Fight for No. 1 Only Gets Tougher for Texas Longhorns

It would have been nice if the Texas Longhorns could have exhaled a bit after leaping into the top spot of both major polls last week.

But there was little time for such self indulgence, not with Iowa State and Texas A&M waiting to be the first teams to knock off the new No.1 team in the nation. And certainly not with a dangerous Kansas State squad, ranked No. 10, waiting to seize the moment in front of a national television audience when the Longhorns head into Bramlage Coliseum on Monday night.

It's enough to make you wonder what exactly is the benefit of the No. 1 ranking so early in the season when all that is for certain is that you will get the opposing team's best shot? That's a question Texas coach Rick Barnes has had to ponder after holding off the Cyclones and then needing overtime to escape the Aggies unscathed at home Saturday in early Big 12 matchups.

"You hope it helps out when you talk to your team about the fact that people are going to bring more energy, more emotion," Barnes said during Monday's Big 12 Media Conference Call just hours before meeting the Wildcats. "You hope that it makes you realize the level you are striving to get you get there quicker because you've got to be ready. There is no doubt people are going to bring the energy and emotion when you are a highly ranked team whether you are No.1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or whatever.

"When people are playing a ranked team I guess the higher you are the more emotion you get. But our players have to embrace that and know that in the long run if we do embrace that it can make us get better."

The Longhorns (17-0, 3-0 Big 12) were definitely pushed to their limits Saturday in their own arena against rival Texas A&M. Texas trailed by as many as 13 and did not take the lead for the first time until 4:31 remained in overtime. Even then, it took a tremendous effort from star forward Damion James along with a couple big defensive plays down the stretch before the 72-67 win was secured.

Texas A&M (12-5, 1-2) is a quality team, but having lost its best defensive player, Derrick Roland a few weeks against to a career-ending injury and not having enough presence inside Saturday's matchup didn't appear close coming in. The game had Longhorns' blowout written all over it when you consider their superior depth along with the way freshman Avery Bradley and James were playing prior to Saturday and the presence of big Dexter Pittman inside all season.

But the Aggies' guards, led by senior Donald Sloan, knocked down some big shots and Bryan Davis owned the paint against Pittman and James.

"We had total effort, commitment, everything," Sloan said afterward. "That's part of it, you're going to have to bring it, playing against the No. 1 team in the nation."

The Longhorns can expect the same effort Monday night when facing a Kansas State team that's been a fringe Top 10 squad all season. The Wildcats (15-2, 2-1), also ranked No. 9 in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll, has been one of the biggest surprise teams in the country with guards Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente leading the way.

Texas will also be facing an amped up crowd, much of which has been lined up outside of Bramlage since 4.m. Monday, according to KSU coach Frank Martin. His team is 9-0 at home so far this season.

Texas moved into the No. 1 spot in the rankings for the first time in school history, but James says the Longhorns are accustomed to being the marked team.

"With Texas being on your jersey, you get everybody's best shot anyway," he said. "I guess with that No. 1 by our names, it makes it even worse.

"[Texas A&M] came out and they played great. I can't take nothing from those guys. They played awesome. I didn't know they were going to play like that. It shocked me."

But none of it surprises Bill Self, whose team held the consensus No. 1 ranking since the preseason until last week after being knocked off by a short-handed Tennessee team on the road. The loss came just four days after Cornell gave the Kansas Jayhawks all they could handle before they pulled out a 71-66 win before a relieved crowd at Allen Fieldhouse.
"I don't know if A&M played harder because Texas was No. 1," Self said Monday. "I think they would have played hard if they were No. 2. There are certain things that I think we blow out of proportion.

"But the one thing is it makes you operate out of duress which is good because everybody is talking about it from a media standpoint. That can sometimes put pressure on kids that `We need to do this, to preserve that.' I don't know if that is motivation for the other team.

"If you are playing Duke and they are No. 1 or No. 3, I don't know if you play harder. But I do think from your own personal standpoint I do think you can get something out of it because it forces you to operate out of duress, which is basically how those NCAA tournament games are."