The 12th-ranked Texas Longhorns hit the road this week, as they find themselves in Norman on Wednesday for a Big 12 showdown with the Oklahoma Sooners.
Rick Barnes' squad took on a pair of top-25 foes last week, losing at Texas A&M (80-63) on January 30th, but bouncing back with an 80-72 victory over Baylor. The win over the Bears moved Texas to 17-4 overall and 4-2 in league play.
The Sooners are just 3-3 in-conference thus far. They had a solid three-game win streak snapped this past weekend, falling at Texas A&M by a score of 60-52.
Oklahoma holds a 45-24 edge in the all-time series with Texas, but the Longhorns have won three straight. Still, winning on the road is not easy for Texas in this series, with OU coming out victorious in 21 of the previous 29 meetings in Norman.
The Longhorns did not shoot the ball particularly well overall (.419), but were able to drain 9-of-21 from three-point range (.429) to earn the eight-point win over Baylor. Standout guard A.J. Abrams led the offensive charge with four three-pointers and a game-high 20 points. Damion James made a rare appearance off the bench with 17 points and eight rebounds. Connor Atchley added 14 points and seven boards, while Gary Johnson chipped in with 12 points. Leading scorer D.J. Augustin struggled though, hitting just 1-of-7 shots in 39 minutes of work. Still, he finished with nine points thanks to a 6-of-8 showing from the free-throw line. Texas is certainly a dangerous offensive team, especially when Augustin is on his game. The explosive guard ranks second in the Big 12 in scoring this year (19.9 ppg), while leading the conference in assists (5.9 apg). Abrams joins Augustin to form the nation's most productive backcourt duo, pouring in 17.3 ppg (third in the Big 12). The pair have combined for a whopping 101 three-pointers thus far. James and Atchley provide perfect frontcourt balance. James is netting 13.4 ppg and ranks second in the Big 12 in rebounding (10.5 rpg). Atchley is converting nearly 60 percent of his shots (.591), leading to 10.7 ppg.
Despite shooting a solid .466 from the floor this season, Oklahoma is netting a rather plebeian 72.0 ppg. The team does have a little scoring depth, with three of the five starters averaging double figures. The strength of the team is in the frontcourt, where forward Blake Griffin and center Longar Longar reside. Griffin is hitting 58 percent of his shots this season and leads the team in several statistical categories, including scoring (14.3 ppg), rebounding (8.7 rpg) and steals (23). Longar is a serviceable pivot, netting 13.2 ppg, while hauling in 5.9 rpg. Guard Tony Crocker is the team's resident sniper, hitting 45 percent from long range, leading to 10.9 ppg. In the loss to Texas A&M, the Sooners were only able to generate a mere 52 points. Veteran guard David Godbold did the majority of the damage, hitting six three-pointers and finishing with 22 points. However, the rest of the team managed just 30 points, with Longar finishing next in line with nine points.
Rick Barnes' squad took on a pair of top-25 foes last week, losing at Texas A&M (80-63) on January 30th, but bouncing back with an 80-72 victory over Baylor. The win over the Bears moved Texas to 17-4 overall and 4-2 in league play.
The Sooners are just 3-3 in-conference thus far. They had a solid three-game win streak snapped this past weekend, falling at Texas A&M by a score of 60-52.
Oklahoma holds a 45-24 edge in the all-time series with Texas, but the Longhorns have won three straight. Still, winning on the road is not easy for Texas in this series, with OU coming out victorious in 21 of the previous 29 meetings in Norman.
The Longhorns did not shoot the ball particularly well overall (.419), but were able to drain 9-of-21 from three-point range (.429) to earn the eight-point win over Baylor. Standout guard A.J. Abrams led the offensive charge with four three-pointers and a game-high 20 points. Damion James made a rare appearance off the bench with 17 points and eight rebounds. Connor Atchley added 14 points and seven boards, while Gary Johnson chipped in with 12 points. Leading scorer D.J. Augustin struggled though, hitting just 1-of-7 shots in 39 minutes of work. Still, he finished with nine points thanks to a 6-of-8 showing from the free-throw line. Texas is certainly a dangerous offensive team, especially when Augustin is on his game. The explosive guard ranks second in the Big 12 in scoring this year (19.9 ppg), while leading the conference in assists (5.9 apg). Abrams joins Augustin to form the nation's most productive backcourt duo, pouring in 17.3 ppg (third in the Big 12). The pair have combined for a whopping 101 three-pointers thus far. James and Atchley provide perfect frontcourt balance. James is netting 13.4 ppg and ranks second in the Big 12 in rebounding (10.5 rpg). Atchley is converting nearly 60 percent of his shots (.591), leading to 10.7 ppg.
Despite shooting a solid .466 from the floor this season, Oklahoma is netting a rather plebeian 72.0 ppg. The team does have a little scoring depth, with three of the five starters averaging double figures. The strength of the team is in the frontcourt, where forward Blake Griffin and center Longar Longar reside. Griffin is hitting 58 percent of his shots this season and leads the team in several statistical categories, including scoring (14.3 ppg), rebounding (8.7 rpg) and steals (23). Longar is a serviceable pivot, netting 13.2 ppg, while hauling in 5.9 rpg. Guard Tony Crocker is the team's resident sniper, hitting 45 percent from long range, leading to 10.9 ppg. In the loss to Texas A&M, the Sooners were only able to generate a mere 52 points. Veteran guard David Godbold did the majority of the damage, hitting six three-pointers and finishing with 22 points. However, the rest of the team managed just 30 points, with Longar finishing next in line with nine points.
