FINAL RECORD
31-7, 13-3, tied first in the Big 12..

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Under 10th-year coach Rick Barnes, Texas never backs down from competition. It played 20 games against NCAA Tournament qualifiers and went 15-5 in those outings. A difficult nonconference schedule enabled the Longhorns to learn how to cope without Kevin Durant, the Wooden Award winner who left after one season. They lasted two more rounds in the NCAA Tournament this season as G D.J. Augustin blossomed into one of the best floor generals in the country. Sharing the Big 12 title with a more experienced Kansas team was a nice feat.

WHAT WENT WRONG
Although Barnes tried to develop his interior players and used different combinations to give big men minutes, the only consistent performer among the front line options was F Connor Atchley. Even he tended to drift outside too often offensively, leaving much of the board work to F Damion James. The Longhorns' thin bench prompted the team to wear down in tournaments. It withered in the second game it played in both the sub-regional and regional at the NCAA Tournament after also falling to Kansas in the finals of the Big 12 Tournament.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"We felt that we would be a different team even if Kevin (Durant) had come back. We knew we had to improve defensively. We knew that we were going to look to get more from our guards as we continued to develop our post players. Our program is all about trying to improve from day to day, and we're lucky we have guys who bought into it." -- Texas coach Rick Barnes.

Copyright (C) 2008 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.