Longhorns Open with Austin Peay in Little Rock
by awiggo on Mar 21, 2008 11:45 AM CDT
in Texas Longhorns Basketball
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Print#15 Austin Peay (24-10, 16-4) vs. #2 Texas Longhorns (28-6, 13-3)
Friday, March 21, 2008 • 2:00 p.m. CT
Alltel Center (16,060) • Little Rock, AR
Television: CBS (regionally)
Radio: 98.1 FM / 1300 AM (Austin)
Keys to the Game:
1) Control the glass on both ends. All five Austin Peay Governors stand 6-5 or less. There is no reason why Texas should not totally dominate on the boards. Connor Atchley and Damion James should both have double digits in rebounds by game’s end.
2) Get AJ going early. In our BON roundtable before the Big XII tourney, we all chimed in on who we thought was the most important Longhorn besides DJ Augustin. I took Connor Atchley but after watching the Horns struggle and then roll based on AJ Abrams’ ability to knock down the three-ball, I’m close to changing my mind. Austin Peay is a very good three-point shooting team, but due to their lack of size, also struggle to defend the three on the other end. If the Governors due do get hot, it will be important to answer their makes with some AJ or Connor threes.
3) Keep the crowd quiet by protecting the ball. The Longhorns earned a ‘protected seed’ based on their quality regular season but that protection will not be obvious when Texas takes the floor later today. Not only are the ‘Horns playing in Little Rock but Rick Barnes stirred the pot with his joke earlier this week about how Arkansas fans better be nice to his club. If Texas starts slowly, is sloppy with the basketball, or Austin Peay is able to knock down a couple of early threes, the crowd could quickly become a factor. It won’t be just the Hog fans that will be cheering for the upset but every other fan in the stands without a Longhorn connection. Look no further than last night in Washington DC, where Belmont had plenty of fan support against #2 Duke. Texas needs to start quickly, end this early, and get out of the Alltel Center as fast as possible.
For what it’s worth, Pomeroy’s numbers predict an 82-60 Longhorn victory and Vegas has Texas as 15.5 point favorites.
Statesman.com on Austin Peay’s Drake Reed
If you're not hyped yet, check this out, via CatLab. Many BON thanks.
--AW--
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It'll be close
I really like this Texas team but they rarely blow anyone out. They just don't 'put teams away' like the other dominant teams in this tournament. I could see the governors holding a lead for a few minutes throughout the game, I'll probably be freaking out, but in the end we'll close it out with a win. Please no more heart attack games!
I predict a margin of victory around 4-6 points (Texas winning of course)
Too bad Johnson is not playing
This is the type of team GJ could exploit and dominate. He and James would've been two-headed monsters today.
by goingforthecorner on Mar 21, 2008 12:18 PM CDT reply actions
I thought Johnson was a maybe for this weekend
Did I miss something or is this rumored to be more than a strain?
AW: If the Govs do what they do
in the early morning dew, they'll get their due.
Smart ass editors can hit three, too. Woot.
15 seeds are trouble!
Belmont damn near won last night. Now American has tied Tennessee with about 11 minutes to play. Lofton has only scored four. I can't imagine us losing today, but I don't want it to be close either.
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