Longhorn Basketball Spars With Huskies

Tristan Thompson takes it to the rim (Photo courtesy of UT)

The recent tales of UT and UConn entering Saturday afternoon’s heavyweight bout at the Erwin Center are about as polarized as it gets. The Longhorns haven’t incurred a loss for more than a month – a 73-56 loss at USC on Dec. 5 – and have impressively cleared high hurdles in North Carolina and East Lansing, Mich., in the process.

Meanwhile, Jim Calhoun’s Huskies (10-2) are on the ropes, having dropped two difficult Big East road contests at No. 5 Pittsburgh – 73-59 – and at No. 14 Notre Dame, 70-73, in-between having to eek out a painfully tight 66-61 home overtime victory over conference doormat, South Florida.

The Big East preseason Coaches Poll projected the storied Huskies to finish 10th in the nation’s most grueling conference – despite their employ of elite guard Kemba Walker – and UConn was similarly snubbed by the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll. Though reeling and susceptible at the moment, UConn pulled off a sizable uphill climb to crack the Top 10 via their 11-0 start, rising from unranked to No. 9 a month into the season, wins accumulating, and peaking at No. 4 – thanks to Walker’s NCAA best 26.5 points per game- – prior to their December 27, 2010, loss at Pittsburgh.

The Longhorns – on the other hand – are on cloud nine, and ranked No. 12, without having let the national recognition sabotage their focus. Since their December 22, 2010, statement win at Michigan State, Texas, playing at home, has obediently controlled the pace and flattened Coppin State and Arkansas, two games that were chiefly dangerous for their “trap” potential. But the Longhorns didn’t take the bait, surviving a short-lived “startle” with Coppin State – winning 95-75 on New Year’s Eve – and subjecting the Arkansas Razorbacks (10-3) – who defeated UT in 2009 – to a rout, 79-46.

For any matchup, in any sport, examining games against common opponents can be a tricky system for projecting who’s to win because teams ebb and flow over the months, thereby making timing of matchups a bankable indicator. Nonetheless, the Longhorns and Huskies have both squared off against No. 5 Pittsburgh, No. 19 Michigan State, and Coppin State: UT is 2-1 against these opponents, defeating Michigan State (67-55 on the road) and Coppin State (95-75 at home) in recent weeks, and falling to Pittsburgh, 66-68, in a neutral-court barn burner in New York City. UConn kicked-off the first of two paramount victories against Michigan State and Kentucky by downing the Spartans, 70-67, on a neutral court in the EA Sports Maui Invitational on November 23, 2010; the Coppin State Eagles gave them intermittent fits at home a month later before ultimately succumbing, 76-64. Faced with a punishing road test to open Big East conference play, Calhoun’s pack was lashed by the Pitt Panthers for their first loss of the season, a humbling one, 78-63.

These outcomes, plus UT’s home-court advantage over the road-weary Huskies, plus the fact that the teams are branching off in different directions, all point with hissing neon lights in Texas’ direction; and though UConn guard Kemba Walker will unquestionably be the best player on the floor, the whole of Texas on both ends should surmount the offensively one-dimensional Huskies – their second leading scorer, Alex Oriakhi, averages 16 points less than Walker. I like the Longhorns to win, 67-55. Sound familiar?

At 11-2, UT’s period of hosting powder-puff opponents officially ends once the No. 8 Huskies storm the Erwin Center floor.

Looking (far) ahead:

UT vs. No. 16 Texas A&M on January 19

UT vs. No. 9 Missouri on January 29

UT vs. Baylor (preseason No. 14) on February 12

UT vs. No. 17 Kansas State on February 28

Vs. Connecticut: Sat., Jan. 8, 2:30pm. Frank Erwin Center, 1701 Red River. $8-40. www.texassports.com.