Men's Basketball preview: No. 5/5 Michigan State [Dec. 21, 2013]

Texas Longhorns (10-1) vs. No. 5/5 Michigan State Spartans (9-1)

Saturday, Dec. 21, 2013 - 3 p.m. Central

Frank Erwin Center (16,540) - Austin, Texas

GAMEDAY QUICK FACTS

TELEVISION: The game will be televised nationally by CBS. Tim Brando (pxp) and Greg Anthony (analyst) will call the action.

RADIO: The Longhorn Sports Network and KVET (FM 98.1/1300AM Sportsradio the Zone) broadcast every UT game on the statewide network. Craig Way (pxp) and Eddie Oran (analyst) will call the action. Check www.TexasSports.com for a listing of affiliates carrying the game.

SERIES: Tied, 4-4 Last meeting: Michigan State, 67-56 (Dec. 22, 2012; East Lansing, Mich.)

TEXAS VS. MICHIGAN STATE

Saturday's contest marks the ninth meeting between Texas and Michigan State. The all-time series is even at 4-4. MSU won last season's meeting in East Lansing, 67-56.
Texas and Michigan State are meeting in Austin for only the second time (last: Dec. 22, 2009). The last two head-to-head meetings were played in East Lansing and the first five matchups in the series were held at neutral sites.
Five of the eight games between the Longhorns and Spartans have been decided by 10 points or less.
In the first meeting (Nov. 27, 1999), No. 20 UT recorded an 81-74 victory against the No. 3 Spartans in the title game of the Puerto Rico Shootout in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. The Spartans went on to win the 2000 NCAA Championship.
UT posted an 85-76 win in a NCAA Tournament Elite Eight contest in San Antonio on March 30, 2003. With the victory, Texas advanced to the Final Four for the third time in school history and the first time since 1947 (span of 56 years).
In the third contest on Nov. 16, 2006, Drew Neitzel hit a runner in the lane with 2.4 seconds left to lift the Spartans to a 63-61 win against No. 19 Texas in the semifinals of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic at Madison Square Garden.
On Dec. 22, 2007, No. 9 Michigan State topped the No. 4 Horns 78-72 at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
The 19th-ranked Spartans then recorded a 67-63 win against No. 5 Texas in Houston's Toyota Center on Dec. 20, 2008.
In the first game at a non-neutral site, No. 2 Texas defeated the eighth-ranked Spartans 79-68 in Austin on Dec. 22, 2009.

PRE-HOLIDAY TRADITION

Texas plays Michigan State on Saturday after defeating North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Wednesday night. This pre-holiday back-to-back series for Texas against UNC and Michigan State started in the 2009-10 season.
In the past four years, Texas has posted a 6-2 mark in those back-to-back pre-holiday games against the Spartans and Tar Heels. (UT did not play Michigan State during 2011-12 season.)
The UNC series started as a pair of neutral-site games (Cowboys Stadium in 2009-10 and Greensboro Coliseum in 2010-11) before going to a four-year home-and-home series beginning in 2011-12. UT will play the fourth game of the four-year series next season.
MSU has been an ongoing series since 2007-08. The teams did not meet in 2011-12 due to other scheduling issues on both ends.

WHAT'S IN A WIN

A win would mark the 1,685th victory in program history.
A win would mark head coach Rick Barnes' 369th victory at Texas and his 571st victory all-time as a head coach.
A win would extend UT's season-longest winning streak to seven straight games (longest since winning seven consecutive games from Nov. 26-Dec. 17, 2011)
A win would improve UT's record to 11-1, marking the program's best 12-game start to a season since 2009-10 (started 17-0). It would also mark the third time in the Rick Barnes era (last 16 years) that the Horns have opened the year with at least 11 wins in their first 12 contests (11-0 in 2009-10 and 11-1 in 2007-08).

HOME SUCCESS AGAINST THE AP TOP 25

UT owns a 30-17 (.638) mark against AP Top 25 opponents under Rick Barnes at the Erwin Center.

HOME SUCCESS AGAINST THE AP TOP 5

The Longhorns are 6-3 in home games against AP Top 5 opponents dating back to the start of the 2002-03 "Final Four" season.

SUCCESS AGAINST ELITE PROGRAMS UNDER BARNES

Texas has been successful against several elite programs during the Rick Barnes era. UT is 3-1 under Barnes against UCLA, 4-4 vs. Michigan State and 5-1 vs. North Carolina. In addition, UT has posted a 4-4 mark in home games against Kansas under Barnes.

SUCCESS AGAINST THE AP TOP 25

During his first 16 seasons in Austin, Rick Barnes has registered a school-record 59 career victories against AP Top 25 opponents (previous mark: 10-44 by Tom Penders, 1989-98). Barnes has guided the Horns to a 59-82 (.418) record against ranked teams. Barnes has posted 89 career victories against AP Top 25 foes.

FAST START

UT is off to its best 11-game start (10-1) since the 2009-10 season (began that year with 17 consecutive wins). This is the third time in the Rick Barnes era that the Longhorns have opened the year with at least 10 wins in their first 11 contests (11-0 in 2009-10 and 11-0 in 2007-08).

DEFENSE WINS

The Longhorns have held their first 11 opponents to an average of 69.7 points per game on 39.2 percent FG shooting. UT held #14/18 North Carolina to 38.5 percent FG shooting (25-of-65) during Wednesday's victory in Chapel Hill. UT is 8-0 this season when holding its opponent below 40 percent FG shooting.

HOLLAND STUFFING THE STAT SHEET

Sophomore guard Demarcus Holland has made tremendous strides across the board this season. Through the first 11 games, he leads the team in steals (17) and minutes (32.7 mpg), ranks third on the squad in scoring (11.4 ppg) and assists (27) and fourth on the team in rebounding (5.8 rpg). Last year by contrast, Holland averaged just 3.6 points and 1.4 rebounds in 16.5 minutes per game.

The University of Texas at Austin Athletics

Men's Basketball preview: No. 5/5 Michigan State [Dec. 21, 2013]