The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Oklahoma
Augustin leads No. 7 Men's Basketball to 62-45 win over Oklahoma
02.23.2008 | Men's Basketball
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- With two defenders closing in, Oklahoma's Tony Crocker put up a shot that caromed off the rim for a long rebound to D.J. Augustin.
The Texas point guard quickly turned up court, spun a Sooner completely around with a crossover dribble, then finished the break with a layup that put Texas up by 15 points.
That 7-second burst early in the second half demonstrated a perfect combination of defense and D.J. that has catapulted No. 7 Texas to the top of the Big 12.
With Augustin spinning, twisting and shooting his way to 19 points and a defense that held Oklahoma to a season-low point total, Texas cruised to a 62-45 win that set a school record with the Longhorns' seventh straight Big 12 victory.
And a few minutes after they left the court, Texas (23-4, 10-2) was left alone in first place when Oklahoma State beat No. 4 Kansas 61-60.Texas also has won five in a row and 10 of the last 13 in one of the conference's best rivalries, but one that has been decidedly one-sided in recent years. The last five wins have all been by 10 points or more.
"They are playing as well as anybody in the country," Sooners coach Jeff Capel said. "(And) people should really start mentioning Augustin for national player of the year."
Texas had the player of the year last season in freshman Kevin Durant. But he left for the NBA, leaving Augustin to take over a team that has been on a roll after a 3-2 start in the Big 12.
The Longhorns have been perfect for the month of February behind a defense that has held five of the last six opponents under 40 percent shooting.
The Sooners got the worst of it Saturday, missing their first 10 shots in a 14-of-53 (26 percent) effort for the game. Blake Griffin scored 16 points and grabbed 16 rebounds but he was the only Oklahoma player with more than two field goals.
Oklahoma (18-9, 6-6) knew early it was going to be a struggle to score. The Longhorns swarmed Griffin under the basket, forcing him to a miss a dunk and two more close shots.
Augustin, meanwhile, scored 12 points in the first half, breaking down the Sooners on the dribble and pulling up for jumpers when he couldn't.
With a strong and compact 5-foot-11 frame, Augustin probes defenses for openings and his best move of late has been to drive the baseline before pulling up for a 12-foot fallaway jumper that seems to torment defenders.
The Longhorns closed the first half with a 9-2 run, with Augustin chipping in six, including a tough jumper in the lane over Griffin.
"I told him you've got to do it now and he did," Texas coach Rick Barnes said. "He gave us the separation we needed."
Augustin's breakaway early in the second put Texas up 38-23 and was the dagger that killed the Sooners' hopes of a rally. Oklahoma never made another run to get back in the game.
"It's an incredible luxury as a coach to have a guy that you trust out there to run everything, to orchestrate everything," Capel said. "His little runners, his floaters, he can hit awkward shots. He has all the tools and is a really special point guard."
Texas was just as dominant under the basket. Even with Griffin gobbling up rebounds, Texas outscored the Sooners 32-14 in the paint. Damion James had 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Longhorns.
Defensively, Texas never let up.
After Griffin was able to power over two defenders for a layup, Connor Atchley blocked Griffin on the next possession. The Big 12's leading shot blocker then stuffed Taylor Griffin on the Sooners' next shot.
Texas held the Sooners to six points in the first 9 minutes of the second half and Atchley's three-point play put the Longhorns up 47-27.
"They obviously pride themselves on playing hard every possession with tough defense and not letting you get an easy shot," Blake Griffin said. "We'd get on the post and they'd (constantly) bring help."
POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM
- Texas current seven-game conference game winning streak is the longest since joining the Big 12.
- Texas has won five straight and is 10-3 against Oklahoma in the last 13 meetings.
- All five wins have been by double figures with an average margin of victory of 14.4 ppg.
- Texas is 136-18 (.883) at the Erwin Center during the Rick Barnes era, including winning 90 of its last 96 home games.
- Texas is 67-11 (.859) in Big 12 Conference home games under Rick Barnes.
- During its seven-game winning streak, Texas has held its opponents to an average of 61.7 (432) points per game and 36.2 (153-423) percent on field goals.
- Texas allowed Oklahoma to shoot just 16.7 percent in the first half, the fourth-lowest percentage in UT history since 1965-66. Two of the top four have come this season (Ark.-Monticello/9.1 percent).
- In the last three games, Texas has limited its opponents (BU, A&M, OU) to a combined 20-of-99 shooting (20.2 percent) in the first half for an average of 20.2 points per half.
- Texas has combined to block 20 shots in the last two games (A&M/12, OU/8).
- Texas had six players collect at least four rebounds for the fourth time this season and for the second time against Oklahoma.
- Oklahoma's 26.4 field goal percentage is a Big 12 opponent low this season for Texas.
A.J. Abrams
- Led Texas in steals for the 16th time this season
Connor Atchley
- Recorded at least one block in his eighth consecutive game and at least two in five consecutive games
D.J. Augustin
- Scored in double figures for the 24th time this season and the 49th time in 62 career games
- Led Texas in assists for the 23rd time this season
- Has an assist to turnover ratio of 44-12 (3.7-1) in the last seven games
Damion James
- Recorded his 12th double-double this season and the 16th of his career
- Scored in double figures for 17th time this season and the 29th time in 62 career games
- Scored in double figures for the fourth consecutive game
- Registered double figures in rebounding for the 15th time this season and the 25th time in his career
- Made at least one three-pointer for the fourth consecutive game
- Blocked at least two shots for the fourth consecutive game
- Recorded at least seven rebounds for the 22nd consecutive game and reached the mark in the first half
- Led Texas in rebounding for the 24th time this season
- Has recorded 57 (14/13/10/9/11) rebounds in the last five games
Gary Johnson
- Has at least four rebounds seven of the last eight games and at least six rebounds in four of the last five games
Justin Mason
- Has totaled 29 rebounds in the past four games
- Notched at least four rebounds in five of the last six games
Alexis Wangmene
- Blocked multiple shots for the fifth time this season and the first in Big 12 play
- Recorded his second-highest rebound total of his career and highest in Big 12 play with seven and did so in the first half alone (8, Ark-Monticello)
- Scored five or more points for the fifth time this season and the first in Big 12 play and did so in the first half alone
TEXAS POSTGAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH Rick Barnes
On the team's improved defense: It's been going on for five or six games. We continue to get better on defense. We started talking about this during February about a way we have to separate ourselves from the rest of the league because all good teams do that during this time of the year. We talked about picking out one or two things that we know we can get better with as individual players and as a team. We knew that we had to improve defensively, and we knew that we had to have an inside game to go along with our perimeter game. Today was a great case in point for that. We went 2-of-19 on threes, but yet we were able to find a way to win against a really good basketball team that doesn't give you a whole lot. We're getting so much better with our rotation and having guys make plays. Today we had eight blocks and the other night, we had 12. That is what we have improved on over the past two or three games. We've had guys come over and make plays.
On the effort of the team: That is our goal, is effort. We don't talk about winning, but instead we talk about what we can control and that is our effort, both mentally and physically. That is what we're searching for. It's really hard to get 100 percent because when you talk about 100 percent, you're talking about perfection and that's hard. But as long as you are striving for perfection, that is the goal. We've always had a very unselfish team and where we've been really unselfish is what we've been doing defensively.
On the team's progress: I think as the season progresses, we've gotten better at defense, no doubt about that, and now we know that we can get the ball inside and score, whether it's through our post players or guards. I think as a team, we're much more comfortable throwing the ball in there. We've gotten better with our patience when we do that. We're better in that area as well, so we don't have to rely on the fact that we have to shoot the ball well to win games.
JUNIOR GUARD Justin Mason
On the team's improvement on defense: At the beginning of the year we would put together great defense for some games and then we had a couple of breakdowns. But I think our defense is all coming together at this time of year.
SOPHOMORE FORWARD Damion James
On what D.J. Augustin brings to the team: Every night he goes out there and he's the floor general. He creates shots for me and my teammates. He works hard on defense which transitions into offense. He's a big time player.
On improving on defense: It is something coach has been expressing all year. We can go out and put ball pressure on the opponents and it's better to go out there and improve than just talk about improving.
On the improvement of Texas' big guys: You've got to have an inside game to win. People know we have great guards, but we also need good posts in order to have an inside-outside threat. It's an integral part of the game and we need to keep getting better.
SOPHOMORE GUARD D.J. Augustin
On the team's performance tonight: Our defense was playing well tonight, but it can always get better. That is what we need to do in practice. Our defense can get better all around. We did great tonight but maybe next time we can hold our opponent to 15 percent.
On Monday's game against Kansas State: It's going to be a team effort. We're going out there to play Kansas State and we need to keep playing like we have on defense. Our defense is going to be the deciding factor. It's always good to start out with offense, but it comes down to defense, so we have to play hard and play defense.
OKLAHOMA POSTGAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH JEFF CAPEL
Opening statement: I want to congratulate Texas, and it was sort of an ugly game offensively for both teams, but especially us in the first half. You have to give credit to Texas' defense as I felt like we had some plays that we didn't finish. It's tough to battle uphill against a team as good as Texas. I think they are playing as well as anyone in the country. I think people should really start mentioning [D.J.] Augustin for National Player of the Year, because he is on one of the best teams in the country and he is the orchestrator of their team. I thought that Damion James was very good in the first half for them. I thought that Alexis [Wangmene] was really good in the first half and gave them a huge boost. I want to congratulate them and we have a lot of work to do.
On Texas' defense: They play hard and their guards really get up there and pressure and that is what I feel like they have been doing in the past five or six games or more. They have several different big guys who they can throw at you and keep bringing bodies. Then you have [Connor] Atchley that is the leading shot blocker in the league and with his length and determination he is able to affect some shots around the rim. We dug ourselves in a hole and it was really difficult to get out of it.
On if their team is a Tournament team: I definitely think we are. If you look at our schedule and the games we've won, I think we are. Some of the losses we've had, we didn't have some of our key guys playing.
FRESHMAN FORWARD BLAKE GRIFFIN
On the game: We really didn't shoot well, and we didn't hit shots that we usually hit. At the same time, they are a great defensive team and they obviously pride themselves in playing tough defense.
On Texas' defense: They just get up in you and don't give you very much room. When we got it in the post, somebody from up high or across would come and double team you constantly, and we never got single coverage down low.
On their offense: We did a decent job of taking it to them and getting fouls in the first half and then we just got in a funk and didn't take it to them in the second half and we didn't get the fouls we wanted. Their big men did a good job.
