The most talented men's basketball team in these parts since the glory days of Houston's "Phi Slama Jama" in the early 1980s and thus a solid pick to win an NCAA championship. Those are the Texas Longhorns. The fact that the state's largest university has never been much of a factor in the tournament in the past means nothing now. Coach Rick Barnes has way more than just an entrant or even Sweet Sixteen team. He has a team every bit good enough to win the big one.
Only UTEP (then known as Texas Western) has won the championship from within the Texas borders. One of the reasons was the club was loaded with non-Texans. Barnes' U-T team has a number of non Texas high schoolers as well, as he has recruited nationally well. At the same time he has gotten the program to the point where the Longhorns are the first pick for most of the blue chippers that DO play high school hoops in the DFW and Houston regions. It has all added up to a team that plays on both ends of the court as well as anyone in the country.
Monday nights easy win over the 17-4 Texas A&M Aggies was a huge win. The Aggies are not a bad team at all. They have depth. They have some experience. They have good players. They do not have the number of great basketball athletes that Texas has. In the rematch of the one-sided U-T win in Austin earlier in January the Aggie home crowd was of no aid. The Longhorns rolled to an early commanding lead of 25 points and kept the margin at 20 when the final horn sounded.
Holding Texas A&M to only 49 points in a home game says a lot. It says the Longhorns would be a solid pick to hoist the NCAA trophy at Houston's Reliant Stadium on April 4th. A crowning achievement that would be...bringing a title to the home state--within the home state.
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