I realize we've sorta stopped doing previews around here, but I'm going to try and change that. Especially for the big games this season, and Texas certianly qualifies. But this won't be pretty, let's do it.
Hey, we won't go defeated in conference play! We might not win again, but we won't go 0-fer. The University of Texas Longhorns (see what I did there, makes this sound more legit. I'm sure I'll fuck that up soon), will bring their 10-4 record to the Frank Erwin Center to square off against our Cowboys, and their 8-6 record (imagine, we could legitimately finish 8-23. Phuck mii).
Texas, coming off a bad loss against Iowa State, will be looking to right the ship and get that first conference win. Your Cowboys, coming off a crushing victory against Texas Tech look to continue their winning ways (you see, its phrases like this that you see on sites where the writer is paid. I'm going to stop all that, and drop some knowledge with some truth). Look, here's the deal- we have no identity, little depth, and a coach who seems confused. I don't know what we're doing, and I don't think Travis Ford does either. From the games I've seen, our offense is "keep feeding Page, and hope he goes off for 30".
Texas, while not up to their usual standards, is much better at home than they are on the road, so I don't really see this as a winnable game. Be that as it may, follow me over the jump for a rundown of the matchup...
Still with me? I'm sorry. Now then, let's look at stats between the two:
| OSU | UT | |
| Points per Game | 67.2 | 78 |
| Possessions | 68.1 | 68.6 |
| Feild Goal % | 41 | 46.2 |
| 3 point % | 33 | 33.3 |
| Offensive Rebounds | 9.8 | 14 |
| Defensive Rebound | 26.3 | 24.8 |
| Assists | 10.4 | 13.7 |
| Steals | 7 | 7.1 |
| Blocks | 5.1 | 4.3 |
| Turnovers | 12.1 | 13.3 |
| Fouls | 20.1 | 19.9 |
So, what do we see? Well for one, it looks like these are two evenly matched teams. If it wasn't for those pesky 11 extra points Texas scores per game, I'd feel pretty good about this one. So what does that say? Well, they're doing more with the same possessions, that's what. That extra 5% field goal shooting tells me that Texas takes better quality shots. They also average 3 more assists a game than us, and if you need to know why that's a big deal I suggest you read Sam's excellent post on the subject. Go ahead, I'll wait....................... Back? What's worse, we have the 225th assist-to-turnover ratio in the country, while Texas has the 105 (the one thing I love about college basketball is the sheer number of schools at the D1 level)
Further, Texas actually jacks up more three pointers per game than we do, yet make about the same. What they do, however, is rebound the damn ball after a miss. I don't think we've boxed a single person out this year. Off of those rebounds (4-5 more per game) is where I believe their extra 10 points come from. Now, I haven't actually seen Texas play this year, so I may be talking out of my ass, but just looking at the stats, that's what I've come up with.
Finally, here are some Texas players to watch out for
J'Covan "thuggles" Brown: Wut u luuk'n @ homie? Keep muggin bitch, ma boyz'l roll on dat ass. But seriously, when Brown isn't calling in "hits" from his boys he's averaging about 20 a game. I guess it will be up to Guerro to guard him, so look for Brown to have both a season and career high in points tomorrow.WUT U LOOK'N @ HOMIE!!!!!!!!!! (seriously, he's a little bitch, but he can play)
Myck Kabongo: Thats really his name, I couldn't make that shit up. Kabongo is pretty sweet I guess, anyway he's their other starting guard (fuck, someone for Page to pester), a 6'1" freshman who's started every game for the Longhorns and is averaging around 10 a game. Not to shabby for the rook.
Sheldon McClellan: The Longhorn's resident badass 6th man, McClellan has seen around 26 minutes a game, scoring 12 a game, and has only started 2 games. What's that you say, "what's this depth you speak of?". I hear you, you see, depth is something that is developed when players are not run off every two weeks, and actually stick around. And he's a freshman, proving you can be both young and have depth. In fact, the six freshman on the Longhorn squad account for about 35 points a game. Add those to the 4 upperclassmen, and you have a young team, with depth, that plays pretty well. Unlike our "young" team, with zero depth, that plays shitty.
I'm honestly not expecting much out of this game. We have not played very well on the road, we can't shoot, and and with injuries we only have like 6 or 7 serviceable guys, and probably 3 of those shouldn't play. What would make me happy is to see an offensive philosophy change, and to do that we need to bench Page. When Page is on the floor, people just stand around, and wait for him. When he leaves, everyone starts creating. In what has to be the most contradictory statement of the year, we are better when our best (healthy) player is not on the floor.
Also, I'd love to see Philip Jurick get his huge ass UNDER THE FUCKING BASKET AND NOT OUT ON THE GOD DAMN WING!. Really, he could just camp out down low, wait for the feed, turn and dunk, but half the time I see him near the top looking to pass, with the other 4 also on the perimeter. What. The. Fuck. Please, put someone inside, the way we play it's no wonder we can't box out, WE DON'T HAVE ANYONE IN THE FUCKING BOX.
I'll be the first to admit, I don't know the finer points of basketball, and I don't care to. I like dunks, 3 pointers, and technical fouls. But I do know what works for other teams and what doesn't, and no one plays like we do. Sure, I love the fast pace, but we never make the shots, so I get to slog through 50-49 games (hell, it took us 3 overtimes to get to 60). Ford wonders why only like 60 people came to see us play Tech? I assume it's because people don't want to watch us shit on the house that Eddie built. Texas wins, 72-59.
Go Pokes