Texas Longhorns Hoops @ Baylor Bears: Preview & Open Thread

The Texas Longhorns (8-5) start Big 12 play with a significant challenge, heading north I-35 to play the Baylor Bears in Waco. Per the norm, the Bears are equal parts fascinating (beating Kentucky at Rupp Arena) and frustrating (losing at home to College of Charleston).

What the Bears are is plenty talented. Senior point guard Pierre Jackson is, of course, fascinating and frustrating at the same time. He's a lethal scorer and deft passer, but can get too selfish at times. An All-American candidate, Jackson leads the team in PPG with 19.0 and APG with 6.3 (all stats as of 12/24). In the backcourt, he's flanked by elite defender and negligible offensive threat A.J. Walton and sharp-shooting wingman Brady Heslip (36.8% 3-pt%). Backup guards Gary Franklin, L.J. Rose and Deuce Bello haven't contributed much this year, with the upperclassman Franklin garnering the most minutes of the trio.

The frontcourt is anchored by McDonald's All-American freshman Isaiah Austin, who measures past 7 feet but plays a small forward's game. Look for his signature glasses; you can't miss him. An ankle injury slowed him down earlier in the year, but he's still at 13.9 PPG and 8.7 RPG. At the 4, bruiser Cory Jefferson gets the Quincy Acy upperclassman development award, while backup freshman Rico Gathers may be the next Acy clone.

LINEUP

PROJECTED STARTERS

Texas: G - Javan Felix (#3 - Fr.) | G - Julien Lewis (#14 - So.) | G - Sheldon McClellan (#1 - So.) | F - Jonathan Holmes (#10 - So.) | C - Cameron Ridley (#55 - Fr.)

Baylor: G - Pierre Jackson (#55 - Sr.) | G - A.J. Walton (#22 - Sr.) | G - Brady Heslip (#5 - Jr.) | F - Cory Jefferson (#33 - Jr.) | C - Isaiah Austin (#21 - Fr.)

BENCH

Texas: G - DeMarcus Holland (#2 - Fr.) | F - Ioannis Papapetrou (#33 - Fr.) | F - Jaylen Bond (#2 - So.) | F - Connor Lammert (#21 - Fr.) | C - Prince Ibeh (#44 - Fr.)

Baylor: G - Gary Franklin (#4 - Jr.) | G - L.J. Rose (#1 - Fr.) | G - Deuce Bello (#14 - So.) | F - Rico Gathers (#2 - Fr.)

INJURIES/ISSUES

Texas: F - Jaylen Bond (Limited - Foot) | G - Myck Kabongo (Out Until Feb - NCAA Eligibility)

Baylor: N/A

TEXASSPORTS.COM MEDIA/NOTES

TEXAS (7-4) @
Baylor
Saturday, Jan. 5, 2012 • 1 p.m. CT
Waco, Tex.

TV: ESPNU
Radio: Longhorn IMG Radio Network
Craig Way (play-by-play); Eddie Oran (analyst).
Satellite Radio: XM 202 / Sirius 216
Streaming Audio: TexasSports.com
Live Stats: GameTracker