But if you just have to see the 2008-09 Texas Longhorns take the court one (or two, or three…?) more time(s) this season, you’ve still got plenty of time to fly, drive, or hitchhike your way to Greensboro, North Carolina for Thursday’s matchup with the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
Clues as to what could await you in the Tar Heel State remain scarce, however, as this has been a season of highs and lows for a team that was a preseason favorite to be challenging for the national title. That hasn’t exactly panned out, and as the conference season wore on for the Horns, the picture of life without DJ began to come into much better focus. Flaws that had been overlooked early in the season didn’t go unnoticed by more scrupulous conference foes, and Texas was exposed as more mediocre than elite.
It was the AJ Abrams paradigm that proved to be most significant obstacle for Rick Barnes’ offense. After a December 20 loss to Michigan State in which Spartans coach Tom Izzo successfully shut down Abrams as the focal point of Texas’ offense, opponents had a blueprint by which to disrupt the Horns offensively. And, as we wrote in back in January, as Abrams goes, so go the Horns. As a result, the offense grew staler than a Paul Walker flick.
After a forgettable stretch of three straight losses that resulted in talk of Texas missing the NCAAs for the first time in a decade, Coach Rick Barnes reminded folks why he is still one of the best in the country when he turned the offense over to a little-used Turk who began the season by finishing up an 11-game suspension. Point guard Dogus Balbay revitalized Texas’ offense, and his insertion into the starting lineup coincided with an across-the-board improvement in offensive statistics among teammates.
Texas finished conference play 6-3 under Balbay’s direction and appeared poised for an unlikely run to the Big 12 championship game until encountering a hot Baylor team that Austinist had previously denoted “the Team Nobody Wants to Play come March”.
As for its NCAA Tournament prospects, Texas has drawn a first-round matchup with a Minnesota team that, while lacking in star power, has been tempered throughout the season by characteristically rugged Big Ten play. The Gophers can also boast a former championship-winning coach in Tubby Smith, who cut the nets down with Kentucky in 1998. But barring a slip, the Horns should see it through to a Saturday afternoon showdown with locally favored and second-seeded Duke, who opens the tournament against the Binghamton Bearcats.
If you’re an optimist, go ahead and save your money for that Final Four trip to Detroit in a couple of weeks. But for everyone else, we suggest you savor the action this weekend and enjoy watching Abrams and fellow senior Connor Atchley take the court one last time.
Or at least pull for that Binghamton upset on Thursday.
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