Big XII Weekend Capsule: Week 4, Part 1

A wild Wednesday was the big story, as Kansas State jumped to the front of the Big XII with their upset win over #2 Kansas. Texas A&M also thrust itself back into the mix in the conference with a trouncing of the #10 Longhorns on their home floor. A few teams have fallen out of the conference race, but eight teams still remain in the thick of the conference race.

#22 Kansas State (15-4) (5-0) at Missouri (12-9) (2-4)

- With two games against Missouri and Nebraska, and one each against Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, 11-0 in conference can be classified as definite possibility as opposed to good possibility. The win against the Jayhawks turns Kansas State into a team with the confidence to make a run during March. They also are a team I don't think anyone wants to see during March. If point guard, Jacob Pullen's 20 point outburst is a sign of maturity out of the freshman, then the Wildcats suddenly become a very dangerous team. Lost in all of the excitement of Wednesday night was Missouri's loss at home to Nebraska. It was confirmation that Missouri will have a slow and painful fall to the bottom of the Big XII. And this season will be hard to watch for Tigers fans.

Prediction: #22 Kansas State 87, Missouri 73

#25 Baylor (16-3) (4-1) at #10 Texas (16-4) (3-2)

- Both teams come off a game where their weak interior defense was exposed. Baylor had a week to think about their home loss to Oklahoma at the hands of the Griffin brothers, and a week to get ready to take on the Texas Longhorns. This game is full of intreaguing matchups as Damion James will face off against Kevin Rogers, DJ Augustin against Aaron Bruce, and Curtis Jerrells will try and stop AJ Abrams on one end, and score against Justin Mason on the other end. Baylor relies on their guard play to win games, and Curtis Jerrells has emerged as the go to player for the Bears. The Austin product has come close to beating the school that spurned him each of the last two years, and they have the talent this year to finish the job. The Longhorns come off an embarrasing defeat against the Aggies in College Station. Texas needs Damion James to reassert himself offensively and exploit mismatch problems against the Bears. The only positive out of the Texas A&M might be the play of Dexter Pittman, as the sophomore scored 14 points and pulled down 7 rebounds. Time will tell however, whether it was one game or a turning point.

Prediction: #10 Texas 75, #25 Baylor 74

Oklahoma State (10-10) (1-5) at Texas Tech (11-8) (2-3)

- Oklahoma State has managed to lose five straight in conference, most in close games. Their one win came against the Red Raiders in Stillwater. They have been able to play with anyone during the streak, but haven't been able to get over the hump late in close games. James Anderson has played well, but the Cowboys have relied too much on the outside shot. Terrell Harris needs to find his confidence and Ibrahim Thomas needs to find a way to stay on the court if this team is going to be successful. Texas Tech is winless on the road in conference and unbeaten at home. Lucky for them, they get to try for redemption in the rematch against Oklahoma State in the tropical oasis of Lubbock*. Martin Zeno has to play well for this team to win as he opens up everyone else on the floor. Freshman guard John Roberson continues to improve each game, and is a huge boost for the Red Raiders when he is playing confidently on his home floor.

Prediction: Texas Tech 64, Oklahoma State 57

Last Week: 5-1
Overall: 14-4

A Regrettable Decision

Looking back now, doing a running account of the Texas at Texas A&M game was a horrible idea. We got run out of the gym in a game that was an absolute disaster. But hey, I have pages of material written, so I suppose I should post it. If any part of the account seems slanted or irrational, well by the end of that game I was slanted and irrational.

Tonight, arguably four of the best teams in the Big XII are in action against each other. Also known as Kansas and teams that think they have a chance. What a perfect opportunity to keep a running account of the festivities. Of course there’s only one problem. Kansas at Kansas State is on ESPNPlus, so I can’t see it. So I’ll watch the Texas at Texas A&M game and keep tabs on the Kansas game.

8:45 pm - Texas doesn’t start for another 15 minutes, so let’s turn our attention to the Kansas game. Oh my Kansas State is up 28-26, so the young Wildcats have come to play. Kansas State has lost many many many in a row against Kansas, so this would be a huge win for the program, especially since they’ll be terrible next year when Michael Beasley and Bill Walker have gone pro. Bill Walker is leading the Wildcats with 12 points, while Beasley only has 2 points. Of course Bill Walker is stepping up. He’s big game. He eats, sleeps, and pisses basketball. If Kansas State can stay close until the beast that is Michael Beasley awakens, the Wildcats could actually win this thing. Because when everything is said and done, Beasley will have at least 20 points.


8:52 pm - Not surprising that Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers are the two leading scorers for the Jayhawks with 10 and 7 respectively. Both seniors, they will be the players that the Jayhawks rely on in big games this season. It’s almost like Arthur and Jackson are their younger brothers. They’ll let them get the pub and put up the stats, but when push comes to shove, Rush and Chalmers are going to step forward and take care of business.

8:55 pm – It will be interesting to see how Texas responds to the atmosphere in College Station. I know we’ve played in some tough places. But the Aggies live for these days. The day where they have a chance to best the Longhorns. They play harder, they want it more, and the fans get scary loud. And it makes for an extremely hostile environment and it is because of this that the game will be close throughout, unless the Aggies run away with the thing. But I don’t foresee a blowout for either squad.

8:57 pm – Georgetown 62, St. John’s 28. Really? Come on, it’s conference play. Did someone give the St. John’s basketball program the death penalty when I wasn’t looking? Or did Isaiah Thomas start running them too?

9:00 pm – Kansas State leads Kansas by 2 at halftime. K-State had a chance to jump out to a bigger lead but Kansas kept it close. I’d keep an eye on the first 5 minutes of the second half. If Kansas State can survive the Kansas intensity and run to start the second half they might have a chance to pull the upset. If Kansas State does pull the upset, it will be on the back of Michael Beasley, but I’m still not feeling it. Bill Walker has 3 fouls. That could be a problem. Unless of course there’s popcorn on the bench, then it’s a party!

9:05 pm – ESPN 2 studio show. Jimmy says if Memphis can raise their free throw percentage by 4% they will be your 2008 NCAA Champions. Good to know Jimmy. I’m sure Calipari has them in the gym right now. Where the hell is Digger? I can’t listen to basketball analysis without matching ties and highlighters and shameless Notre Dame plugs.

9:10 pm – Nope, I thought Aggies wouldn’t look as ridiculous whooping in all white. I was wrong. Dominique Kirk is the star for Texas A&M? Yeah, safe to say they’re missing Acie Law. I can’t say I am. DeAndre Jordan is still on the bench. Needless to say he has been underwhelming so far this season.

9:12 pm – A wide open 3 pointer and a traveling violation for Texas. This is about the typical start for a Texas game. We look a little tight, and the Aggies are absolutely fired up.

9:16 pm – 2 fouls on Atchley in the first 3 minutes. Alright, already to our bench big players. Thanks for joining us tonight Conner. We’ll see you in the second half. We are completely rattled and A&M is pounding the ball inside with great success. Jones, Jordan, it doesn’t matter who is in the post, they’re scoring with ease. 11-2 Aggies.

9:20 pm – I think this game has started about as badly as it possibly could have for the Horns. James and Augustin both missed wide open threes. Oh, the announcers told me it was because of the suffocating Aggie defense that we missed those uncontested wide open threes. Good to know. And on the other end, we can’t cover them in the post, and if we double, they are going to find a way to get Josh Carter a wide open 3-pointer. That’s good; you usually want to let the other team’s best shooter get wide open looks. Kansas State up 6 in the second half and Beasley has 14 points now. You should have gotten them before Beasley woke up, Jayhawks.

9:24 pm – Can you let an opponent catch a ball too far under the basket? Because we’re about to find out. If they get it under the basket any deeper, they’ll be out of bounds. Well at least the Aggies can hit their fade away 18 footers too. We have seen the adjustment from Barnes though. We have upped the perimeter pressure trying to force their guards out more and not allow them easy entry passes. Will it work? Well it did that possession.

9:28 pm – And Joseph Jones has finally started acting like Joseph Jones as he picked up his second foul 30 feet from the basket. Really, we will need to get their bigs in foul trouble otherwise they will keep pounding it inside. Though I can’t say it will matter if we continue to shoot 2 of 13 from the field. The worst part of it is that five of the misses were wide open. That’s just nerves. But I would be scared too if I was in a building full of Aggies. You know you just shuddered.

9:33 pm – Who would have said that 10 minutes into the game Dexter Pittman would be outscoring DJ Augustin and AJ Abrams combined. At least Augustin is putting up shots that are pretty good looks. Abrams is just dribbling the ball off his leg. And when you do that, you get to sit next to Rick Barnes. Wow, a technical foul on Dexter Pittman. That was a pretty weak hit to the face. You know, from one 300 pounder to another. 24-7. Think any Texas football players are having nightmares of a game at Kyle Field? Okay good, 26-7, now the football team can breathe easy.

9:39 pm – Down 20, but fear not, Alexis Wangmene and Dexter Pittman shall carry us back!! Wait, what did I just say, oh shit, we’re screwed. Alright, two air balls in the last two minutes. This is getting painful to watch, especially as we turn to Gary Johnson and Clint Chapman to turn this ship around. It’s like we’re trying to scar our new freshman so we can always struggle at Texas A&M for years to come. Kansas State is up 12 with 10 minutes left. 34 points between Walker and Beasley. Yeah, you might want to guard those two guys Kansas. Just a suggestion. Not that we’re one to talk about guarding people.

9:45 pm – 13 minutes and DJ Augustin and Abrams are on the board. 5-0 run. There is hope! Maybe they realized that if they didn’t do it, Gary Johnson and Clint Chapman were offering to shoot some more. I think I know why AJ has struggled as of late. That haircut is ridiculous. Justin Mason for three? I’m not going to lie. I yelled NO!!!!!!! OH MY GOD!!?!?!?!!? I’m a firm believer in theories. One theory on A&M, they don’t have average looking females. They are either gorgeous or look like they have a future as a farm hand. Thank you ESPN2 for confirming my theory thus far.

9:49 pm – 67% for A&M and 27% for Texas? Well you figure that has to turn around a bit. Clint Chapman, Alexis Wangmene, and Dexter Pittman have as many points as DJ Augustin, AJ Abrams, and Damion James. I’m going to take a guess and say that if that keeps up, we won’t win this game.

9:53 pm – We are slowly crawling back into this game. If we can get this game down to a 5 or 7 point game by halftime, that would be a huge victory. They are still shooting lights out, and our interior defense is still a joke. But Abrams and Augustin are heating up. And by heating up I mean Abrams is starting to hit three pointers without actually catching the basketball. It’s like a 26 foot tip in. Kansas State is up 7 with 4:34 left to play. The Wildcats have drawn up elaborate plays that involve falling down, kicking the basketball, and Michael Beasley hitting wide open threes.

9:58 pm – As goofy as he looks, and as poorly as he does it, Dexter Pittman has been playing his best game of the season. It would also be nice if we weren’t shooting 6 of 13 from the free throw line. I have to say, if Augustin, Abrams, and Damo were playing half as well as Chapman, Wangemene, and Pittman, we would be winning this game. Yes, more missed free throws. Okay, I changed my mind, I’ll take a 10 point deficit at halftime.

10:02 pm – Gary Johnson plays so out of control I can’t stand it. A&M is getting every roll, bounce, and whatever you want to call it. They are dominating the paint and when they’re not the ball is bouncing right to their guys under the basket. All momentum has been lost and we need to really regroup at halftime. AJ Abrams is forcing his shot and A&M has successfully forced Longhorns other than DJ to make plays.

10:04 pm – Manhattan is going crazy and Beasley and Walker are dominating this game. The difference in this game? 18 points for point guard Jacob Pullen. I’ve never seen Kansas State play before, so it’s news to me that they actually played with 5 guys on the court. I thought Bill Walker played two positions and Beasley played the other three. Well, I guess Memphis is going to be the only team to go unbeaten this season. Mental note, Kansas will follow the Memphis model and sign up to play in the Sun Belt Conference next year. Ladies and Gentleman, your Big XII leaders, Kansas State, okay, sorry, I will call them the Beasley Walkers. I know they prefer that.

10:08 pm – More insight from Jimmy. Kansas is exposed. Those 20 wins? Nothing. They are eliminated from the College Basketball season. Wait, no! Steve Lavin has informed us that they are still alive. It is only in football where one loss and your season is over. I bet Ohio State wishes that were actually the case. And Les Miles would like to remind you that if it is in overtime it is not actually a loss.

10:13 pm – 9 of 31 shooting in the first half (29%). AJ Abrams is the team leader with 6 points. DJ Augustin threw up a solid 2 of 10 shooting. I think I’m just going to forget that half even happened. You can say we’re getting killed in the paint, but Carter has 11 and Kirk has 10. So we’re not getting out to their shooters either. 46% from the free throw line for us. As for A&M? 64% from the field, 75% from three, and 72.7% from the free throw line for the worst free throw shooting team in the Big XII. Why am I not surprised. It is always different when they play Texas.

10:17 pm – Even giving Russell Robinson six fouls cannot stop these Kansas State Wildcats. You can tell Frank Martin is an inexperienced coach. I would have Walker and Beasley in the locker room under lock and key before this game ends and the court gets stormed. All you need is the Beasley Walkers to be without, well the Beasley or the Walker and they will return to Big XII mediocrity. How will Bill Walker celebrate this victory? Probably stop by the concession stand for a hot dog and grab some napkins just in case he needs to use the restroom before he gets home. I predict me going to that joke at least two more times before the evening ends.

10:21 pm – Rece just informed us that the Kansas State game is over with 30 seconds left, so we’ll keep you on that game instead of going back to the Texas game. Genius. Absolute genius. Can we get some coverage of the 20 point Memphis win too? There are people on the court. That’s good. Riveting. Wonder what is happening in the Texas game. ESPN2 wonders as well. We are into 40 seconds of court storming. A full minute. Seriously, it is a mid season conference game.

10:25 pm – Well it is good to see we’re still ice cold and our second half strategy? Get Dexter Pittman the ball. Augustin cannot hit anything, so who knows, maybe that is a good strategy. Oh well, too late, 3 fouls for Pittman. A solid air ball by Abrams. We can’t even get close on the open looks. This could be a very long second half. If it doesn’t much better someone please call me in the morning to see if I haven’t jammed something into my eyes.

10:30 pm – Players shooting 50% or better for Texas: Dexter Pittman, Justin Mason. Players shooting 33% or better for Texas: Clint Chapman, Connor Atchley. I think that adequately sums things up. Oh, wait, take Atchley out of that 33% category.

10:33 pm – Great block by Connor Atchley after the basketball hit the front of the rim. Those are actually known as misses Connor, you should try and grab those. Pittman is a beast. Where has this been all season? I mean just because he struggles to remain coordinated during his stay on the court? Minor details. I never thought I would be so distraught to see Pittman pick up his fourth foul.

10:38 pm – Augustin and Abrams continue to miss shots. A&M is playing great defense against them, but I think at this point it doesn’t really matter if they are covered or open. They are at the shooters point of no return. They’re just going to try harder and harder to make it go in and it will become further and further from going in. We’re not so much chipping away at the lead the way you’re supposed to. Down 15 with 12 minutes left. Let’s follow this and see where we are at the 8 minute mark. I’m not getting my hopes up.

10:43 pm – Augustin hits his first three pointer of the night. He relaxed and didn’t have an Aggie on him for the first time tonight. He has not been able to penetrate and when he has, he’s found large Aggies in the lane waiting for him. That and he has been playing with too much pace all night long. He still has to get to the point where he’s cool and calm in any situation before he becomes a truly great point guard. But I would still take him with the ball over Alexis Wangmene trying to score in the post.

10:49 pm – This game is getting completely out of hand. Augustin got leveled in a completely legal screen that Wangmene didn’t call out. Then Wangmene had DeAndre Jordan come down on his head and Wangmene reacted with an elbow, and now he will probably get ejected and miss a game. We are tip toeing that fine line called complete meltdown. At least Augustin is getting 20 minutes of stoppage time to get his wits about himself.

10:53 pm – Great, Wangmene is gone. Though he won’t miss Saturday’s game against Baylor. It’s probably the right call, but a crappy situation for Wangmene. The karma gods agree with me since A&M missed the technical free throw.

10:55 pm – The last two possessions Connor Atchley has hit three pointers. But it doesn’t matter if we’re allowing Texas A&M’s guards to get all kinds of penetration. No excuse for our guards to not defend on the perimeter. Our interior defenders are overmatched as it is and we’re not helping them at all.

11:00 pm – Who would have thought that Kansas State and Baylor would be at #1 and #3 heading into game 6 in the conference season? Not I, not I. And Kansas State should easily win their next six games. Wow. 11-0 Kansas State in conference? Who saw that one coming? Not I, not I. Down 15 with 5 minutes left? Who sees us winning this game? Not I, not I? Can we get our shooting percentage back under 30% for the night? I think it’s a definite possibility.

11:08 pm – Well it is safe to say that this game will only get uglier before it gets any better. Texas is packing it in and the Aggies are getting lay-up after lay-up after lay-up. Everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong for the Longhorns. Which isn’t that uncommon for games at A&M. They have great fans. Fans that struggle with assimilating into the real world, but really great fans. And we get rattled in the hostile environments.

11:13 pm – Mason is done for the night, but at least he didn’t give up highlight real dunk #19 of the night. Augustin played terrible tonight. AJ Abrams played terrible tonight. And Damion James didn’t so much play terrible as much as he wasn’t in the gym after the first 10 minutes of the game. We won’t win when this happens. We kind of knew that going in. A&M caused a lot of it, but we came in and got overwhelmed by everything that was going on. Augustin needs to take over a game like this and he didn’t do that. They had a good strategy for slowing him down and he never adjusted. A disappointing game all the way around.

11:17 pm – As is always the case with basketball, down 18 with 1:40 left we’re not going to let this game end quickly. We’re going to draw this game out. I’m tempted to put this game on mute, because if I’ve learned anything tonight, announcers and studio people like to overreact. Because I learned Kansas’ season is over tonight. Kansas State is the new favorite to challenge for the NCAA tournament. Donald Sloan, after 18 disappointing games as point guard has fully replaced Acie Law. Joseph Jones, despite the fact that he has gotten in foul trouble for 92% of his games this season, is a franchise player that should have an offense run through him. And Texas has major issues and Rick Barnes better hit the panic button.

11:20 pm – Let’s be realistic. Kansas State has two phenomenal players and has solid players around them. Kansas is still ridiculously good, but they had to lose sometime. A&M is built to beat Texas, and low and behold, they beat Texas. Texas has no interior presence and lives and dies by DJ Augustin and AJ Abrams, and tonight they died.

11:21 pm – 80-63, final. I hate Texas A&M. But I hate Baylor too, so hopefully I can feel better Saturday. But for now, I’m sick to my stomach. Night.

Every Rebuilding Story Isn't a Fairy Tale

Much of the talk in the Big XII this season has been upon the Disney quality turnaround that is going on under Scott Drew down in Waco. He has managed to build Baylor up from the ashes and get that program into the top 25, for the first time since the Old Testament. He deserves every ounce of credit and recognition that he is receiving. Unfortunately, another, less publicized rebuilding story in the Big XII isn't going as well as planned.

Missouri head coach Mike Anderson was brought to Columbia after the 2006 season to rebuild the Tigers tainted program. While building a formidable program at UAB with his high full court pressure system, Missouri called on Anderson to not only get their program back to an NCAA caliber program, but to also clean up the mess created by Quin Snyder.

Under Snyder, Missouri had become a program that brought in questionable character, and had questionable discipline along with suspect NCAA compliance. Snyder did everything the wrong way, and it was quickly becoming unraveled around him. Anderson not only had to get the program back on a winning track, but he had to clean up a program that had quickly become a constant in the news for all the wrong reasons.

Anderson instituted a new zero tolerance policy in his first season, and had a successful year on and off the court. Off court issues were limited and the Tigers had a surprising 18-12 finish. Hoping to build off that success this year, the Tigers endured some ups and downs, but looked like they had turned a corner in a big 97-84 home win against the #13 Texas Longhorns. A few uninspired performances later it was obvious that Missouri hadn't turned the corner, but it was the off the court problems that was more disappointing for Missouri.

This past weekend, the team leader in scoring and assists, senior Stephon Hannah was hospitalized with a broken jaw after an altercation at a local night club. Hannah had been one of the bright spots this season averaging 28 minutes, 14.7 ppg, 5.3 apg, 3 rpg, and 1.9 spg. Losing him for the season will be a serious blow, but yesterday the other shoe dropped, as Anderson suspended all the players involved in the incident indefinitely. In doing so he has ended any hopes Missouri had of making the NIT this season. They will lose two starters and two reserves that make up 24.9 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 3.1 apg, and 1.2 spg. Not to mention losing 5 players out of their 9 man rotation. For Missouri, the season is over, and it is a waste.

However, Anderson should be applauded. The suspension isn't fair for the guys on the team that had something to play for. It's a shame. But he did what needed to be done. He sent a message that the old culture of Missouri will not fly. He said he will not stand for it, and he will win only if it means winning the right way. He made the hard decisions and in today's college landscape that is rarely seen. It is difficult for any coach to make monumental decisions that effect the result in the wins and loss column. He was brought to Missouri to win, and he has made a decision that will make that impossible.

But what he showed is integrity and a determination to accomplish his goals his way. Hopefully this season will not jeopardize his future with Missouri, because while Scott Drew will be hailed with national accolades throughout the month of March, Mike Anderson will be sitting at home, fighting to get Missouri back on the right track. But before he can get it back on the right track, he has to finish cleaning out the skeletons from the Quin Snyder era. He isn't there yet, but the fortitude he has shown in the past week leaves no doubt in my mind that he will get there. And one day, he will get recognized for his efforts. He's a coach of the year in my book. We need more like him in this game.

Game Points: Texas v. Texas A&M

DJ Augustin v. Dominique Kirk- The guard match up might decide the outcome to this game. DJ is obviously the best point guard in the Big 12 and Texas' offense is predicated on his effectiveness. DJ has come through almost every time this year, but has on occasion taken some poor shots that hamstrung the Horns. Kirk has had the impossible task of following Acie Law as Aggie PG. Kirk has been wildly inconstant and the Aggie offense has struggled. They have been waiting for a leader to step up and make the big plays Law did. Reed Arena will be rocking and the PG that performs the best under pressure will lead his team to victory.

A&M and the Free Throw Line- To say the Aggies struggle at the foul line is an understatement. They shoot the most FTs per game, but hit at the lowest percent in the Big 12, at 60%. Aggie free throws already cost them the Baylor game and they show no signs of improving from the charity stripe. This is going to be a close game that could easily come down to late free throw shooting. Texas will have the advantage here.

AJ Must Continue Hitting- Half way into Texas' game against Texas Tech, AJ Abrams had missed his last 9 three point attempts. However, he exploded from his mid season slump to score 15 in the Tech second half. AJ hit threes and was able to create his own shot several times. If Texas has any shot in stealing a victory in College Station, AJ will have to on his game and hitting from the outside. With their smaller line up, Texas may struggle to get points in the paint and have to rely on AJ to open things up in the middle.

Texas Quickness v. Aggie Strength- DJ Augustin, AJ Abrams, Justin Mason & Damion James against De'Andre Jordan, Joe Jones and Bryan Davis. Texas has strong guard play and A&M has a dominant interior. Jones is a constant for A&M, as you can expect 10 & 10 most nights. So far, it is safe to say that Jordan has not lived up to his hype. He has shown signs of his potential, but is now out of the starting lineup. If Jordan can assert himself, then Texas will have a hard time containing the Aggie front court. Similarly, Texas has the back court and speed advantage. Texas must penetrate with the ball and attack to basket against the slower Aggie defense. If they can get the foul prone Aggie big men into foul trouble, A&M will lose its one advantage.

Whichever team can dominate in these points of the game is going to come out of College Station with a huge victory. The Reed Rowdies will be out in full force, but this Texas team is used to dealing with hostile environments, having already played at Oklahoma State, UCLA and Michigan State. Texas' guards will have to out play the Aggie front court and hold the damage in the paint to a minimum. Connor Atchley and Big Dex maybe called on for some big time interior defense. Look for Texas to do just enough and hit be able to hit a few key free throws to finish off the Aggies.

Prediction: Texas 78, Texas A&M 75

Preseason Rankings: Always Accurate

At least for Texas, Spring should be here in about 3 days, last about 5 days, then on to summer. So obviously it's time for several outlets to be releasing their 2008 College Baseball Pre-season Rankings. Texas is ranked in every poll going as high as #6 in the NCBWA, and #8 in the Collegiate Baseball poll, and as low as #16 in the Baseball America poll. But what does Baseball America know?

Texas fell short of the World Series last year as their achilles heel of pitching was the same has it had been all season, and the bats couldn't come through in the clutch. This season, many of the bats are gone as Texas will have three slots to fill in the infield. All of which could be filled by transfers. Michael Torres (Fresno State), David Hernandez (Florida State), and Brandon Belt (San Jacento JC) all are front runners to be on the opening day lineup. But not all of the bats are gone as Texas returns their headlining juniors of 2007 NCAA Home Run Champ Kyle Russell (.335/28/71) and Jordan Danks (.332/4/38). However, with some of the other bats moved on, the lineup could more closely resemble the traditional Augie small ball lineups.

The pitching staff for the Longhorns underachieved all of last season, as Texas struggled with consistency from their starting rotation and depth in their bullpen. Texas will get to start mostly from scratch as Austin Wood (8-1/3.15) is the only reliable pitching arm returning from 2007. However, Texas has an infux of talent coming into the pitching staff in 2008. Starting with the return from injury of Kenn Kasparek, the 6-10 starter who pitched well in the postseason in 2006. Also coming back will be Randy Boening who missed all of 2007 as well. Texas also welcomes in transfers from Florida State, Oral Roberts, and San Jacento JC, as well as 6 freshman arms. With so many pitchers to choose from, hopefully Augie will be able to find enough arms to get Texas back as one of the premier pitching teams in the country.

Big XII Weekend Capsule: Week 3, Part 2

Oklahoma (13-5) (1-2) at #25 Baylor (16-2) (4-0)

- Oklahoma avoided going 0-3 to start the conference season with a two point win over Texas Tech on Wednesday. With Blake Griffin out injured, the Sooners turned to his older brother Tony who responded with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Longar-Longar also had a big game as the Sooners attacked Texas Tech in the paint. Oklahoma will need to do that again if they have any hope of pulling off the upset. Oklahoma's guards have let them down so far this season, and it showed against Tech, shooting 29% from three point range. Baylor continues their ride of success as they are planting the seed to become America's Cinderella story for the season. Their 5 OT win at #18 Texas A&M is a milestone win for the program. Curtis Jerrells established himself as the go to player on this team. Also, this team can't afford for Kevin Rogers to get into foul trouble as he is their only reliable interior player. Baylor's weakness is their interior play, but if they can manage to limit opponents inside, their deep and talented guard play will carry them through a lot of games.

Prediction: #25 Baylor 75, Oklahoma 71

Iowa State (12-7) (2-2) at Kansas State (13-4) (3-0)

- Coming off a game where they had no chance against Kansas, the Cyclones will try and rebound on the road at the other Big XII surprise, Kansas State. Iowa State will need to attack inside with Wesley Johnson and Craig Brackins and try to get Bill Walker and Michael Beasley into foul trouble. It would also help Iowa State if they could get some consistent guard play, but most of all they need Rashon Clark to step up and be a leader for this team. As for Kansas State, it all depends on the two-headed monster. If you stop Beasley and Walker, you will beat Kansas State, but that's where people are having trouble. Beasley and Walker are averaging a combined 47 points and 14 rebounds a game in conference play. But as was the case in the Colorado game, that's all that Kansas State had going for it. The rest of the Wildcats combined to shoot 32% against the Buffaloes. Beasley and Walker are a force, but if either player is off or gets in foul trouble, this becomes a decidedly weaker team.

Prediction: Kansas State 77, Iowa State 68

Texas Tech (11-7) (2-2) at #12 Texas (15-3) (2-1)

- Martin Zeno is coming off of a career high 33 points against Missouri and will look to continue attacking a Texas team that has looked like anything but the #12 team in the country. Texas Tech is a guard oriented team which should allow them to match up well with Texas. Zeno is the best of their four starting guards, but freshman point guard John Roberson has come on strong as of late and gives the Red Raiders another offensive weapon. Knight teams are always scrappy and well coached, and with Zeno, they have one potent scorer. It is well known that Texas goes as far as DJ Augustin takes him. This has been even more true as of late as Texas has struggled to develop any inside presence. Damion James needs to have a big game and be active on the boards, but most of all Texas needs to develop their bench. All five starters played over 35 minutes in the Oklahoma State game, and they didn't get much of any contribution from their three freshman power forwards on the bench. It also wouldn't hurt for AJ Abrams, shooting 22% from 3 point range in conference play (32 attempts in 3 games), to get back on track. But regardless, if DJ Augustin plays well, Texas will be in the game at the end.

Prediction: #12 Texas 76, Texas Tech 72

A Challenge Like No Other

Over the last two and a half seasons Bruce Pearl has rebuilt the Tennessee men's basketball program. With two tournament appearences in his two seasons, with one Sweet Sixteen, and another one a distinct possibility for the #3 ranked team in the country, Pearl has this program back and built to stay. While he has reenergized the program with his intense coaching style it has been his off the court style that has been even more impressive.

Upon his arrival to Knoxville in 2005, he discovered a program that was in disarray. There was little interest in the basketball program, and the only conversation anyone cared to have about basketball involved the national powerhouse women's program and their coach Pat Summit. While there are many coaches around the country that have managed to make their programs thrive at traditional football schools (Rick Barnes, Billy Donovan, Thad Motta, Tim Floyd) Bruce Pearl is probably the first that has ever had to deal with being the head coach at a women's basketball school. With coaching salaries soaring and most coaches striving to garner national recognition for themselves and their program, Pearl has had to check his ego at the door.

Playing on Pat Summit Court and making less than the women's basketball coach would be unheard of and unacceptable for many coaches. But Pearl has embraced the situation and in doing so has used it to benefit his program. From day one he used Pat Summit to promote the men's team, he used the success of the women's team to promote the men's team. He regularly attends the women's game to show a support in the program that has been returned by Summit. In doing so, he has managed to promote the men's program and draw of the large base of loyal women's supporters.

He also uses his courtside firery demeanor off the court. He gained national notoriety for both the men's and women's program for painting his chest and attending a Tennessee women's game in the student section. It was a move that won over students and got fans excited about Tennessee basketball, men's and women's. Last night he joined play-by-play announcer Bob Kessling on the air as the color commentator for the Tennessee women's game against Arkansas. You better believe that Summit was answering just as many questions from fans about Pearl and the men's team in the post-game radio show.

The key for Pearl in all of his actions is his sincerity. He truly cares about the women's program and goes above and beyond in supporting it. It is that sincerity that has won over Pat Summit and garnered her support. Pearl maybe a top coach and recruiter, but it is his ability to promote his program that sets him apart. He has won over Knoxville with his personality and has built a true homecourt advantage in an arena that used to be empty for men's games. He did a remarkable job of analyzing his surroundings, figuring out how to make the most out of it, and working within that environment to build and promote what could be well on its way to becoming an elite basketball program. In doing so, he has had to do something many coaches in the country could not imagine. Burying his ego and accepting his place as the #2 in the Tennessee basketball world.

Big XII Weekend Capsule: Week 3, Part 1

The big story is obviously the 5 OT thriller in College Station on Wednesday, as Baylor announced their presence as a contender in the Big XII and the loss signaled real trouble for the Aggies. Not to be lost in all the excitement is a convincing win by Kansas State, and another blowout victory for Kansas.

Nebraska (11-5) (0-3) at #2 Kansas (19-0) (4-0)

- Something has to give, right? Or not. Nebraska comes into this game winless in conference play and it isn't going to change heading into the Phogg. Aleks Maric had 21 and 9 in a two point home loss to Baylor, but until he can get any consistent production from his backcourt, Nebraska will stay in the cellar of the Big XII. Kansas has won their four conference games by an average of 20 points a game. Kansas is content attacking teams inside with Dorell Arthur and Darnell Jackson, but this team has weapons galor and the only thing that can stop them, is themselves.

Prediction: Kansas 86, Nebraska 63

#18 Texas A&M (15-4) (1-3) at Oklahoma State (10-8) (1-3)

- All kinds of problems for the Aggies, who drop their third straight in conference play and are reeling. Freshman standout DeAndre Jordan was moved to the bench for the Baylor game which has to be a disappointing sign for the Aggies, who needed him to be a productive player on the offensive end, which he just hasn't been yet. The one positive was the play of sophomore Byron Davis who scored 30 points and had 14 rebounds in the starting role against Baylor. The real problem with this team continues to be the inability to fill the void left by Acie Law. Donald Sloan and Dominique Kirk are capable players, but no one has stepped up to provide the mental toughness, leadership, and late game heroics that Law provided the Aggies. They had hoped Josh Carter would have stepped up to become their go to guy, but he has relied to much on his streaking shooting and hasn't become that all-around swingman that the Aggies needed him to become. While Oklahoma State has also lost three straight in conference, it isn't as much of a surprise as it was for Texas A&M. It is a rebuilding year as the Cowboys rely solely on freshman James Anderson to provide their offensive fire power. Byron Eaton has continue to improve as a tough, physical point guard, but the Cowboys are in dire need from a more consistent offensive production from Terrell Harris and Marcus Dove. Anderson seems to be the only player that can create his own shot and is a dangerous threat each time down the floor. The Cowboys will stay in games because of their defense, but they will need more help for Anderson if they hope to start picking up in the win column.

Prediction: #18 Texas A&M 62, Oklahoma State 61

Missouri (11-8) (1-3) at Colorado (9-9) (1-3)

- Missouri has not been able to build of their upset of the Longhorns and are 0-4 on the road and have lost 3 straight in conference. They have played terribly on the defensive end, giving up 92 points against Texas Tech this week. They also have relied too much on their outside shot. Against Colorado they will need to attack the undersized Buffaloes with DeMarre Carroll, who got into foul trouble early against Texas Tech. Carroll provides the Tigers with some inside balance to their heavy guard lineup. As is the case with Colorado, their biggest test each game is managing to rebound and defend the paint with only two players over 6'6" that see playing time. Colorado will have to grind it out and slow the pace down against the Tigers, who like to pressure and run. If Colorado turns the ball over, this game could get out of hand. The Buffaloes also need to find some scoring outside of Richard Roby. Roby is the only Colorado player who is scoring night in and night out.

Prediction: Missouri 65, Colorado 59

Last week: 5-1
Season record: 9-3

A Win, is a Win, is a Win

It will be interesting to see if Texas can recapture that early season play of good defense, with an explosive transition game, and balanced offensive scoring and hot shooting. If they can't, then you should get used to this kind of result and this kind of game. The Longhorns won on the road at hostile Gallagher-Iba Arena Monday night by two over an Oklahoma State team experiencing a down year.

Texas played well in the first half with DJ Augustin, Damion James, and Connor Atchley sharing the scoring load as Justin Mason again played well on the defensive end. Oklahoma State, to their credit, made adjustments and erased the 10 point Longhorn lead early in the second half. From there, it became a hard fought slugfest that was typical conference Big XII basketball. It wasn't so much pretty as it was physical.

In a close game, Texas went into what might very well be their late game offense for much of the Big XII season. They set up plays for DJ Augustin, whether he was at the point, or curling off of screens while Mason ran the point, Texas got the ball to DJ and gave him space. From there it was up to DJ to run the shot clock, create his shot, or get fouled. This is why DJ should be a front runner for Player of the Year, because no player does more for his team. There were a few times where Augustin used poor judgement, but considering the ball was in his hands every possession the final 7 minutes of the game, he was unbelievable.

Texas made it clear that they will be turning things over to DJ Augustin late in games, and we will attempt to sit on leads, eek out close games, and that we don't trust anyone else with the basketball. This may work against a majority of the conference, but it won't work against Kansas, and it won't work in the NCAA Tournament. Texas killed their momentum by slowing down the game and made their offense predictable and stagnant.

Texas needs to continue to search for the offense that was winning games early in the year. An offense with Damion James and Connor Atchley getting involved and AJ Abrams attacking inside the three point arc and outside. There's nothing wrong with having the ball in DJ's hands at the end of games, but he needs to be doing it to get the team involved.

It's nice to know that we have a weapon in DJ Augustin that we can give the ball to and he can deliver the win, but with 7 minutes left in the Oklahoma State game, we made the decision that we were going to try and win 63-61, as opposed to trying to win 85-70. With a player like DJ Augustin, that is a strategy that will win you a majority of your games. But in the NCAA Tournament, winning a majority of games isn't a luxury that you have. It's a game like the USC loss last year, where down the stretch, they moved the basketball, attacked from all sides and kept scoring, while feeding the ball to Kevin Durant and letting him score didn't work. Because if you let inferior basketball teams hang around for too long, it will come back to haunt you.

R.I.P. Rooster

Sometimes my mom forgets that I'm two hours behind her. Today was one of those days. My phone started playing the Eyes of Texas at 5:15 am. Her message? Rooster Andrews had died and she just thought I'd like to know. She knows of my fondness of Rooster. I talked him maybe 8 times in my life, all while a student. Through all the perks of being involved with the athletic department (and having DeLoss's email address), from free tickets to a national championship ring, one of the greatest perks I got was meeting Rooster Andrews. He was one of the few adults I've met that I was taller than. And from the minute I first met him it seemed like I'd known him all my life. He always approached me first. Always wanted to know how I was doing. Always remembered my name - except once. One time, at a memorial service for professor Don Phelps, who was head of the athletics council, Rooster approached me like always, but called me Heather. I didn't bother correct him - he knew and met way too many people for me to bother him with forgetting my name once. So we chatted for 10 minutes or so and moved on. On my way back to work, my phone rang from a random number. I answered and on the other end was Rooster. He called to apologize for calling me by the wrong name. Here we were, this, at the time, 80 year old man, who over the course of decades of being a face for UT athletics, met people at the university, in his stores, at meetings, at games and at functions, got my name wrong and felt so bad about it that he tracked down my cell phone number from someone in the athletics office so he could call and apologize. I was extremely impressed and from that point on had an extreme fondness for Rooster. He was a great man, and showed me that personally from the little time I was blessed with his company. He was a great face for UT athletics and the story of him drop kicking extra points is one I will tell my kids, wishing I had seen it. Hook 'em Rooster.

Searching for the Positives

It's easy to see the negatives in Texas' 69-67 home win over lowly Colorado on Saturday night. The first half defense and intensity was again atrocious. The offense was out of sync and couldn't hit anything. Gary Johnson played even worse, and less than in the Missouri game. The bench produced 4 points on 10 shots and missed both free throws they attempted. And up 10 with 4 and a half minutes to play, Texas packed it in, not scoring again as Colorado ended the game on an 8-0 run coming within two of sending it to overtime. Given all of the negatives, there are a few positives that stick out, that may be signs of Texas turning the corner on these mid-season doldrums that have seen us go 3-3 over our last 6 games.

Most importantly, regardless of how it looked, a win, is a win, is a win. 0-2 against the likes of Missouri and Colorado would have been a disastrous start to conference play. The win puts us in 5th in the Big XII looking up at three teams (Iowa State, Kansas State, Baylor) that are catchable in the conference race. (On that note, I will only refer to our chances at 2nd in the Big XII, because Kansas is scary good. I have conceded the title to them. We are playing for second. I'm fine with that. They'll still lose in the 2nd or 3rd round of the tournament anyway.)

The second half of the Colorado (or the first 15:30 of the second half) is something that we've been waiting to see. Texas outscored the Buffaloes 41-22 over that stretch including a 23-2 run early in the second half. Texas played with fire and intensity, and most importantly they played defense. Texas was aggressive on the defensive end and forced turnovers and ran. It is the type of defense they played early in the season to jump out to their 13-0 start.

What triggered this defensive resurgence? The play of Justin Mason, who was left for dead on the Texas bench over the last few games. Mason's play combined with the lack there of from Gary Johnson, allowed him to log 36 minutes, and while he was 1-5 shooting, he recorded 6 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 steals, and 2 assists and played great defense on Richard Roby. His play has earned him the starting job against Oklahoma State tonight, and if he can make his presence felt defensively, he gives this Texas team a defensive identity that has been sorely lacking over the past few games.

The struggling play of Gary Johnson also seemed to allow Connor Atchley to rediscover his place in the offense. He once again provided the Longhorns with an efficient scoring threat as he logged 15 points on 6 of 7 shooting. He also contributed 5 rebounds and a block. Gary Johnson is a great player and will be great to have once he figures everything out, but his presence seemed to throw off the cohesiveness of the offense and it made Connor Atchley disappear from the offensive end. He is a reliable scoring threat that can get his points without a lot of touches, which is a nice thing to have with guards that can sometimes throw up some shots.

While the overall result and game as a whole is nothing to hang your hat on. The play of Justin Mason and Connor Atchley, along with the second half intensity is just the kind of performance that Texas has been missing over the last few games. They head into Stillwater tonight on short rest to take on a weaker than usual Oklahoma State game. But Iba-Gallagher Arena is still one of the toughest places to play in the country, and Oklahoma State will make this game close. With James Anderson at less than 100%, the Cowboys will once again rely on Terrel Harris and Marcus Dove to lead the way. Texas will have to defend on the perimeter as Byron Eaton and Obi Muonelo both provide back court scoring off the bench. When Texas' defense has been lacking this season, it has been on the perimeter. Oklahoma State can shoot the three, and likes to drive. They need to cut off penetration and cover the three point shot. But if Texas comes out and plays with some intensity and outworks OSU on the defensive end, then they should be able to win this game without too much trouble.

Just Like Mike?

We waited 15 games to see. We were told that he was going to be the answer to our front court problems. Finally after 15 games, Gary Johnson was cleared to play and his 5 points and 5 rebounds in 21 minutes against TCU was a promising start. Something to build off of. And build he did as he had 15 points and 6 rebounds in 26 minutes against St. Mary's, shooting 7 for 10 from the field. We found our power forward. We found our inside presence. We found our missing piece to a complete basketball team.

Since that game. Since that feeling. The Gary Johnson Project has fallen apart at the seams. Conference play began and Gary looked lost. 19 minutes at Missouri. 0 points, 1 rebound, absolutely no defense and was completely lost on the floor. 10 minutes vs. Colorado. 2 points, 1 rebound, and still nothing on the defensive end. The last two games, Gary has looked lost defensively on assignments and on help and rotation. He has been such a liability that he has seen his minutes disappear. It also hasn't helped that he is 1 of 8 shooting the last two games, and 2 of 11 from the free throw line in his first four games.

Needless to say, Gary Johnson is overwhelmed. Conference play is a different beast, and you can't just walk in off the street and tame it. You need non-conference play. You need those games against UC Davis, Arkansas-Monticello, and Texas Southern. It is like a learners permit for college basketball. It lets you get your feet wet before the games get tough, before the games really matter. Gary missed all of that, and it shows.

What will this mean for Gary? The last time we had an incoming freshman miss the beginning of a season was in 2005, with a McDonald's All-American named Mike Williams. Williams was a highly touted five-star recruit ranked 20th by rivals.com. Johnson was a 4-star recruit ranked 61st by rivals. Mike just missed the first five games of that 2005 season with questions regarding his AAU program in high school, but with a deep front court of PJ Tucker, Buckman, Aldridge, and Jason Klotz, Mike had a tough time finding minutes to make up the learning curve, and he was never the same player. After two underachieving seasons, Williams started to find himself in the 2006 NCAA Tournament, but transferred to Cincinnati after the season. Since then he sat out the 07 season, and tore his ACL to miss all of this season.

Will the same fate befall Gary Johnson? It's too early to say. He is going to certainly get his opportunities to play since our front court doesn't boast any of those four players that it did in 2005. But I think we will see his minutes reduced into the 10 to 20 range as Barnes tries to bring him along slowly. I think best case scenario, Johnson might turn the corner towards the end of conference play and start to get some extended minutes into the conference tournament, but that will definitely be a difficult road to follow. Missing the first 15 games as a freshman is like sitting out all of the NFL Preseason and trying to be the starting quarterback week one. It just doesn't happen. Hopefully, we will scale back what is asked of Johnson and bring him along slowly so we don't blow his confidence, and blow his career as a Longhorn.

Big XII Weekend Capsule: Week 2, Part 2

Baylor (14-2) (2-0) at Nebraska (11-4) (0-2)
- In a game where confidence and momentum play such a role in a team's season, this is exactly the start Baylor was hoping for, and exactly what Nebraska did not need from the start of conference play. Baylor has played solid and taken advantage of two winnable road games. Their experience has led the way has Henry Dugat has averaged 19 through the first two games and Aaron Bruce and Kevin Rogers have played well. Baylor needs to continue to rely on their experience until their talented youth can start to exert themselves in conference play. Nebraska's loss to Kansas was expected, but the loss at Colorado kills their early season hopes of being relevant in the Big XII. Aleks Maric needs to do even more than his 16.5 conference ppg for this Nebraska team if they hope to do anything. They will also need more consistent play from their entire roster and someone to step up and be the second and third scoring option on this team.

Prediction: Baylor 77, Nebraska 69

#3 Kansas (17-0) (2-0) at Missouri (11-6) (1-1)
- Missouri of course followed their upset win over #13 Texas by losing at Iowa State this week. Missouri is learning a new system and trying to endure a change in culture for a program warped with scandal. Winning will make it an easier process, but to do that, you need to win the games you can. DeMarre Carroll and Stefhon Hannah are going to produce every game, but the team needs to play consistently to succeed in the conference. They've proven they can beat a good team in Texas, but they need to follow those up by beating teams like Iowa State. And instead of heading into this game sitting pretty at 2-0, they will face an uphill battle after Kansas beats them. This Kansas team has bigger fish to fry as they will be a favorite to win the National Title. They can score inside with Arthur and Jackson, have a premier swing man in Brandon Rush, a great two guard in Mario Chalmers, two great point guards in Russell Robinson and Sherron Collins, and even solid role players in seniors Sasha Khan and Roderick Stewart. This team is dangerous. The only potential road block is the fact that this team underachieves on the biggest stage, but they don't have to worry about that until after Conference play.

Prediction: #3 Kansas 91, Missouri 76

Colorado (9-7) (1-1) at #19 Texas (13-3) (0-1)
- Colorado got a big win against Nebraska this week, but will have a tough time building on it on the road in Austin. What they do have going for them is a disciplined system from Coach Bdzelik, that when followed will cause the Longhorns problems on the offensive and defensive ends. While they only play two players over 6'6", Colorado boasts a stable of big guards (3 starters at 6'5" or 6'6") that will cause match up problems for the Longhorns' small back court. It also helps that Texas has played uninspired basketball over the past month, culminating in an uninspired and atrocious defensive display in Columbia last weekend. With a week to think about the 97 points given up, the Longhorns should come out hungry to play. But the uninspired play is the least of their worries. DJ Augustin has played sloppy over the past several games and he needs to refine his decision making on the court. More importantly, the introduction of Gary Johnson has not gone as smoothly as hoped. It has affected Johnson's play (19 min, 0-4 vs. Missouri) as well as Connor Atchley's play. Atchley has seemingly regressed from the early season form he showed, and much of it can be attributed to the Longhorns once again trying to figure out every one's offensive roles. Equally worrisome has been the inability to find any consistency from the bench. Wangmene has provided solid minutes with his hustle and defense, but the inability of Dexter Pittman, Clint Chapman, and JD Lewis to contribute in any significant way has been disappointing. But we all know the biggest disappointment. It has been the struggles of sophomore guard Justin Mason who's minutes keep dwindling as he loses more confidence, his shot worsens, and his defense begins to slip. Mason needs to find some sliver of hope soon, or he will be lost for the season, and probably out of the rotation. Texas needs to take advantage of these winnable early conference games and get back on track as a team. The first step will be getting back to outworking their opponents, and the rest will come.

Prediction: #19 Texas 71, Colorado 61

Big XII Weekend Capsule: Week 2, Part 1

Either the Big XII is a very strong conference this season, or an extremely mediocre one. Only Kansas, Baylor, and Kansas State are without a loss as both Texas and Texas A&M were upset in the first week of games. Kansas State won a pivotal match up with Oklahoma and Kansas looked all but unstoppable. Coach Knight got his 900th win as Texas Tech protected their home floor and upset #10 Texas A&M. The biggest news of the week definitely comes from Norman, where Oklahoma will be without their leading scorer and rebounder for at least 4 weeks, as freshman Blake Griffin went down with a knee injury. Saturday boasts another six games with some key early match ups...

Oklahoma State (10-6) (1-1) at Iowa State (11-6) (1-1)
- Road wins have been hard to come by so far this season, and this one shouldn't be any different. Oklahoma State is the better team, but they are young and inconsistent. James Anderson injured his ankle in the loss at Baylor earlier this week, and while he isn't expected to miss any time will be less than 100%. Oklahoma State will have a difficult time dealing with the size of the Cyclones as the guard heavy Cowboys will rely heavily on Marcus Dove. Iowa State will be riding the momentum from their win over Missouri. Wesley Johnson was dominant in the post in that game and should be again. Also look for the senior Rahshon Clark to continue to cause match up problems as a 6'6" combo guard. In a close game like this, you have to go with the home team, especially when you don't feel comfortable with Sean Sutton on the road.

Prediction: Iowa State 69, Oklahoma State 67


Texas Tech (10-6) (1-1) at Oklahoma (12-5) (0-2)
- Oklahoma started the conference slate off on a rough note, with a tough home loss to Kansas State by two. Things didn't get any better as Kansas smoked them by 30, and they lost freshman Blake Griffin for 4 weeks. The guards of Oklahoma are going to have to carry the Sooners if they have any hopes of steadying the ship while Griffin is out. Texas Tech got a huge win last night over #10 Texas A&M and Martin Zeno was great. While Tech is one of those teams that should only be a challenge in Lubbock, Knight will pounce on a Sooner team that has to overcome the mental hurdle of the Kansas loss and losing their best player.

Prediction: Texas Tech 74, Oklahoma 69


#10 Texas A&M (15-2) (1-1) at Kansas State (11-4) (1-0)
- Texas A&M typical pressure defense was nowhere to be found in Lubbock as the Red Raiders got whatever they wanted for much of the game. Texas A&M is also going to need better play out of Joseph Jones and DeAndre Jordan if they want to be a force in the Big XII. Both players got into foul trouble in Lubbock, and the guard play and bench is not as good as last season. Kansas State is a pretty easy scouting report. Contain Michael Beasley and stop Bill Walker and you've won the game. Oklahoma didn't do that as Beasley scored 32 points and pulled down 11 rebounds and Walker scored 22 as the only two Wildcats players in double figures. If A&M's defense can return to form and get better play from their interior, the Aggies should prevail. But it will be short prep time for what should be a hostile arena in Manhattan.

Prediction: Kansas State 81, #10 Texas A&M 77


Season Record: 4-2

Baylor at Nebraska, #3 Kansas at Missouri, and Colorado at #19 Texas tomorrow...

Getting Back to the Winning Formula

Unable to defeat Oklahoma, win a Big XII title, or make a BCS bowl, Texas demanded that coach Mack Brown make some changes with his staff. Someone had to answer for the underachieving offense and the defense that gave up over 21 points a game and 153 yards a game on the ground. Ultimately Brown sacrificed Carl Reese who resurrected a terrible defense during his six seasons at Texas. But in 2003, that defense had slipped and Texas had underperformed and Reese was the sacrifical lamb.

This lead to a new era for Mack Brown. Some would call it the Vince Young era. And while VY is the biggest reason for Texas' new found ability to win the Big XII and make BCS bowl games, the defense also was a large part of the equation. The defense's resurgence was in large part due to the hirings of Greg Robinson and Gene Chizik. In Robinson's only season on the Forty Acres his defense gave up under 18 points a game and managed to improve the run defense at over 40 yards a game. The improvement continued under Chizik whose defense never gave up over 305 yards a game and averaged under 18.5 points per game given up.

Mack Brown had employed a new strategy bringing in top coordinators who brought with them top defensive strategies. It kept Texas' defense always near the top of the country and always challenging opposing offenses. It also became a position that was a stepping stone for head coaching jobs as Robinson headed to Syracuse and Chizik parlayed his success into the Iowa State job. This allowed Mack Brown of continuing to attract the top defensive minds to the University of Texas.

Unfortunately, instead of replacing Chizik with a top coordinator in 2007, Brown settled on his co-defensive coordinator in 2005 and 2006 Duane Akina and promoting Larry Mac Duff from within. While Akina was an important part of the 05 & 06 defenses, everyone knew that is was Chizik's defense. The mistake proved to be costly as the 2007 defense was one of the worst that Mack Brown has ever had. 25 points surrendered a game and over 370 yards of offense given up a game, and a disappointing 10-3 season for the Longhorns that never looked prepared.

The results were obvious and Larry Mac Duff took the fall. Akina was demoted back to his old spot as co-defensive coordinator and in charge of the secondary, and Mack Brown once again went cherry picking at his favorite orchard, Auburn University. Will Muschamp became Texas' new defensive coordinator and will try and return Texas' defense to the top of the heap. Muschamp is one of the top up and coming coordinators in the country and will be a hot commodity every season he is Texas' defensive coordinator.

Let's hope Mack Brown learns the lesson here. That hiring top assistants from outside the program is the way to keep your team near the top. While Akina could end up being a good defensive coordinator somewhere, why let him get his feel for the job at Texas when you could hire someone that is already proven as one of the best from another school. Yes, it means Texas will continue to lose defensive coordinators to head coaching jobs, but is that necessarily a bad thing? It gets fresh blood in consistently that is trying to prove itself and prepare to become a head coach. It also gives the defense a different look to Big XII offenses every few seasons, which is always a good thing.

It would be nice if that was the case with the offense, but that's another story for another day. Either way, it appears Mack Brown has learned the error of his ways, and is going back to his winning formula. If the University of Texas is a premier school, and a premier place to coach, then why wouldn't you use that to your advantage by recruiting top coaches to go along with top players.

Applewhite Accepts RB Job

The Austin-American Statesman is reporting that Major Applewhite will become the next running backs coach of the Texas Longhorns, replacing Ken Rucker, who took a position in the Athletic Department a few weeks ago.

The move would be an interesting one of Applewhite, who is currently the Offensive Coordinator for Nick Saban at Alabama. For Applewhite to leave a top OC job like Alabama to become the RB coach at Texas, there has to be more to the agreement. Applewhite's heart and roots are likely in Austin, but that's not enough for one of the fastest rising young coaches in college football to take a step down in his career. I imagine that with his familiarity with Mack Brown, Greg Davis, and Texas' offense, that Major will be more involved than your typical RB coach. Also, it wouldn't be all that surprising that this is a position that could lead to Offensive Coordinator within a few years, and ultimately head coach.

Since he left Texas as a graduate assistant four years ago, Major has gone from QB Coach at Syracuse, to Offensive Coordinator at Rice, to Offensive Coordinator at Alabama. The path has been extremely fast and Applewhite is largely considered one of the top up and coming coaches in College Football.

Could this move be a sign that Greg Davis' career is winding down? I can't imagine any other reason that Applewhite would want to leave his post at Alabama for what is ultimately a demotion at Texas. If Applewhite were to become Offensive Coordinator he would be the likely candidate to succeed Mack Brown, whenever the 56 year old head coach decides to call it quits, which will almost assuredly be at Texas.

Either way, Applewhite's return to the Forty Acres will be celebrated across Longhorn Nation, as the fan favorite quarterback is still one of the most fondly remembered Longhorns to ever suit up in the Burnt Orange.

Arian Foster Is Actually Staying in School?

Junior running back Arian Foster, declared today that he would return to the University of Tennessee for his senior season. What? Really? Didn't he know that all the cool running backs are declaring for the NFL draft?

Foster obviously was the first running back in the long list of underclassmen to look at all the names already in the NFL draft, then look at who would be the top eligible backs for 2009, and make the brilliant decision to return to school.

While looking at the senior running backs available for the 2008 NFL draft, it isn't the strongest list in the world. With Mike Hart (Michigan), Chauncey Washington (USC), Tashard Choice (Georgia Tech), Yvenson Bernard (Oregon St.), Justin Forsett (Cal), Matt Forte (Tulane), and Tony Temple (Missouri) headlining the '08 running back class, I can't imagine too many teams licking their chops for a shot at any of them. Which would explain why the following running backs declared for the NFL draft:

Darren McFadden (Arkansas)
Felix Jones (Arkansas)
Jonathan Stewart (Oregon)
Rashad Mendenhall (Illinois)
Steve Slaton (West Virginia)
Jaamal Charles (Texas)
James Davis (Clemson)
Kevin Smith (UCF)
Ray Rice (Rutgers)

All of a sudden, the 2008 running back draft class is loaded. Which doesn't really make any sense why some of the guys would leave their name in the draft. With only 3 or 4 of those guys at the most being first round picks, why wouldn't you come back to school for your senior year? Guys like Charles, Davis, Smith, and Rice are going to have their work cut out at the combine in order to turn themselves from 4th rounders to 2nd rounders. I just don't see it happening. One or two might surprise some people, but every junior running back on that list has a phenominal body of work from college and probably has the talent to make it at the next level.

Why would you want to leave now for 2nd to 5th round money, if you could come back to school and compete against what will be a heavily depleted running back class in 2009. Headlining the running back class in 2009 outside of Foster, will be Brandon Ore (Virginia Tech), Marlon Lucky (Nebraska), Ian Johnson (Boise State), Javon Ringer (Michigan State), and Brandon McAnderson (Kansas). Also, Chris Wells (Ohio State), PJ Hill (Wisconsin), CJ Spiller (Clemson), Javaris James (Miami), and Keiland Williams (LSU) will be draft eligible juniors. Wells, Hill, and Spiller have a chance to be top picks, and possibly Ore, but I think any of those juniors have a chance to be one of the most coveted backs if they came back for their senior season.

I know all of these guys are going to college to prepare for the NFL and want to start making money as soon as possible, but it seems like the decision to not wait another year and cash in is like hiring Master P to be your agent. Several of the junior running backs are going to slide in the draft because of the depth at the position and several will find themselves wondering on draft day why they declared for the NFL draft to become at 5th round draft pick.

If I Was Rick Barnes, I Would Yell at These People: Volume 1

I am going to put on my 'Rick Barnes Hat' for a minute while I express my (along with his, I am sure) frustration with the Longhorn's last few games. If the Texas basketball team continues to under perform, this may become a weekly event. But let's hope it doesn't come to that.

D.J. Augustin: Ok, D.J. I know you are one of the best point guards in the nation, but the problem is that you seem to know it too. Playing with confidence is one thing, but this is not high school anymore. You are still better than 99.9% pf the people that are guarding you, but you still need to take good shots. Running in the lane and flinging shots up is not an offensive strategy. 6-20, 6-17, 5-11, 4-10, 11-22 and 6-16 are your shooting number for the past six games. This is not good. Also, it's been 6 weeks since you have had 10 or more assists in a game. This tells me 2 things. You're shooting too much and not taking good shots. Our offense is predicated on you. Period. If you sick, we suck. So stop sucking.

A.J. Abrams: I don't have a specific beef with you. You do what you need to on offense. You are an outside shooter and you do that well. And while you are not the only one playing perimeter defense, you are part of our horrendous defensive efforts in the past few weeks. You're small. I get that. But there is no reason Missouri should shoot almost 70% from the field (50% from three) against us. The Tigers, and our other opponents had open shots all day. Inexcusable.

Damion James: Keep doing what you're doing, son. You have been constant and amazing all year. You play hard the entire time you're in the game. You are shooting well, flying to rebounds and defending the basket with force. If the rest of the team had your effort every game, we would still be undefeated. Kudos.

Connor Atchley: Where the hell did you go? Seriously. You had me believing you had turned the corner and were about to have a break out year. Then this. What the hell. You didn't take a shot against Missouri until the second half. We need you to be an offensive threat to take the pressure off DJ, AJ and Damion. You had been good on defense too, but now you constantly get into foul trouble. Please do not continue to disappear during important games. We need you in Big 12 play. So you're going to have to step it up, or we are going no where this year.

Gary Johnson: I know you're young and I know you have been out this year. But that is ZERO excuse for just plain not trying on defense. Missouri hit three after three in your face because you flat out refused to play a lick of defense. Standing around, not scoring, not crashing the boards and not getting out on shooters is going to but your super talented ass on the bench real quick. I can put up with mistakes, but I refuse to sit by and let such a talented kid not try. Get your ass in gear because I have no issue having you sit the bench the rest of the year. We made it half way through the year, we can make it the rest.

Justin Mason: You have, without a doubt, had the worst one month period I have ever seen from a Division 1A, men's basketball player. What exactly are you contibuting to this team? You have no confidence in your shot. You can't dribble or drive and your defense is lacking. You are a liability on offense and defense. I can't put you in to rest DJ cause you can't run the point and if I take AJ out, we lose a scoring threat. If you can't get your head together, you may not see the floor in the next few games, if i can help it. Stop embarrassing your me and your family.

Applewhite to Interview in Austin

In an effort to piss off the entire state of Alabama, the Crimson Tide has confirmed that Major Applewhite will be interviewing in Austin for the Longhorn's open runningback coach position. Applewhite has had a meteoric rise through the coaching ranks, going from Texas to Syracuse, to Rice to the offensive coordinator at Alabama, under Nick Saban.

Applewhite in Austin

Major will interview on the 15th. It seems likely that if Major is going to take a step down from OC, he has to be expecting that he will eventually take over as Texas offensive coordinator after the eventual departure of Greg Davis.

Life After Baylor

What does one do when they are fired as head football coach of the Baylor Bears? Do you take some time off? Do you look for another, lower profile head coaching job? Do you look to become an assistant coach somewhere and start working your way back to the top?

For recently axed head coach Guy Morriss the answer is apparently b.) Look for another, lower profile head coaching job. How low profile you ask? How about Boyle County High School in....well Boyle County, Kentucky.

Reports from the Lousiville Courier-Journal were confirmed by none other than Morriss' wife Jackie. She confirmed that he was interviewed for the job and also believes that, "He would do a great job there.”

All of Boyle County is excited about the possibility of the former UK coach that helped rebuild Kentucky after the scandal filled era of Hal Mumme....you know before he made the horrible decision of accepting the head coaching job at Baylor University. But now he has a chance to encounter a new challenge. But it won't be easy, he'd have to overcome cross county rival Danville and their legendary head coach Sam Harp.

No word on whether Coach Morriss would be expected to teach any classes. Perhaps a course in Home Economics or possibly a Religion course?


Thanks to Meaningful Collateral via Deadspin