Texas Longhorns Hoops vs. Baylor Bears: Preview & Open Thread

The Texas Longhorns (13-16, 5-11) celebrate Senior Night. Texas' final home game of the year comes on Big Monday, as the Longhorns host the Baylor Bears (17-12, 8-8).

Texas graduates two walk-on seniors, Andrew Dick and Dean Melchionni. Dick, from Sherman, Texas, is a six-time Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll member and plans to graduate with a degree in Finance. Melchionni is from Lancaster, Penn., is a five-time Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll member. He will graduate with a degree in Corporate Communications and wants to go into sports broadcasting following graduation. All the best to both, and many thanks for their contributions to the program over the past four years.

Baylor, a bubble team, is currently on the outside looking in. They have quality wins at Kentucky and vs. Oklahoma St. The Bears also have head-scratching home losses to College of Charleston and Northwestern, and to make matters worse, are just 3-7 in their last 10 games.

The Bears will lose their best player, senior combo guard Pierre Jackson, to graduation. Jackson is averaging a team-leading 19.0 PPG and 6.4 APG. Baylor's most talented player, freshman center Isaiah Austin, is second on the team with 13.6 PPG and leads the team in rebounds with 9.0 RPG. Austin was a top 10 high schooler coming into college, but hasn't dominated as expected. He's currently projected as a late lottery/mid-round pick in the NBA Draft, and will have to decide whether or not to declare.

A pair of juniors, Cory Jefferson and Brady Heslip, have had very efficient years and should return to lead next year's squad. Freshman forward Rico Gathers has been the best of a promising class that includes point guard L.J. Rose and wing Taurean Prince.

Baylor still has an outside shot at making the NCAAs, but would likely have to win the Big 12 Tournament to do so. As for Texas, the Longhorns are just playing out the string, though notching a win over Scott Drew always feels good. Make it happen, guys.

Also noteworthy: 4* SG DeMarcus Croaker from Orlando (FL) Jones will be in town on an official visit, with Texas considered his favorite at this point.

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.)

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 - Javan Felix (#3 - Fr.) | G - Julien Lewis (#14 - So.) | G - Sheldon McClellan (#1 - So.) | F - Jaylen Bond (#5 - So.) | C - Prince Ibeh (#44 - Fr.) | C - Cameron Ridley (#55 - Fr.)

Baylor: G - Gary Franklin (#4 - Jr.) | G - L.J. Rose (#1 - Fr.) | G - Deuce Bello (#14 - So.) | F - Rico Gathers (#2 - Fr.) | F - Taurean Prince (#35 - Fr.)

INJURIES/ISSUES

Texas: N/A

Baylor: N/A

TEXASSPORTS.COM MEDIA/NOTES

TEXAS (13-16, 5-11)
vs. Baylor (17-12, 8-8)
Monday, March 4, 2013 • 8 p.m. CT
Austin, Texas • Frank Erwin Center

TV: ESPN | WatchESPN.com
Brent Musburger (play-by-play), Fran Fraschilla (analyst), Holly Rowe (reporter)
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