Texas Longhorns Hoops vs. Oklahoma Sooners: Preview & Open Thread

The Texas Longhorns (12-15, 4-10) continue their nightmare of a season, hosting the Oklahoma Sooners (18-8, 9-5). It's a Wednesday night, the game is on national broadcast (ESPN2), and theoretically Texas could win (Ken Pomeroy gives the Horns a 38% chance). So it's worth a watch.

The Sooners have actually had a pretty good year and sit squarely on the tournament bubble. Home wins against Oklahoma St. and Kansas prop up the resume, and their early season "bad" losses at Arkansas and vs. Stephen F. Austin aren't wholly terrible (SFA, in fact, is the favorite to win the Southland Conference).

The point guard situation has reversed in this rematch. Texas welcomes Myck Kabongo back to its backcourt, while Oklahoma lost freshman sensation Buddy Hield in mid-February to a broken foot. In response, Oklahoma has turned to senior Sam Grooms, last year's starter, who has averaged 17.7 PPG and 4.3 APG in the 3 games Hield has missed.

Senior Romero Osby's 14.3 PPG and 7.1 RPG lead the team. He posted a backbreaking 29 and 8 against Texas in round one, the game in which Jonathan Holmes broke his hand. Hopefully, Holmes' return coupled with Connor Lammert's quickness in the post can slow Osby and fellow big Amath M'Baye.

If Kabongo can leverage his quickness in the backcourt, and Sheldon McClellan can get back into the positive ledger (he scored 25 against OU the first go-round), Texas has a shot at the W.

LINEUP

PROJECTED STARTERS

Texas: G - Myck Kabongo (#12 - So.) | G - DeMarcus Holland (#2 - Fr.) | F - Jonathan Holmes (#10 - So.) | F - Ioannis Papapetrou (#33 - Fr.) | F - Connor Lammert (#21 - Fr.)

Oklahoma: G - Sam Grooms (#1 - Sr.) | G - Steven Pledger (#2 - Sr.) | G - Je'lon Hornbeak (#5 - Fr.) | F - Romero Osby (#24 - Sr.) | F - Amath M'Baye (#22 - Jr.)

BENCH

Texas: G - Javan Felix (#3 - Fr.) | G - Sheldon McClellan (#1 - So.) | F - Jaylen Bond (#5 - So.) | C - Prince Ibeh (#44 - Fr.) | C - Cameron Ridley (#55 - Fr.)

Oklahoma: G - Isaiah Cousins (#11 - Fr.) | F - Cameron Clark (#21 - Jr.) | F - Andrew Fitzgerald (#4 - Sr.) | F - Tyler Neal (#15 - Jr.)

INJURIES/ISSUES

Texas: G - Julien Lewis (#14 - So. - Out - Concussion)

Oklahoma: G - Buddy Hield (#3 - Fr. - Out - Broken Foot)

TEXASSPORTS.COM MEDIA/NOTES

TEXAS (12-15, 4-10)
vs. Oklahoma (18-8, 9-5)
Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013 • 8 p.m. CT
Austin, Texas • Erwin Center (16,540)

TV: ESPN2
Bob Wischusen (play-by-play), Stephen Bardo (analyst)
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