The Texas womens' basketball was also a winner last night, riding a dominating defensive effort to blow out Colorado 68-49, forcing Colorado to a season-high (for both teams) 34 turnovers.  Big XII scoring leader Tiffany Jackson struggled in the first half (0-13, 1-2 from the line) but broke out in the second to score a game-high 16 points, and guards Earnesia Bailey and Carla Cortijo both added double-digit numbers to go along with outstanding defense.

http://texassports.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=33&url_article_id=5566&url_subchannel _id=&change_well_id=2

This was Texas' third win in a row, coming off the upset of #10 Purdue and an overtime thriller at Missouri.  These games should be confidence builders for this young team, coming off the inexplicable collapse at home against an average Nebraska team (surrendering a 10-point lead in the last 8 minutes).

While this improved play has fans' hopes up, Texas is about to enter a murderer's row schedule in which the team could conceivably lose seven straight games and twelve of the remaining thirteen games.  The only gimme on the schedule is a home game against Kansas, given that the usually doormat-worthy OSU Cowgirls have shown surprising life this year (14-2 record, 2-1 Big XII).  Should Texas lose even eight of its remaining thirteen games, the team will end up with another disappointing season (18-13, 7-9 Big XII) and would likely miss the NCAA tournament for a second straight year.  This result will lead to howls of protest akin to what Mack Brown heard during his five-year losing streak, and would almost assuredly lead to coaching changes - perhaps not Jody, but surely at least one or two of the assistants.  Worst of all, Texas recruiting would take a serious hit, and one or two current players might even consider transferring.

So call me Chicken Little.  The sky is not falling.  Yet.  But this team has wrenched my burnt-orange heart out so many times the past three years that I'm preparing myself for the worst, and hoping for the best.  With three players out with injuries, Texas is down to a ten-person roster, and only six of those ten have contributed valuable minutes this season.  No matter how talented those six athletes are, that's a lot to expect in the bruising Big XII.

Tiffany Jackson is one of the best players in Texas WBB history, but she is no Kevin Durant.  She can't single-handedly win games for us the way KD has this season.  And her supporting cast is, unfortunately, not as talented as KD's.  For her sake, I hope the team can manage at least a 6-7 split of the remaining games, so Texas can avoid a second consecutive year with a losing Big XII record.  And it makes me sad to think that even that is a stretch goal for this once-proud program.

Murderer's Row:

01.17     WBB     Iowa State      Ames, IA      7:00 pm --- One of the toughest arenas in the Big XII
01.21     WBB     Texas A&M      Austin, TX     2:00 pm --- just upset top-10 Baylor, Texas NEEDS this win at home
01.24     WBB     Baylor            Austin, TX     7:00 pm --- Mulkey out-coaches Jody.  Again.
01.27     WBB     Texas Tech     Lubbock, TX     3:00 pm --- Texas always has trouble in Lubbock, even when Tech is down (as they are this year)
01.31     WBB     Oklahoma       Austin, TX     6:00 pm --- this game will be UGLY, with Dexter's twin sister coming to town
02.03     WBB     Kansas State     Manhattan, KS     4:30 pm --- Horns have always struggled in Manhattan
02.07     WBB     OSU               Stillwater, OK     6:00 pm --- used to be a gimme, not this year
02.10     WBB     Kansas            Austin, TX     5:00 pm --- our only gimme, but they beat us last year
02.12     WBB     Oklahoma       Norman, OK     6:00 pm --- UGLY, part II
02.18     WBB     Baylor             Waco, TX     2:00 pm --- see above
02.21     WBB     OSU                Austin, TX     7:00 pm --- should be a W
02.24     WBB     Texas Tech     Austin, TX     3:00 pm --- should be a W, but they beat us at home last year
02.28     WBB     Texas A&M     College Station, TX     TBA --- Texas will have to pull an upset here to save the season