Texas played 30 minutes of solid basketball on Monday night in Kansas City, notching a 25-point victory to move to 3-0 on the year. Unfortunately for the Longhorns, it was the other 10 minutes that made things much more interesting than they should have been.

Freshman Jordan Hamilton led the way early for Texas, hitting four three-pointers in the first half. The Texas defense also helped to open things up early, stifling Iowa (1-3) for the first ten minutes of the game. The Hawkeyes had trouble getting open looks, often battling the shot clock before clanging the ball off the rim. The Longhorns built a lead as big as fourteen points with 10:30 to go in the first frame. But then things got hairy.

Perhaps it was complacency due to the large lead. Or perhaps the Longhorn defenders were tired of rotating on defense as the Hawkeyes utilized screen after screen and moved the ball around the court at lightning speed. But whatever the reason, the Texas D was no longer in the face of the Iowa sharpshooters, and they quickly paid for it. The Hawkeyes finished the half by nailing 5-of-7 from behind the arc, including a desperation buzzer-beating heave sunk from the opposite three-point line by Cully Payne. The teams headed to the locker room tied with 38 points apiece.

Halftime adjustments were quickly apparent, as Texas gave Iowa a steady dose of Dexter Pittman. The big man had just four points in the first half, but immediately doubled that — and then some — by scoring three quick buckets in the first two minutes of the second stanza. The Texas defense woke up as well, holding Iowa scoreless for nearly six minutes after a Matt Gatens three coming out of the locker room.

With the defense clicking, the Horns slowly pulled away, building an insurmountable double-digit lead in front of a restless crowd who was rooting for the upset. Texas piled on the fast break points and blocked numerous shots, frustrating an Iowa offense that could only muster an 18.8% second-half success rate against the suffocating D.

If one can look past the mental lapse late in the first half, this was a very impressive win for the Longhorns. The defense played outstanding basketball when they were all keyed in and on the same page. Players were talking and rotating on defense, backup forwards Alexis Wangmene and Gary Johnson were challenging and stifling their opponents all the way out to the high post, and the active hands of the guards led to fourteen fast break points for Texas.

Offensively, Texas showcased a balanced attack. When the Horns pounded the ball inside, Pittman was practically unstoppable, even against the collapsing Iowa zone. The solid outside shooting of Hamilton kept the Texas offense afloat when they weren’t able to score in the paint. Five different Longhorns ended up in double-figures on the night, yet another example of how dangerous the Texas depth will be for opponents.

But despite all the positives, there were still issues the team will be working on. Texas turned it over 16 times in this one, which actually seems like a small victory after the 21 turnovers against Western Carolina last Wednesday. Unfortunately, many of the Longhorn miscues were the result of being fancy or sloppy — sometimes on the same play — when they were enjoying large leads. The argument could be made that Texas felt over-confident and knew they would be able to beat Iowa, fundamentals be damned. But will these bad habits resurface later against quality opponents who can make the Longhorns pay if they get lackadaisical with a big lead?

Free throws were once again a dicey proposition for Texas. The Longhorns made 70% of their attempts from the stripe, thanks in large part to the steady hand of J’Covan Brown, who made all four of his attempts. While that number was a vast improvement from the 62% they posted against UC-Irvine and the hide-your-face-in-shame 53% mark they had against Western Carolina, the struggles of guard Varez Ward were still worrisome. Ward is doing a great job attacking the rim and getting to the line, but he has only made 50% of his attempts from the stripe. His ability to drive and get defenses reacting is greatly diminished when opponents know they can hack at him and limit Texas to no more than one point that possession.

The final area of concern was another lengthy drought for the Texas offense. The Longhorns went three-and-a-half minutes late in the first half without scoring, and had another four minutes in the second where they suffered the same fate. Credit must be given to a tough Iowa defense, but fans of the Longhorns will recall the stagnant periods that plagued last year’s team and briefly reappeared against Western Carolina.

The Longhorns have a ton of weapons to kill you from anywhere on the floor, but it seems like they are content to shoot threes when they are unable to get it inside. Texas definitely has the long-range gunners to make this work, but their insistence upon constantly launching it from behind the arc is leading to long droughts. If you take Hamilton out of the equation in this game, the rest of the Longhorns went 4-of-16 from behind the arc. That’s far too many attempts when there is such a size advantage down low, and especially when the three-point shots aren’t falling.

Let’s revisit our keys to the game as we wrap this one up…

Exploit the height advantage – Texas didn’t do a great job of this in the first half, but it was clear that Coach Barnes made it a point of emphasis at halftime. Pittman and Damion James combined for 25 points, and the Longhorns enjoyed a 40-31 rebounding edge.

Strong perimeter defense – Late in the first half, it felt like this might be Texas’ undoing. But the Longhorns clamped down on defense the rest of the way, and the Hawkeyes sputtered to a 10-of-37 night behind the arc. If you take out the flurry of threes that Iowa made in the last seven minutes of the first half, they were just 5-of-30 on threes in the other 33 minutes of play.

Control the tempo – Texas scored 14 fast-break points in the game, and in the closing minutes of the contest, their ability to run completely crushed any last-ditch comeback attempts from the Hawkeyes. It was mentioned earlier that the Texas half-court offense sputtered for stretches, but there is no doubt that the Longhorns look their best when running the floor and getting easy fast-break and secondary-break points.

The Longhorns advance to face Pittsburgh in tonight’s championship game at 9:15 P.M. A pre-game look at the Panthers will be headed your way in just a few hours.

Texas and Iowa met in this city and this tournament just four years ago, with the Longhorns claiming a 68-59 win and the tournament crown. A lot has changed since then, as what was once the Guardian’s Classic, played at Municipal Auditorium, is now the CBE Classic, played at the sparkling Sprint Center. And while the names and buildings have changed over the years, so has the stature of a once-proud Iowa Hawkeye basketball program.

Todd Lickliter is in his third year of coaching at Iowa City, and things are becoming more difficult every season. Just weeks after the end of a disappointing 15-17 campaign in 2008-09, the Hawkeyes lost four key players. Leading scorer Jake Kelly transferred to Indiana State after his mother’s death in a plane crash, wanting to be closer to his family. Starting point guard Jeff Peterson bolted for Arkansas, with his departure rumored to be the result of dissatisfaction with Lickliter’s coaching style. Juniors Jermain Davis and David Palmer also left the program, heading to D-II schools in a search for more playing time.

The sudden roster turnover left the Hawkeyes with a young and inexperienced team, devoid of its former leaders. And if the summer of turmoil weren’t enough, things turned even uglier once the season tipped off. For the first time since 1931, the Hawkeyes started a season with back-to-back home losses, falling short against UT-San Antonio and Duquesne in the CBE’s opening round games.

By the numbers

In typical Big 10 style, Iowa is a team that relies on excellent defense. The other half of their equation is an offense predicated on driving and dishing, looking for spot-up shooters who can knock down the three or the open jumper. Unfortunately for the Hawkeyes, their shooting has been abysmal to start the year. Iowa is hitting just 29.1% of their attempts from behind the arc this season, but may have turned the corner in Friday night’s 68-46 win over Bowling Green. In that one, the Hawks made 48% of their threes.

Another reason for Iowa’s anemic start is a problem hanging on to the basketball. They are coughing it up on 22.7% of their possessions, which is a problem when your style of play involves grinding out low-scoring wins. That slowdown tempo means that Iowa has less possessions to work with, so the importance of each and every turnover is magnified. Fortunately for Coach Lickliter, this year’s Texas team has actually had even more issues with ball control than his team, as the Horns own a 23.8% turnover percentage in their first two games.

The Texas tempo numbers aren’t that much higher than Iowa’s, something that is skewed in small part by the choppy nature of the Western Carolina game. The Longhorns do have the athletes to get out and run the floor, however, which will play in their favor if they can dictate the pace of tonight’s game. A slow, half-court battle increases the odds of an Iowa upset, so the Longhorns must control the flow.

Meet the Hawkeyes

With so much turnover on the roster, Coach Lickliter is experimenting with his starting lineups early in the year. Through the first three games, he’s thrown out three different starting combinations. Only seven players saw significant minutes in the win over Bowling Green, though, so he may have finally found the formula that works.

Cully Payne runs the show at the point, despite being just a freshman. The Peterson transfer meant that Payne would not have the luxury of a slow development, and he’s been handed the reins immediately. He’s struggling to adjust to the college game so far, turning it over three times in his debut while failing to log a single assist. Since then, he’s looked marginally more comfortable, but still has just 10 assists on the year to go with his nine TOs. Payne is also expected to be one of the three-point threats that can knock it down when the Hawkeyes drive and dish, but so far has yet to do so. He’s just 3-of-13 behind the arc this season, with all of his makes coming on opening night.

Anthony Tucker is a sophomore who is being looked at as a major scoring threat from the two-guard position. Although he’s in his second year of eligibility, Tucker is essentially just a freshman. Last year, he missed half of the season due to poor grades, and was also suspended for an alcohol-related incident. While he started the year coming off the bench, Tucker has been in the starting lineup the last two games. He’s a solid outside shooter who is still shaking the rust off, as indicated by his 4-of-19 start from behind the arc. But like the entire Hawkeye team, he looks to have re-discovered his shot following a 3-of-6 night from long range against BGSU.

The biggest returning star for the Hawkeyes is sophomore Matt Gatens, a sharpshooter who has started every game of his collegiate career. He was named to the Big 10 All-Freshman team last season, a year in which he averaged 10.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per contest. He’s practically automatic from the line, where he made 90% of his attempts last year and has failed to miss in 13 attempts this season.

If Gatens’ solid freshman year made him a leader, Jarryd Cole may be another one by default. The junior center is the only starting upperclassman, and one of only two upperclassmen who has even played this season. He’s not a prototypical center, as he’s just 6’7″ and can often be found setting screens on the perimeter. Iowa likes to use him for those ball screens not only to free up the dribble-drive, but also to unclog the lane by pulling taller defenders out with him.

Although Cole is often setting the offense in motion from somewhere around the arc, he’s still the team’s best option on the glass. With 8.7 boards per game, he’s grabbing nearly a quarter of the team’s rebounds, giving him a fair number of putback attempts when the rest of the offense is struggling. He’s going to be mismatched against the bigger Texas frontcourt, but with a lack of depth behind him, he’ll have to produce.

Brennan Cougill is a freshman forward who started his first game of the year on Friday night, and will likely stay in the starting five thanks to hard-nosed, hustle play. He’s still a raw talent who is awkward with his back to the basket and misses a lot of easy looks, but he’s constantly crashing the boards and earning extra possessions for the Hawkeyes. Against Bowling Green, Cougill played 30 minutes and turned in a solid line of eight points and eight rebounds.

The only upperclassman besides Cole that has seen the court this year is Devan Bawinkel, a senior guard whose only job is to knock down threes. Last season, 51 of his 52 shots were from behind the arc, and he did not have a single free throw attempt. Bawinkel, who was replaced in the starting lineup by Tucker, is solely a spot-up shooter. Texas will need to keep an eye on him, but will also benefit from knowing that he isn’t a threat to drive the lane or really even try to attack off the dribble. Like the rest of his team, Bawinkel might finally be heating up from behind the arc, as he hit 2-of-3 against Bowling Green after starting the year just 1-of-5 from long range.

The most impressive newcomer has been Eric May, a 6’5″ freshman who is listed as a guard but plays much bigger. He has a nice touch, as his 46% shooting mark attests, but he also attacks the glass like a fiesty forward. Even though he’s smaller than most of Texas’ players, he’ll be a tough guy to guard. He’s 40% from long range, but he can attack off the dribble if you play him too tightly on the perimeter. On a team that is so horribly undersized, May’s constant motor and tenacious play make him a valuable asset off the bench.

Aaron Fuller is a sophomore forward who started the first two games of the year, but picked up two quick fouls in both of them. May responded off the bench in those two games, but Cougill ultimately replaced Fuller in the starting lineup on Friday night. Aaron actually saw the floor for just three minutes in the win over Bowling Green, so he may have played himself right out of the rotation.

Keys to the game

With such a mismatch in size, the obvious key for Texas is to exploit the height advantage. The Longhorns really struggled to take advantage of the mismatch against Western Carolina, making Dexter Pittman‘s 17 minutes nearly useless. Tonight, Texas needs to pound the ball inside against the tiny Iowa frontcourt and must dominate the rebounding battle once again.

In addition, Texas will need to play strong perimeter defense to ensure that the Hawkeyes don’t hang around with a bevy of threes. Their roster is loaded with three-point gunners, all of whom have been struggling so far this year. The uncomfortable conclusion you can reach with those facts is that the Hawkeyes are due for a breakout game behind the arc. If they have that kind of night against Texas, it could make things dicey.

Finally, Texas must control the tempo. As we mentioned earlier, fewer possessions only serve to minimize the natural advantages that the Longhorns have. If Texas can get out and run a little bit, there is no way that the Iowa offense can score enough to keep up.

Tip time tonight is officially 8:45 P.M., but it’s much more likely that the game will be starting at 9 P.M. or later. The first semifinal of the night, which has Pitt facing off against Wichita State, doesn’t even tip until 6:30 P.M. Add in the thirty-minute window between games, and you can see how tonight’s contest might be wrapping up a little closer to midnight.

Post-game react and the championship or consolation preview will be headed your way tomorrow.

Wednesday night’s victory over Western Carolina was certainly impressive for the Longhorns. They logged a 32-point win, held their opponents to a scant 26.2% shooting percentage, and won the rebounding battle by an overwhelming 47-32 margin. But while the scoreboard and the stat lines were tilted heavily in Texas’ favor, some old issues managed to resurface for the Longhorns.

Most concerning for fans should be the continued struggles from the free-throw line. Last season, Texas made less than 80% of their attempts from the line, with nine players shooting hitting less than 70% of their tries. Of those nine, eight are on this year’s roster. As a result, the Longhorns have made just 59.6% of their free throws over the first two games. Damion James was the only Longhorn to truly shine from the charity stripe against the Catamounts, as he made 8-of-10 on the night. Alexis Wangmene also made both of his attempts, so perhaps the pair can put on a clinic at the next practice.

In addition, the youth of the team showed in the form of turnovers. Texas coughed it up against the Catamounts 21 times, for a differential of negative six. While we discussed in the game preview Western Carolina’s tendency to force steals, the complete lack of ball control will be absolutely killer if it continues into the new year. Yes, it’s still very, very early in the year, but the inability to get entry passes to the post was painful to watch.

It was also difficult for the Longhorns to develop any real offensive rhythm in the game. This isn’t worrisome like the free throw struggles and turnovers, but it’s something that could prolong the establishment of steady rotations off the bench. Any flow to the offense was constantly stifled by a combination of the turnovers, liberal substitutions, and whistle-happy refs — who called an excessive twelve fouls in the first eight minutes of the second half. With different players constantly running on the court and the choppy, whistle-interrupted style of play, it was tough to find any unit of players who excelled for any length of time.

In the winning effort, J’Covan Brown came closer to showing fans just how special of a player he is, but turnovers still plagued his game. Brown lost the ball six times against Western Carolina, giving him eleven TOs on the season. But the rest of his offensive game continued to blossom, as he once again showcased his three-point range and even brought the Frank Erwin Center crowd to its feet with a buzzer-beater to end the first half. J’Covan is going to be a star in the near future, but it’s clear that his unfortunate one-year absence has put a little bit of rust on his game.

Elsewhere on the freshman front, Jordan Hamilton is quickly proving that there is not a shot he doesn’t like. While this is a habit that will certainly need to be broken as the season wears on, Hamilton has at least made up for his quick-trigger by constantly following shots. Even though he missed four of five long-range attempts, each time he was crashing the glass and hustling for offensive boards. It’s hard not to like the drive and determination he’s exhibiting, but he will need to remember that on a team this talented, the last thing Texas needs is the Hamilton Catch-and-Shoot Extravaganza.

While we’ve picked out these negative aspects to dissect, the game was by no means a disappointment for Texas. The D was superb for a second-straight game, putting Texas first in the nation for defensive efficiency. Ken Pomeroy’s number-crunching shows that the suffocating Longhorn defense is allowing just .589 points per possession. Texas likely won’t see a true test of that defensive mettle until they take on the up-tempo Tar Heels on December 19th, but it will be interesting to keep tabs on that stat as the season rolls on.

Moving past the team accolades and on to the individual achievements, Gary Johnson is to be lauded for an excellent showing off the bench. The forward made all four of his shots from the field, chipping in ten points with seven boards. Although most players would expect to see an increase in minutes from their sophomore to junior seasons, Johnson is making the most of his decreased playing time.

Varez Ward also showed flashes of brilliance, looking once again like the exciting, lane-slashing guard that we saw at the end of last season. Ward provided ten points on 4-of-6 shooting and even logged three steals. Some fans questioned his inclusion in the starting lineup, but it’s quickly becoming clear that his late-season surge back in March was just the beginning of great player development.

Texas will face Iowa tomorrow night in the semi-finals of the CBE Classic at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. We’ll bring you a game preview sometime in the A.M. hours.

With early round action wrapping up in the slew of early-season tournaments, fans are now being treated to a host of great match-ups involving top teams across the country. The Puerto Rico Tip-Off started its quarterfinal slate earlier today, while the four premier teams in the 2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer Classic square off in Madison Square Garden tonight. We’ll be back later tonight with some thoughts on the Longhorn victory over Western Carolina, but in the meantime enjoy the games below…

#24 Syracuse (2-0) vs. #12 California (2-0) | 6 P.M. CST | ESPN2

Both teams have yet to live up to their hype this year, with Syracuse stumbling in a pre-season exhibition game and the Golden Bears failing to put away Murray State in their season opener. In the big picture, a win tonight is much more important for a Cal team that will be playing a much weaker conference schedule than the Orange and will need quality non-conf wins to boost their profile.

Be on the lookout for ‘Cuse sophomore Scoop Jardine in this one, as he enters the game with 13 assists in the first two contests. If facing “real” opponents cuts into his playing time, those gaudy numbers will surely decline. But if he performs at that level against Cal, you can be sure hoops commentators across the country will be taking notice.

Sam Houston State (2-0) at #5 Kentucky (2-0) | 6 P.M. CST | ESPN FC1
It’s certainly not a match-up of the same caliber as the games in Madison Square Garden, but this one does give fans another early chance to catch Coach Cal’s loaded Wildcats. Potential Freshman of the Year John Wall dropped 19 points in his collegiate debut on Monday night, but none were more important than the two he added at the buzzer to knock off upset-minded Miami of Ohio. Kentucky fans hope things will be a little less intense in this one, while Wall and Patrick Patterson look to lead the team to a 3-0 start.

#15 Ohio State (2-0) vs. #4 North Carolina (3-0) | 8 P.M. CST | ESPN2
Another high-quality match-up from MSG, as the Buckeyes look to break out against a Carolina team that is loaded with freshman talent. For Ohio State, the man to watch is Evan Turner, a Player of the Year candidate who started the season with a triple-double and is averaging a ridiculous 19 points, 17 rebounds, and seven dimes through the first two games. Fans will also want to keep an eye on how Dallas Lauderdale does against UNC’s frontcourt, easily the best in the nation. Lauderdale is slowly coming back from breaking his finger in the pre-season, and tonight he’ll certainly have his mending hands full with the Tar Heel big men.

Central Arkansas (1-1) at #1 Kansas (2-0) | 7 P.M. CST | ESPN FC2
Kansas survived a close call in St. Louis on Tuesday night, as Memphis missed a three-point attempt at the buzzer which would have won the game. You can be sure that Coach Bill Self has used that narrow victory as motivation over the last fourty-eight hours. And that’s very bad news for the visiting Bears.

Utah Valley State (1-1) at #18 Minnesota (2-0) | 7 P.M. CST | Big Ten Network
The Golden Gophers scored 106 points in the second halves of their first two games, running away with both of them by a combined margin of 77 points. Things shouldn’t be getting any tougher against the Wolverines tonight. The game will be a nice warm-up for the Gophers’ upcoming neutral-site showdown with Butler, but it’s likely only worth a glance during commercials of the other contests.

La Salle (1-0) at South Carolina (2-0) | 8:30 P.M. CST | ESPNU
The SEC already has a black eye this year, as Mississippi State lost by double digits to Rider at home last week. Picked to finish near the bottom of the conference this year, South Carolina could earn a little credibility back for the league with a win over a top A-10 team. Helping the Gamecocks’ chances is the fact that this game in Charleston, SC is practically a home date.

After a lengthy offseason rife with high expectations and endless buzz, the Longhorns tipped things off Sunday afternoon with an impressive 89-42 win over Cal-Irvine. Tonight, Texas hopes to turn in another dominating performance as they host the Western Carolina Catamounts from tiny Cullowhee, North Carolina.

Repeating Sunday’s task could be tougher than it looks for the Longhorns, as their opponents return all five starters and are picked by most pundits to win their division in the Southern Conference. It’s not just the starters that bring experience to the floor for Western Carolina coach Larry Hunter, though. His team boasts five seniors, four juniors, and even the nephew of NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo.

The Catamounts started the 2009-10 campaign on the right note, shellacking St. Catharine College in their season opener by a 65-41 count. Western Carolina forced 25 turnovers in the game and held their opponents to 25% shooting on the night. The only troubling stat for Coach Hunter was a vast free throw disparity between the two teams, as the Catamounts attempted only ten free throws, while sending St. Catharine to the line 27 times.

By the numbers

That stat isn’t too surprising for fans of Western Carolina, as it’s a trend that dates back to last season. The Catamounts were 340th in the country in free throw rate, a stat which measures how often teams foul their opponents in relation to shot attempts they allow. If a ranking of 340th isn’t appalling enough, Catamount fans would also hate to be reminded that there were only 344 Division I teams last season.

One thing that Western Carolina did do well last season was swipe the basketball. Their steal rate was 8th in the NCAA, led by Brigham Waginger‘s school-record 81 thefts. The senior guard enters his final season as the reigning back-to-back steal leader of the Southern Conference.

Beyond that one shining aspect, the Catamount defense struggled mightily last year. Their defensive field goal percentage was one of the 15 worst in all of Division I basketball, while they allowed opponents to grab offensive rebounds on a troubling 34% of their attempts. Combine these numbers, and you have a recipe for disaster against a Texas team that shot 57% in their season opener and outrebounded Cal-Irvine by a 49-30 margin.

Meet the Catamounts

Western Carolina is led by its pair of pre-season All-Conference selections, guards Brandon Giles and Harouna Mutombo. As previously mentioned, Mutombo is the nephew of former NBA star Dikembe Mutombo, and his pedigree quickly showed in a season that earned him conference Freshman of the Year honors.

Giles is a junior wingman who checks in at 6’6″ and is hoping to bounce back after a season in which he played through constant shoulder problems. Even with the injury issues, Giles logged a stat line of 13.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, so coaches and media are expecting great things from him this year. In the season opener, he scored 12 points in just 20 minutes of work and pulled down three rebounds.

Junior forward Richie Gordon is the tallest Western Carolina player at 6-feet, 9-inches, but his height is often wasted as he rides the bench with foul trouble. Last season, Gordon fouled out of 10 of the team’s 31 games and amassed a ridiculous 98 whistles. Against St. Catharine’s, he managed to only commit two fouls, but did so in just twelve minutes on the court.

With Gordon often on the bench, that leaves senior transfer Adrian Gailliard as the lone post presence for the Catamounts. At 6’7″, he’ll have his hands full with Dexter Pittman tonight. Unfortunately for WCU, Gordon’s foul issues seemed to rub off on Gailliard during the offseason, as Adrian logged four personals in the season opener, limiting him to just ten minutes of play. If both of these players are racking up the fouls against the bigger, more athletic Longhorns, it could be a very, very long night for the visitors.

The starting five is rounded out by the aforementioned Waginger, who will likely give the Texas backcourt fits. Freshman J’Covan Brown had four quick turnovers in his debut at the point, and playing against Waginger and his quick hands could prove troublesome tonight.

With so many experienced players on his bench, Coach Hunter actually runs nine or ten deep. In the season opener, there were ten Catamounts who played at least ten minutes, with the bench providing a whopping 110 minutes — more playing time than the starting five even saw.

Kendall Russell and Jake Robinson were the first two men off the pine for the Catamounts, and the pair combined for 21 points on the night. Russell is a swingman who could afford to add some muscle, but still manages to be effective on the glass. Against St. Catharine’s, he grabbed six rebounds in just 17 minutes on the floor.

Robinson is the team’s only viable post option behind Gordon and Gailliard, but isn’t much of an offensive threat. He shot just under 38% last year from the floor, and struggled to a 4-of-12 night from the floor in the season opener. He will likely see a lot of action against the deep Texas frontcourt tonight, but will likely have a tough time putting the ball in the basket.

Mike Williams — not to be confused the well-traveled former Longhorn of the same name — is a transfer from Jackson State CC and is a quality backup guard for WCU. Against St. Catharine’s, he led the team with four steals and provided six points and three dimes in the winning effort. Keaton Cole is the other main guard off the bench and is the team’s best threat from long range. Last year he hit 43% of his three-point attempts, but only made one trey in his season debut.

Keys to the game

If it isn’t already apparent, the Longhorns are going to make hay in this game by exploiting their height advantage against a second-straight undersized opponent. Pittman and Damion James are likely double-double candidates tonight, and should have an easy time in the paint. One can only hope that the game will be well-enough in hand that reserve forwards Alexis Wangmene, Clint Chapman, and Matt Hill can get some work and show what improvements they have made in the off-season.

One factor that could keep the game closer than it should be is the turnover battle. As mentioned earlier, the Catamounts are great at forcing turnovers, and the Texas backcourt was somewhat shaky at times against Cal-Irvine. Many of the Texas turnovers seemed to come from the Longhorns trying too hard to be flashy or toss an alley-oop, so better discipline could help to curb that issue tonight. While the Catamounts are likely to still force some miscues by Texas, it won’t be enough to make a difference in the game.

Another thing to keep an eye on tonight is the Longhorn free throw percentage. Much like the turnovers, this won’t make a difference in tonight’s game. But considering how much of a problem Texas had from the line last year, it will be interesting to see if the returning players have made any progress in the offseason.

There are still tickets available for this one, and now Texas Box Office is offering a buy one, get one free promotion with this printable web coupon. So grab a friend and come down to the Drum for tonight’s contest. It’s exciting Longhorn basketball at half-price, and it’s the last chance to watch the team at home before USC comes to town on December 3rd.