Late Night Thoughts: Texas vs Oakland

Written by Trey Scott | 17 March 2011

Due to the fact that it’s already Thursday evening and a slew of games have already been completed, I’ll assume that you readers have already filled out your brackets and contemplated potential matchups.

I’m sure that if you are a Texas fan, you weren’t too pleased with the Longhorns receiving a 4 seed and drawing a tough one against Oakland in the first round.

So with both teams taking the court in Tulsa about twelve hours, here are a few late-night thoughts. You’ve probably already heard them, but it never hurts to hear some stuff twice.

When wondering why a 27-7 team got a 4 seed when they beat a number 1, a number 2, a number 7 three times and just barely lost to Pittsburgh, take in to consideration that the NCAA Committee remembers history. Clearly, last year’s fall from 17-0 and No. 1 to unranked and a first-round tournament exit is still in the minds of many, and it’s easy to agree that this year’s year-end struggles mirror that fall. There are a lot of people out there reluctant to trust Texas.

Do I agree with Carolina or Florida getting a 2 seed? Not really, especially Florida, but that’s just my opinion. BYU fans can’t be pleased the Cougars got a 3 seed while a team they beat, San Diego State, got a 2.

This might be the toughest 4-13 battle this year. Oakland is second in the nation in scoring, second in field goal percentage, fourteenth in rebounding and seventeenth in assists. The Golden Grizzlies also have Keith Benson, nearly seven feet tall, a possible lottery selection that averages 18 points and 10 rebounds a game. How the Longhorns deal with Benson’s offensive and defensive production will be key. Tristan Thompson will get the first draw, but Alexi Wangmene and Matt Hill need to be useful big bodies off the bench.

Don’t assume that just because Oakland got killed by West Virginia and Ohio State, that its going to roll over for Texas. This is a team that lost by just a point to Michigan State and beat Tennessee and is riding an eight-game winning streak. And as you should know, anything can happen in March.

A not-our-standard tidbit: The Longhorns haven’t gotten to the Sweet 16 since 2008.

Intensive game recap will go up following tomorrow morning’s game.