the real turning point of the game in my opinion was 5 minutes or so through the second half when we had back to back alley-oops. I think this got the players believing in themselves again, and the crowd back involved with the game. Hopefully this momentum will carry because when this team is on they are capable of making a run deep into the tourney.

but at the same time, I was saying the same thing in the Oklahoma St. game, which of course was followed by another stinker on the road. Are we simply a horrible team away from the Erwin Center, or will this team actually build off the positives from tonight?

First, let me echo my sincere congratulations for Dexter, Damion, and Justin. Two four years starters and a man who has battled harder than any other Longhorn, maybe ever, to transform his body into game shape. These three really did deserve to go out winners. This season is far from what they and we had hoped, but tonight was special.

Player Thoughts:
Damion—he won’t be first team All-America but he probably should be. He’s far from a natural basketball player and to see what he does most every game on both ends of the floor is amazing. His smile after the game was a mile wide.

Pittman—that was the aggressiveness I wished we’d see in College Station.

Bradley—back to back off games. He looks tired. I hope he gets some rest between the Big 12 and the NCAA tourney. We’re gonna need him.

Mason—genuinely happy for the kid. I don’t know where he left his jumper, but he still gives us something off the bounce and through solid position defense. I’d be willing to bet that Barnes has used Justin’s effort as an example of what he wants to see from Jordan and J’Covan all year long.

Hamilton—it may have taken 25 games, but he’s finally playing solid team basketball. Doubt his handles, his vision, and his ability to be more than a shooter no more. He’s looked like a budding superstar over the last two weeks. At 6-7, he is a tremendous match-up problem at the college level, and his improvement still gives me hope for a deeper tourney run than any of us are expecting.

J’Covan—gamer. The kid got his bell rung on Saturday. It looked like he injured an ankle badly in the second half, and his lateral abilities were limited enough before the injury. After it, I wasn’t sure he was going to stay standing against TMG. But he did. He really, really played well in the second half, especially off ball screens and in transition. Like Hamilton, this team is clearly better with him on the court and the ball in his hands.

Johnson—another gamer. He is probably 6-5, maybe 6-6, and he never stops battling. I thought he was really good on defense tonight.

Lucas—no comment.

Wangmene—gave us a solid couple of defensive possessions. Passing him the ball is still kind of like throwing a tennis ball at a wall. It usally bounces back at nearly the same rate that you throw it. One of these games, J’Covan will realize that Alexis can barely catch bounce passes and has no chance to handle no look bullet passes. We still need at least 5 good minutes, maybe more with foul trouble, to win in March.

Last, this was a true character win. The Longhorns could easily folded multiple times tonight. OU couldn’t miss to start the game (aided by odd defensive rotations by Texas) and had the Horns down 13 in the first half and 11 early in the second. Things weren’t going our way but led by Hamilton, James, and Brown, the Horns battled back.

I couldn’t be happier tonight. Some might point out that OU is not good, and although true, I saw enough tonight to give me hope. With Brown and Hamilton improving on d, with this team passing the ball on offense, with Barnes finally being forced to surround Dexter with shooters, and with James doing his thing, I have hope.

lets ride this momentum into waco and get a huge win for our confidence heading into tourny^2.

ive semi defended hamilton throughout the year so, as PB has the balbay-love, i want the hammy-love. MINE! MINE! MINE! he played like a true teammate throughout the majority of the game, his shot selection was poor but he nailed the bad shots and the good shots looked good cuz no1 else had good shot selection. he had a high # of rebounds(not sure how many exactly) as well as some good plays that wont show up on stat sheet(tipping a rebound away from a sooner so james gets an OREB, etc.)

James 8-12, Johnson 4-4, Pittman 4-4, Brown 6-6. Gracious!

It’s rare in college basketball these days to see three seniors that meant so much to the program and played such high caliber basketball all graduate at the same time. They may not have fulfilled all our expectations or theirs, but they’ve all done the program a great service and have been nothing short of the face you want to see in your basketball program. They will be missed.

His stroke — completely lost for weeks now — finally returned, as he began shooting it instead of aiming it.

I’ve heard it in pitching, but I’ve never once heard this about shooting a basketball. The shot may have not been falling but it wasn’t because of shooting vs. aiming. Yeah, maybe shooting freethrows, but not in the course of the game.

did Twister really split his pants during Wabash dance?

right by TV cameras, I didn’t notice pants rip either, but wondered what made twister lose his place for a sec in the dance. But my son and his wife, right next to me, saw the split happen. I gotta say it twister, you rock the drum with your dancing and have made me all but forget the udder-yanking guy in the cow suit from years past (TJ Ford era). You will be missed. Keep your horns up.