February 14th, 2012

The Texas Longhorns (16-9, 6-6) return to the hardwood seeking to win their fourth straight, climb above .500 in conference play, and get one win closer to the 10-win mark that would make for easier breathing on Selection Sunday. And if your date objects, remember: there's nothing sexier than beating OU.

There's no time for Texas basketball to celebrate Saturday's huge win over Kansas State, as the Longhorns hit the road this week for a two-game swing to play the Oklahomas, beginning with tonight's Valentine's date with the Sooners.

OU is reeling at the moment, having lost four straight -- including the first Big 12 win of the year for Texas Tech -- but while flawed, the Sooners aren't the pushover their 3-9 conference record suggests. Oklahoma has already defeated Kansas State twice, and outside of a pair of massacres in Columbia and Lawrence, the Sooners have been competitive in every game they've played. That's in part a reflection of the school's savvy hire of veteran coach Lon Kruger, who prior to taking over for Jeff Capel in Norman took UNLV to four of the past five NCAA Tournaments, and of course before that was a highly successful college coach at Kansas State, Florida, and Illinois, with an unsuccessful detour into the NBA coaching ranks in between.

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We'll be previewing Texas baseball in three parts. The first part was a chat with Baseball America, the second is a preview of Texas baseball's position players and the third will take a look at the pitchers.

When it comes time to write next year's Texas baseball preview, here's what we're going to write: Augie Garrido will field a ballclub with both elite pitching and very good defense, but the fate of the Horns this year will be decided by their ability to establish just a mediocre offense. We know this because this has been the story of Texas baseball since the Horns won a title in 2002 behind freshman closer Huston Street's arm and Omar Quintanilla's glove.

With the exception of 2006-2008 (when Texas had the benefit of Kyle Russell breaking the Texas HR record and piss-poor pitching on the mound) Texas baseball's offense has revolved around the concept of Augieball: the principle that Texas will win games in the cavernous Disch-Falk Field by being very strong on the mound and in the field while using smallball to put immense pressure on less talented defensive squads. If Texas can manufacture a few runs a game, the strategy goes, then Texas will win a whole lot of games on the strength of just its arms and gloves. Augieball draws is detractors from lots of critics who have read how the concept of Moneyball fits in the Major League game, but no criticism ever fully accounts for Garrido's six CWS appearances and two national titles at Texas.

Texas will need Augieball to be at its best this year much like every year of the past decade only moreso. The Horns won six games in the 2011 postseason and scored five, four, nine, five, five and four runs in those wins. As a matter of fact, Texas would've lost just 10 games last season if they had scored five runs each game. And considering how good the Texas pitchers are expected to be again in 2012, getting to five runs a contest is a worthy goal that will produce a whole lot of wins if achieved.

Before looking at the specifics of the Texas roster for 2012, it's worth noting that Texas failed to score and recorded just four hits in January 28th's Alumni Game. The pessimist just reads that box score while the optimist points out that the Horns faced Roger Clemens, Huston Street, James Russell and Chance Ruffin, all of whom have pitched in the Majors. But hey, at least Texas's defense didn't have any errors. Things are looking up!

After the jump a look at the guys who will be looking to spark the scoreboard.

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Most likely, if you're reading this website, you're a fan of the University of Texas. And, like most fans of the University of Texas, you've probably attended plenty of football games, a decent amount of basketball or baseball games, and perhaps even yelled "Point, Texas" at a volleyball match. For better or worse, that's just how things tend to work around the Forty Acres. Thankfully, in my time on campus, I was lucky enough to meet a bunch of fans who broke the mold of the typical "Texas Fan." I was also lucky enough to meet the fan who shattered it.

I don't remember exactly when I met Ryan Clark, but I absolutely remember the context. Even though he was just getting started, he was already "the Road Trip guy." The guy who attended an entire season of Texas basketball games. And then he was the guy who did it again. And again. And again. And...again. And, unless something goes terribly wrong in the next six weeks, he's going to do it yet again.

In case all the "agains" got confusing, Ryan is currently in the midst of completing his *sixth* straight season of attending every single UT Basketball game. The home game against Iowa State marked his 200th consecutive game and tomorrow night at the Lloyd Noble Center will mark game #212. The mind boggles.

After the jump, I want to provide some further context for Ryan's accomplishment, plug his outstanding website, and try to explain how his story is truly about more than just the streak.

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The first Junior Day over the weekend failed to produce any commitments, in stark contrast to the past, but that may simply be a part of the changing narrative as the new staff makes changes to approach in recruiting and also a result of the smaller 2013 class that has led to fewer offers going out early.

Of course, the question on the minds of Texas fans perhaps still a little shocked by the new reality of so many recruitments stretching past JD1 is who will join Celina OL/DL Jake Raulerson in the fledgling 2013 class and when those commitments will go down.

Here's a look at the prospects most likely to make a decision in favor of the Longhorns in the near future:

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