I lost internet midway through the game but just got it back. A few quick observations:

The Horns handled Tennessee's pressure well all game long and finished with just 13 turnovers. They also did an excellent job in the first half of making the Vols pay for playing full court defense. Texas would have done the same thing in the second half but smartly elected to start running clock instead. Overall the defense and the work on the defensive glass were both decent. The offense was phenomenal. When your guards are shooting over 50% from the floor, you know that your getting good shots.

Connor was absolutely fabulous tonight. He finished with a double-double and played well from the opening tip. The improvement over the last three years under Barnes has been truly remarkable.

DJ was once again the best player on the floor as he will be in just about every game this year. Big 12 player of the year, first team All American, and lottery pick are all within reach for DJ.

AJ showed no fear tonight attacking the basket in the full court and making a couple of jumpers in the half court. He must continue to do this so defenders don't close out so quickly on his perimeter jumper.

James was really good on the defensive glass and Mason again exhibited fantastic energy on both ends. Justin is rarely going to have eye popping stats but is a crucial component of this year's team.

As impressive a win as it was, there are things to work on. I'd like to see the Horns become less dependent in the half-court on the dribble drive of DJ and the high pic and roll with DJ and Connor. More motion and more attempts to feed the post would be nice. Second, Tennessee was a very good matchup for the Horns as the Vols are very perimeter oriented and don't have any scary back to the basket players. The Horns' interior defense will be tested more fiercely next Sunday against Kevin Love and UCLA.

Great win for the Horns and can't overstate how far along this team is already this season. After Johnson is cleared and gets comfortable, this team has a chace to be very, very good. Think top 10-15 good.

This was freaking exciting. We completely manhandled a really good t.u. team. In the second half when Tenn. went on a run, the Horns had an answer. I feel like this is something we haven't been able to do in the last two years.

As noted, DJ is one of the best players in the country. I see this team as being top 10.

Atchley's contributions are incredible. Across the board you can really see how this team has grown since last season. Yeah, we don't have KD, but we have a true floor general again.

As far as the DJ pressure, Barnes is aware and working on it. In every game he has made the effort to force Mason to handle the ball. He is our backup right now, not AJ. I can see Mason improving in ball handling, and most importantly vision, every game this season. In the early games I was complaining that Justin was dribbling with his head down, but I have really seen him developing his passing skills and court vision.

Aj also showed great signs of dribbling improvement. In the final minutes, he took the ball with his left hand off a steal all the way down the floor and finished. Last year, he would have flopped and threw up a brick.

Just think about how young we were last year. You can't expect 4 freshman outside of Michigan to really be able to carry a team, but now...we have some sophmores with true game experience, two juniors who can play down low and drain 3s, and loads of freshman talent to work into the team. Hell yes Texas Hoops.

Let's see Gary get the OK this week and we are in serious business.

Burnt Orange is the only real manly color orange.

and it's because of this guy:

I can't wait for the UCLA game! You talk about two completely different styles. High powered offense vs a grind it out defense.

I thought this Barnes team could be more of a slow it down, defensive oriented team like in previous years because of Johnson and the other new big guys.

But it looks like our spectacular guard play and athleticism won't let us this year. If we want to run and gun, lets go ahead and do it!

Front page of NCAAB on ESPN

Here's a nice article written by Andy Katz. He was at the game.

First, this was absolutely the best we've seen of Connor Atchley. His three point shot seems to have returned and he was great under the basket. Got to be my player of the game.

Second, we need to work on inbounding the ball against pressure. I liked Atchley running the baseline better than DJ trying to lob it in. You need a big man to pass the ball inbounds.

Third, AJs quick release is just amazing. He catches and releases in the same short stroke. (The inside move still needs work, though.)

And finally, instead of "Wang Chung", how about this for a nickname for Wangmene: "Wing-Man"?

Thanks for giving us something to look forward to now that football season has crapped out.

The team certainly is on fire and should be a tough opponent for UCLA.  Keep up the good work!

How about that 'jumbo' lineup with Pittman, Atchley, and Wangmene together up front. Those guys really seemed to click and just dominated the boards. I hope this is a regular thing.

When are we going to have a national or even local article written about the horns that does not include a reference to Keven Durant?