Texas Longhorns

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Moments before a final half of basketball that may have decided the fate of Texas’ season, coach Rick Barnes stood before a dry-erase board in the Longhorns’ locker room.

On one side, Barnes scribbled three letters: “N-I-T.”

Then he took a step to his right and jotted down four more: “N-C-A-A.”

Barnes put down the marker and looked at his team.

“Who are we?” he asked the Longhorns. “Which one would you put your name under?”

By the time Texas left the Sprint Center, the question had been answered.

In a game that so many predicted they would lose, the Longhorns fought back from an 11-point deficit and defeated Iowa State 71-65 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament. Along with propelling them into Friday’s semifinal against Missouri, the victory significantly enhanced the résumé of a Texas team that entered the contest on the NCAA tournament bubble.

Now 20-12, the Horns feel much better about their chances of earning a 14th consecutive bid under Barnes, who isn’t the type to politick to the selection committee.

He shouldn’t have to.

Texas finished 9-9 in what is generally regarded as the second-best league in the country behind the Big Ten. The Longhorns’ strength of schedule is No. 20 in the country according to ESPN's InsideRPI, and they have only one defeat (at Oklahoma State) that can be viewed as a “bad loss.”

Thursday’s victory over Iowa State also should turn some heads considering the Cyclones -- who tied for third in the Big 12 standings -- entered the game touting wins in four of their previous five contests. Texas’ win Thursday came before 18,792 people, most of whom were in support of Iowa State.

“You love to walk into other gyms and quiet their fans,” UT guard J’Covan Brown said.

Texas led 65-59 with 2 minutes, 55 seconds left before Iowa State scored six consecutive points to force a tie. But rather than flounder in the face of adversity, the Longhorns flourished.

With 36 seconds left, Brown spun into the lane and swished a floater as he was fouled. He sank the ensuing free throw to convert the 3-point play to give Texas a 68-65 lead. It was yet another huge shot for a player whose career has been defined by gut-check moments.

Brown scored seven of his game-high 23 points in the second half.

“A few seconds before I hit that shot, Coach was like, ‘Are you feeling it?’” said Brown, a junior. “I told him I was, and he let me go out and do my thing. It gives you a lot of confidence when your coach has your back like that.”

Brown’s performance this season -- he averages a Big 12-best 20.1 points -- is even more impressive considering he’s on a team that features five freshmen among its top seven players. Opposing defenses are geared to stop Brown, yet he still finds ways to score. His game winner Thursday came against Iowa State’s Chris Babb, who is regarded as one of the top defenders in the Big 12.

“[Brown] is a gifted offensive player,” Barnes said. “He has such great vision. On that last play he had three or four different options, and he picked the right one to get the ball where it needed to be.”

The Cyclones still had a chance after Brown’s clutch basket, but standout Royce White lost control of the ball on the perimeter, and it ended up in the hands of Texas forward Jonathan Holmes. Iowa State immediately fouled Holmes, and the freshman made both free throws to make it 70-65 with 22 seconds left.

Ballgame.

As proud as he was of Brown, Barnes was also ecstatic about the play of freshman point guard Myck Kabongo, who has been on a steady incline all season. Kabongo finished with 11 points, five assists and no turnovers -- Texas had only six turnovers as a team -- and he played excellent defense on Iowa State 3-point ace Scott Christopherson.

A senior, Christopherson entered Thursday’s game averaging 21.8 points in his previous five contests and had made 19 of 36 3-point attempts during that span. Pestered by Kabongo, he scored just 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting and missed four of his six attempts from beyond the arc.

As a team, the Cyclones made just five 3-pointers Thursday. They came in averaging nine per game.

Texas now advances to play another strong shooting team in Missouri. The Tigers are shooting 49.9 percent from the field, a mark that ranks third in the nation. Mizzou defeated Texas 84-73 in Columbia on Jan. 14 and 67-66 in Austin on Jan. 30.

“We feel good about this win,” Brown said. “But we can’t let our young guys celebrate too much. We’ve got another big one tomorrow.”

Check back Friday morning for Joe Lunardi's full bracket, but here are his basic projections through Thursday night's action.

SINCE THE LAST UPDATE

• Texas moves above “Last Four In” (No. 47 overall) with its victory over Iowa State.
• Mississippi State drops to “Last Four In” with its loss to Georgia.
• South Florida stays in the field (No. 46 overall) despite its loss to Notre Dame.
• Oregon moves from "First Four Out" to the last spot on "Next Four Out."

LAST FOUR IN

Washington
Mississippi State
Drexel
Seton Hall

FIRST FOUR OUT

Tennessee
Northwestern
NC State
Miami (Fla.)

NEXT FOUR OUT

Iona
Arizona
Saint Joseph's
Oregon

Also considered: Dayton, Marshall, Ole Miss

CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN

Big East (10)
Big Ten (6)
Big 12 (6)
SEC (5)
ACC (4)
Mountain West (4)
Atlantic 10 (3)
West Coast (3)
Colonial (2)
Conference USA (2)
Missouri Valley (2)
Pac-12 (2)

AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS

Belmont (Atlantic Sun)
Creighton (Missouri Valley)
Davidson (Southern)
Detroit (Horizon)
Harvard (Ivy)
Lehigh (Patriot)
LIU Brooklyn (Northeast)
Loyola-Md. (MAAC)
Montana (Big Sky)
Murray State (OVC)
Saint Mary's (West Coast)
South Dakota State (Summit)
UNC Asheville (Big South)
VCU (Colonial)
Western Kentucky (Sun Belt)

Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay dropped their latest mock drafts on us this week with the combine behind us and the draft coming quickly approaching us next month.

You'll need ESPN Insider to see them both (here's Kiper Jr.) (here's McShay), but here's a look at what they had to say.

McShay writes:

• No. 2: Justin Blackmon, WR, St. Louis Rams

(Read full post)

AUSTIN, Texas -- Coaches always insist one game does not make or break a season.

In Texas’ case, however, that could be true. After all, had the Longhorns not lost a 17-point lead in the final minutes against N.C. State or lost a four-point lead in the final minutes against Kansas, or dropped a couple of two possession games to Baylor, or turned the ball over in the final minute against Kansas State or even not lost to Oregon State in overtime, they would have no worries and a 14th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament to look forward to.

But Texas didn’t do any of those things. So now the Longhorns (19-12, 9-9) are staring squarely into the face of a make or break game. Just don’t tell the coach that.

“Nobody knows that,” Texas coach Rick Barnes said. “That is media and speculation saying we got to win. Nobody knows that. I don’t know that. All I know is that I hope [the players] listen to us.

“We’ve got to worry about winning a basketball game. We don’t have to worry about the (NCAA) tournament. They can hear it, and if they get caught up in it, that means we’re not prepared and we’re not ready to win a basketball game and we’re not going to win a basketball game.”

It’s a simple and myopic view. One that could be sold to a veteran team perhaps. But Texas will most likely starter three freshmen and play three more against Iowa State Thursday in the Big 12 tournament. So to believe those players will not be caught up in the significance of the game might be just a tad naïve.

Still, that is what Barnes is attempting to do. Being that he has been successful in steering Texas to 13 straight NCAA tournaments, it might be short-sided of anyone to sell him short.

“This time of year we know that basketball is taking center stage and we know there are people out there talking and doing this and that but the bottom line is, and I have told them all year long, ‘If we’ve done enough we will be there,’” Barnes said. “We’ve got to worry about what we can do and that is simply win a basketball game.”

It’s not that simple. First off Texas is facing Iowa State (22-9, 12-6). The Cyclones have one of the most versatile players in the conference in Royce White.

“He is a very unique player,” ISU coach Fred Hoiberg said. “It makes it difficult to prepare for us when you have somebody like that who can do so many different things and play in so many different areas.”

Texas did have the perfect player to defend the 6-foot-8 White, Alexis Wangmene. The emphasis there is on did. Wangmene suffered a broken wrist against Kansas Saturday and is out.
“If you have done enough by now you can adjust and we have had to adjust in games when we have had guys in foul trouble,” said Barnes. “That’s how we look at it. Other guys just have to get ready to play and do their job. We have had to adjust to a lot of things this year and we will adjust to this too.”

Texas did not adjust very well at Kansas. Wangmene had limited Big 12 Player of the Year Thomas Robinson to 3 of 10 shooting before the injury. Robinson made seven of his next nine shots and finished with 25 points in KU’s 10-point win.

Without Wangmene, Texas will only have three post players, Clint Chapman as well as freshmen Jonathan Holmes and Jaylen Bond.

We're moving on with our 2011 postseason position rankings. Today, it's time for cornerbacks. If you missed it, here's how I ranked them in the preseason.

Here are the other position rankings we've done so far:

• Quarterbacks
• Running backs
• Receivers/tight ends
• Linebackers

Depth is somewhat of a factor here, but I weighted it heavily toward the top two starters at the position.

1. Texas — The Longhorns duo of Carrington Byndom and Quandre Diggs were by far the league's best at limiting the big play. Both are physical. Both return. Beware, Big 12 offenses. In just their first year as starters, they helped the Longhorns lead the league in pass defense. Diggs, a true freshman, led the team with four interceptions. Until the regular-season finale against Baylor, Texas and Alabama were the only teams that hadn't given up a touchdown pass longer than 20 yards. Obviously, that's way, way more impressive in the Big 12.

2. Kansas State — K-State overachieved in a lot of ways this year, and perhaps nowhere more than at cornerback. Juco transfer Nigel Malone led the league with seven interceptions. Known entity David Garrett was even more solid, making 88 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss. I ranked this unit 10th in the Big 12 before the season. They finished second. I was wrong.

3. Oklahoma — The Sooners' corners were good, but not great, and underachieved slightly. Jamell Fleming and Demontre Hurst are supremely talented, but were susceptible to big plays this year. Granted, everybody in the Big 12 was, but the Sooners ranked fourth in pass defense. Fleming broke up 10 passes and intercepted two more. Hurst broke up 11 and had an interception.

4. Oklahoma State — At times, Oklahoma State's Brodrick Brown was a legitimate shutdown corner. Justin Gilbert turned in a solid effort in his first year as a starter, which was much more important after a season-ending injury to Devin Hedgepeth in September. Gilbert picked off five passes, second-most in the Big 12.

5. Iowa State — Leonard Johnson was quietly an NFL prospect that put together a huge year. He was a big reason for ISU's upset of No. 2 Oklahoma State, and helped shut down Justin Blackmon. He finished with 71 tackles, eight pass breakups and a pick. Jeremy Reeves added two picks and seven pass breakups.

6. Missouri — E.J. Gaines led the Big 12 with 16 pass breakups, and the Tigers ranked fifth in the Big 12 in pass defense. Fellow first-year starter Kip Edwards added a pick and three pass breakups.

7. Texas A&M — The team's top corner, Coryell Judie, was hampered by a hamstring injury all season, but production is production. It wasn't there for Judie, one of the league's top corners in 2010. Terrence Frederick had a good year with 13 pass breakups and a pick, but the Aggies were susceptible through the air all year. Lionel Smith and Dustin Harris filled in well in Judie's absence, but not well enough. A&M finished eighth in pass defense and helped five QBs set career highs for passing yardage in 2011.

8. Baylor — K.J. Morton played well down the stretch for Baylor, but the Bears defense left a lot to be desired almost everywhere. They finished last in the Big 12 in pass defense, giving up over 290 yards a game. Morton picked off four passes and broke up six more. All four of his picks came in the final three games of 2011. Chance Casey broke up six passes and made 48 stops.

9. Texas Tech — How's this for irony? The Red Raiders actually finished second in the Big 12 in pass defense. It doesn't matter much. Tre' Porter had the only interception for a cornerback all season, and broke up two passes. Injuries were a problem all season. Cornelius Douglas, Derrick Mays, Jarvis Phillips and Sawyer Vest filled the unit, but Tech faced 61 fewer pass attempts than Kansas and 111 fewer than the next team in the Big 12. That's what happens when you can't stop the run. Doesn't mean the corners played well.

10. Kansas — Greg Brown picked off two passes and broke up three more. Isiah Barfield made 35 tackles and broke up five passes. The Jayhawks ranked ninth in the Big 12 in pass defense. They didn't get much of a pass rush to help the corners, but the corners were very poor in 2011.

ESPNHS took a look at the most punishing positions in sports, and among them, to no one's surprise, is an offensive lineman.

For the exercise, they talked to 2013 Texas commit Jake Raulerson, the first official member of Texas' recruiting class that can begin signing with the school next February.

Says Raulerson:

"I've broken every finger, and all my nails are deformed from getting stepped on in the pile or getting them jacked up in an opponent's pads. I have no idea where I'll put my wedding ring. That's just the way it goes. I wouldn't call a broken finger an injury -- they come with the territory."

Now, this may come as a surprise, but as a blogger, I would consider a broken finger an injury. How else could I bring you daily musings on the Big 12?

It'd certainly be difficult.

Here's more from Raulerson:

"I go hard on every play, that's just the way I am. There was one game I played and I was just dog-tired after. I got on the bus, laid down in my pads and just passed out from exhaustion all the way home."

Nice.

Raulerson's one of the best offensive line prospects in the 2013 class, and he certainly talks a tough game. It'll be interesting to see him get a chance to earn that reputation on the field at Texas next year.

In this week's edition of the Verbal Commit podcast, our experts look at the team's that have been off to a fast start in 2013 recruiting.

Give it a listen.