamentals will easily lead to a few Hurricane hiccups here and there.

All told, this game is certainly a trap, but one that the Longhorns should win on paper. If Texas can shut down McClinton, the Miami offense will struggle. But as the road win against Kansas State showed, the Longhorns can also allow one player to go off while completely shutting down the rest of the team. I wouldn’t recommend that approach this afternoon, but it’s a reassuring fact to remember if McClinton starts racking up the points early.

We’ll be driving back to Austin immediately following today’s two games in Little Rock, so any post-game will be on hold until tomorrow morning or afternoon. In the meantime, enjoy the eight games on tap today.

There’s not much point in writing game stories once the calendar reaches March and the mainstream media covers the tournament from every angle imaginable. But while Joseph Duarte of the Chronicle and Kirk Bohls of the Statesman both focused on Dexter Pittman‘s big game and Pat Forde lamented the lack of upsets in Little Rock, I’ve got just a few notes from behind the Texas bench.

Much was made of the Barnes/Arkansas flap, and there were even t-shirts in the crowd referencing the interview. (Although one must wonder why Razorback fans would make burnt orange shirts with Barnes’ quote and an upside-down Longhorn on them.) But the quick start from Texas really killed any chance the crowd had to make a difference. By the time it was 9-0, the Razorback fans had mostly given up, and just a few minutes into the second half the arena had already begun to clear.

That’s not to say that the Arkansas fans didn’t get any chance to boo lustily. When the Texas band walked onto the court during the last few minutes of the St. Mary’s/Miami game, the boos rained down. And when the Longhorns ran out for pre-game warm-ups, it was even louder. But the most vitriol was saved for Barnes himself, who acted like he was cowering behind a police officer when the crowd started its razzing. Always the jester, Coach Barnes threw up his hands in mock confusion when his pre-game introduction induced another round of jeers.

Perhaps the most amusing part of the methodical dismantling of Austin Peay was the repeated attempts by Governor guards to drive the lane, only to stop on a dime when running into Connor Atchley or Pittman. Most often, APSU turned the ball back around and settled for poor looks outside, although the Longhorn bigs did combine for six blocks when the Govs decided to risk things in the lane. The Texas defense was so stifling on Friday that they held APSU to only 25% shooting in the first half and an abysmal 2-of-12 from behind the arc in the second.

While it’s tough to say that the Governors had much of a chance yesterday, it should be noted that key player Todd Babington was seen quite a few times coughing like a 40-year smoker. We’re not sure exactly what kind of bug Babington was trying to play through, but it’s reasonable to think it may have affected his game. Not that a healthy Babington would have singlehandedly made up a 20-point deficit, but it’s only fair to point out.

There’s still quite a few hours of basketball left on this Saturday, so we’ve got to get back to the River Market in downtown Little Rock to watch the nightcaps. Check back late, late tonight for your pre-game look at the Miami Hurricanes.

The Longhorns open NCAA play in less than eight hours, but this pre-game look at opponent Austin Peay comes to you from a hotel room in a dot on the map known as Mount Pleasant, Texas. In an effort to spend as little time as possible in the God-forsaken state of Arkansas, we made base camp here on the friendly side of the border before our pre-dawn invasion.

The metaphors may seem a tad excessive for a simple trip to a basketball game, but from all reports I’ve received from other Longhorns in Little Rock, it may be more reality than a literary device. Arkansas fans are still fired up over Rick Barnes’ sarcastic remarks to a Statesman reporter earlier in the week, where he demanded Hog fans “be nice.”

Texas fans are well-aware of Barnes’ dry delivery, but the Razorback faithful are taking things incredibly seriously. Of course, there’s so much history to this rivalry that most of the Arkansas faithful are probably just using this story as an excuse to recreate the hostile environment their team faced playing NCAA games in Austin. Regardless, having a huge contingent of temporary Austin Peay fans could certainly make things difficult for the Longhorns. But as D.J. Augustin reminded the media yesterday, this Longhorn team is definitely road-tested.

A look at the Govs

Austin Peay is led by longtime coach and school athletic director Dave Loos, who has 377 career wins heading into today’s contest. Loos is a disciple of defense, and the Governors’ numbers speak to his style. Austin Peay averages nearly 17 forced turnovers per game, and their 14.2% steal rating from Ken Pomeroy is first in the nation.

Last season, the strong APSU defense meant that opponents would need to score at least 70 points to win. Only Eastern Kentucky was able to defeat the Governors with less points, knocking Peay out of the OVC finals by a 62-61 count. This season, the 70-point mark is not quite as magical for Loos’ team, as they’ve dropped games against Valpo, Akron, and Samford when giving up 61, 64, and 63 points respectively.

The 2006-07 team that won the regular-season OVC title eventually lost in the tournament championship, keeping the Govs out of the NCAAs for a fourth-straight season. But that roster had five juniors and nary a senior, meaning that the current APSU squad is incredibly experienced and hungry for more post-season success in their first crack at the NCAAs.

Texas matches up fairly well with the Govs thanks to their undersized roster. Tiny point guard Derek Wright epitomizes the lack of size, checking in at only 5-foot, 9-inches. Their tallest player who grabs significant minutes is 6’6″ Ernest Fields, as both 6’8″ players on the Governor roster are being redshirted this season. Seven-foot Lithuanian Tomas Janusauskas only averages three minutes per game and should not make a difference today.

The flip side of the tiny roster is a team that is incredibly solid from long range. Wright is particularly lethal from behind the arc, hitting 41% of his three-point attempts so far this season. Senior guard Todd Babington is a bit of a ‘tweener at 6’5″, as he is one of the team’s top long-range threats but is also one of the taller guys on the roster. While Texas will have to keep him from making an impact inside, they also can’t afford to let him hang around the perimeter unguarded.

The third and final true three-point shooter is Kyle Duncan, a junior who has taken about half as many long-range attempts as the other two gunners, but is even more efficient. Duncan is hitting nearly 57% of his three-pointers on the season, so the Longhorns will have to keep a very close eye on him.

While we mentioned the Governors’ penchant for swiping the ball from unsuspecting opponents, it should be noted that they turn the ball over nearly 13 times per game themselves. We attended the Belmont/Austin Peay game in December and the thing that stuck out most — beyond their unconscious long-range shooting — was their sloppiness with the basketball. They shot over 60% in the first half and built a huge lead that ballooned to as many as 19 points. But they nearly let Belmont stage a massive comeback with poorly-timed turnovers, including a handful by Duncan.

What to look for

1) Dominate the glass – APSU is going to hit threes today, but Texas needs to turn those misses into one-and-done possessions for the upset-minded Governors. Austin Peay is only being outrebounded by 2.4 boards per game, but Texas is bigger than most OVC teams and they will need to take advantage of their size inside today.

2) Mind the perimeter – Sure, we’ve already conceded that the Govs are going to get a fair share of points from behind the arc. But Texas can’t play head-in-the-sand defense against long-range gunners as they did versus Kansas last weekend. Austin Peay scores 31% of their points on threes, so Texas simply cannot afford to have another lax defensive performance.

3) Win the turnover battle – While the Longhorns don’t pressure on defense nearly as much as APSU, they are one of the best teams in the country when it comes to controlling the ball. Texas can likely count on a few buckets off of Governor miscues, so if they can limit the Austin Peay fast-break points they will severly hamper the chances of upset.