The Big 12 Conference is dead; it just doesn’t know it yet.

There is no question that the Big 10 Conference intends to grow. The only question is how many they add, and who they take.

On the first question, they want to add at least one team, which will give them twelve (they actually have eleven teams right now). This allows them to have a conference championship, increase their revenue, and still be part of the conversation on the…

Going into the BCS championship game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Texas Longhorns, if you had told me that with four minutes left in the game, we would be down by three points and have the ball, I would have said I liked our chances. If you had told me that we would get there with our true freshman quarterback, I would have told you that you were nuts.

After a very ugly first half, most of America thought the Longhorns would be blown off the field in the second half. I’ll admit that I was worried it was going to get ugly.

Instead, the Longhorns dug deep and were playing for the win late in the game. And while the final score differential as seventeen (thanks for showing your ass, Coach Saban), Texas proved their strength of heart and depth of talent on that field.

I’ve got a good friend names Steve. After growing up in San Antonio, he went to school at Duke. He’s a calm, quiet-spoken fellow, until you get him talking about Duke basketball.

He instantly turns into a rapid Duke fan. It must be something they put in the water there.

Texas overcame a ten point first half deficit to run away from Minnesota and win 76-62. While a fairly solid performance top to bottom by Texas, the star of the night was without question A.J. Abrams, who scored 26 points, including eight from behind the arc.

Big Dexter Pittman continued his surge with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Damion James recorded 18 points and nine rebounds.

With the tip-off of Texas’s first round match up against Minnesota about a day away, here are some links to previews of the game.

With the loss by Baylor in the Big 12 Championship game Saturday, Texas should be on the correct side of the bubble for the NCAA playoffs. The Longhorns should be the fifth or sixth team taken from the conference.

Given some luck, we’ll get a #6 seed, although I suspect a #7 is more likely. The pessimist in me worries that we’re looking at a #8 or #9.

Alliteration in the title means it’s an extra fine blog post, right?

Baylor’s upset victory over Texas Friday night extends an impressive run in the Big 12 Tournament. With one more win over Missouri in the final Saturday, they gain an automatic bid into the Big Dance.

Last night’s home game against the Oklahoma Sooners was one of the greatest in the Rick Barnes era. I hate to say it, but OU is a great team, and will likely make a deep run in the playoffs.

But Texas dug deep and was the better team on Saturday.

The University of Texas basketball team is in an unusual place this February. They are on the cusp of not making the NCAA playoffs. Although they most recently blew Oklahoma State off the court, they had lost the previous three before that. The loses came to Kansas State, Missouri and Nebraska. Not exactly powerhouses.

Rick Barnes’ teams have made it into March Madness in each of his ten seasons at Texas. They haven’t been this solidly on the bubble in some time.

Tulane is playing Rice in basketball. The Rice mascot says something, and actually gets ejected from the arena.