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.

One of the most interesting thing about the first round of the NCAA tournament is usually the intriguing match-ups it creates between teams who hardly — if ever — play each other. Last year, the Longhorns were scheduled to face New Mexico State for the first time in 16 years, so we decided to put out our own scouting report to familiarize fans of the (other) Aggies with their opponents. And considering how big football is in Texas, it’s safe to say that the LRT scouting report might even be useful for Longhorn fans who were a little late joining the basketball party.

The big picture

At first blush, the scariest thing about the Longhorns is their high-powered offense, which finished 2nd in the nation in adjusted efficiency. For much of the season, Texas sat atop those rankings, propelled by an absolutely insane performance in the Legends Classic. The Longhorns dismantled New Mexico State and Tennessee by a combined 199-165 tally and logged mind-boggling efficiency ratings of 141.4 and 132.4 in the two games.

But as Texas fell from its perfect 12-0 mark to a troubling 14-3 in the span of only three weeks, defense was the huge culprit. The Longhorns were allowing teams to torch them from anywhere on the court, but particularly from behind the arc. The poor defense came to a head in an embarrassing road loss to Texas A&M on January 30th, where the Aggies ran roughshod over a porous Longhorn D en route to an early 19-3 lead and eventual 80-63 victory.

The loss was a turning point of sorts for Texas, as Rick Barnes’ team ran off eight straight wins in a perfect February. The key in many of the victories wasn’t the highly-efficient offense, but rather a suddenly stiff defense that held three opponents under 54 points during the streak. While that defense was non-existent in last weekend’s shootout with Kansas at the Big 12 Tournament, teams who may face Texas in the big dance can no longer focus on just stopping the Longhorn scorers.

The players

As most fans of college basketball can tell you, it all starts with point guard D.J. Augustin. The All-American can blow by defenders off the dribble, or drill a three-pointer when the defenses sag too far off. Most of the Longhorn offense is based on Augustin testing the opposing D with quick penetration and finding the weak spots for shots or assists. Although D.J. can hit from anywhere on the floor — his ability to stop on a dime and hit a fadeaway is particularly frustrating for coaches — Texas is best when he’s not carrying the offense. As Pat Forde pointed out in his column today, the Longhorns are 20-1 when Augustin takes less than 16 shots, but only 8-5 when he takes more.

A.J. Abrams is a fairly one-dimensional player, but the tiny shooting guard is incredibly good at that one dimension. Abrams has a lightning-quick release and is usually lights-out from long range. The Longhorns love to use bigs to free him up as he cuts across the lane, and often open up enough space for him to shoot with ball screens on the perimeter. The biggest knock on Abrams is his knack for becoming too confident after hitting a few shots and forcing ones that he should not be taking. While he’s improved his running jumpers this year, he is still not a great shooter inside off the dribble, but you will see him jacking those up if he thinks he’s hot.

The most overlooked player on the Texas roster is probably Justin Mason, a glue guy who plays incredible defense and hustles all over the floor. His constant motor gets him a lot more rebounds than fans would expect from a guy his size, and he’s often able to match up with bigger guys. Mason is not a high-scoring threat, but does have three-point range and will pick up quite a few trash buckets inside after those hustle rebounds.

Damion James has become a breakout star in his second season on the Forty Acres, as the departure of Kevin Durant allowed DaMo to move to his more natural position on the wing. While Texas needs his presence on the glass, James is a hell of an outsider shooter that often knocks down the long-range Js without even nicking the iron. Don’t be confused by the fact that Damion hangs out on the perimeter a lot — he still gets his share of rebounds, and is a threat for a double-double every night. His dual-threat game is also key for the Longhorns, as it pulls big defenders out of the paint and opens up the penetration game for Augustin and Mason.

The other starting big for Rick Barnes is Connor Atchley, a skinny white kid who has really grown in his third season. Atchley has gained a lot of confidence this season, and it has resulted in more points and a ton of blocks. Like James, Atchley can knock it down from outside and spends a lot of time on the perimeter setting screens for the guards. He often finds himself open on the pick-and-pop, so opponents can’t always choose to double following the screen. The biggest knock on Atchley is likely his penchant for picking up early fouls, which leads to limited minutes in the first half.

Off the bench, Texas has almost no depth at the guard position. Occasionally Barnes will run a more traditional lineup with only two guards in an effort to get Mason or Abrams some rest, but Augustin is often on the floor for 39 or 40 minutes a night. J.D. Lewis is a senior JuCo transfer who was known for his long-range ability, but hasn’t really shown it yet at Texas. Harrison Smith was a three-star recruit who has languished on the pine for the whole season. Fans shouldn’t expect to see either of these players except in blowout situations or to eat up fouls if the Horns find themselves down late.

In the post, the Longhorns have many more players to choose from. Freshman Gary Johnson missed half the season with a heart condition, but has really grown in Big 12 play to become an inside threat. Although he’s a tad undersized to bang down low, Johnson will often take on the bigger players in the post and fight on the glass. Early in the season, the biggest knock on Johnson was his inability to hit from the line, but his free throw shooting has improved drastically over the last few weeks. Against Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Quarterfinals, Gary went down with an injury that has been described as either a muscle strain or an ankle problem. He missed the next two games, but could be available for this weekend’s contests.

Without Johnson for those two games, Barnes turned to his other young post reserves, tapping Alexis Wangmene for a bunch of minutes. Wangmene has a ridiculous wingspan and occasionally showcases some really nice post moves, but is still pretty raw. He plays really solid defense when he remembers to hold his position, but if he finds himself behind the play will often pick up unnecessary fouls.

Freshman Clint Chapman hails from Oregon and is another unpolished freshman. He’s still got stone hands, but hustles his tail off and has shown some improvement in his defense over the last few weeks. If Texas is relying on Chapman for significant minutes during the tournament, they will likely be in trouble. But to give the key bigs a quick breather, Clint is a serviceable option.

The biggest guy on the Longhorn roster is Dexter Pittman, who was once about 100 pounds bigger. If he ever sees the court, you’ll hear the story ad nauseum from the announcers, but the Cliff Notes version is that Strength and Conditioning Coach Todd Wright put Dex on a strict diet and exercise regimen to get him down to his svelte playing weight. Pittman is a solid rebounder and is an absolute force in the paint on the offensive end, but his poor defensive play means that he often doesn’t earn many minutes.

The weaknesses

As mentioned earlier, Atchley has a problem with picking up early fouls. But that disease sometimes spreads to James, as well, and it cripples the interior game for Texas. In response, Barnes often goes to a zone defense to protect his bigs from foul trouble, and last week’s Kansas game shows how poorly that can turn out for Texas. The Longhorn guards are very short and already give up a few inches to most opposing backcourts, but the zone defense really exposes Texas on the perimeter.

The Longhorns have also shown some trouble from the free throw line this season, particularly late in games. Missed free throws played a huge role in the loss to Wisconsin back in December, and late-game misses allowed Baylor to nearly rally in the final few minutes against Texas in Waco. Augustin and Abrams are usually safe bets from the line for the Longhorns, but even they have sometimes struggled late in the game. If a game is close in the end — and when doesn’t that happen in the tournament? — this could be Texas’ undoing.

Teams with solid bigs are going to present a problem for the Longhorns as well, which is why I’m crossing my fingers for Marquette to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. The Longhorns did well against UCLA by packing the lane with a zone that controlled Kevin Love. Fortunately, the Bruins were content to shoot over it and were unable to hit their long-range shots. But an opponent with quality inside play and one or two sharpshooters could be an absolute nightmare for Texas.