UTSA Roadrunners (1-0) at #15/16 Texas Longhorns (0-0)
Tip: 7 P.M. | TV: FSN (state of Texas only)
It has been a long, long wait since last season abruptly ended in Spokane, but the 2007-08 campaign has finally arrived. And while this campaign doesn’t need finance reform or well-crafted sound bites, it is every bit as newsworthy. Rick Barnes and the Texas Longhorns look forward to a season in which the critics all point to a departing Kevin Durant and lick their chops, waiting for the downfall.
Tonight is the first small step in silencing the naysayers, as Texas opens its season with a home game against the UT-San Antonio Roadruners. The teams last met in 2004, a game which ended in a 100-82 Longhorn victory. Texas has won all five matchups between the UT system schools, with all but one of the victories coming by at least twelve points. The one “close” contest was way back in 1989, when the Longhorns and the BMW Scoring Machine escaped with a three-point win.
Ken Pomeroy’s stats reveal that last year’s Roadrunner team was a highly ineffective one, scoring just 86 points for every 100 possessions. This put them near the bottom of the barrel, placing UTSA 329th out of 336 teams in D-1. Texas fans can expect more of the same tonight, as the Roadrunners have five juniors and four seniors on the roster. Sure, there’s always a chance that they’ve turned the corner over the summer. But the truth is that it’s hard to erase that much suck so quickly.
UTSA runs a small lineup, sending out three guards. With their tallest forward checking in at 6’9″, this should be a chance for the young frontcourt of Texas to show what they’ve got on the glass. Despite the diminutive lineup, the Roadrunners are quite adept at turning their offensive boards into second-chance points, converting their 17 in the Hardin-Simmons season opener into 16 points. Texas will need to keep UTSA from getting the easy buckets, since it comprises a huge portion of their lackluster offense.
UTSA also forced 29 turnovers, 15 of them steals. It’s hard to tell how much of that was caused by Hardin-Simmons being horrible, but the numbers still indicate that Texas could be troubled when D.J. Augustin isn’t at the point. When you see A.J. Abrams or Justin Mason moved to the 1, keep an eye on how they handle the quick hands of the UTSA guards.
Freshman Devin Gibson was the leading scorer for UTSA in their victory on Friday night. The guard from Cy-Falls in Houston dropped 20 points for the Roadrunners and added five steals. The Roadrunners had only two other players in double figures, as junior Joey Shank was 3-for-8 from behind the arc on a thirteen-point night and forward Travis Gabbidon added fourteen. The offensive production dropped off from there, as the next-highest scorers had only five.
For Texas, the injury bug is the main storyline. Abrams is slated to return from the toe injury that sidelined him in the exhibition game. Dexter Pittman and Matt Hill are still expected to be on the bench, however, further thinning the frontcourt rotation. That means freshman big man Gary Johnson will be needed even more, although there was no news from Belmont as of Sunday night regarding his clearance for the regular season.
This should be an excellent opportunity to see what the young players will be offering for Texas this season, without having to see as many of the crazy lineup combinations that Barnes was forced to use in the exhibition versus Xavier. It will be interesting to see who grabs the chunk of the minutes down low, as Connor Atchley, Clint Chapman, Alexis Wangmene, and hopefully Johnson will split time.
Promos for tonight’s game include free Texas basketball programs to the first 2000 through the doors, and free cookies to be sampled as you exit. Three canned food items can also get you a free ticket, and helps to support local food banks. Finally, students will be eligible to win gift certificates for Hyde Park Bar & Grill and the IMAX theatre.
So, grab the kids and head out to the Drum for an exciting night of hoops. We’ll see you there.
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