The Texas starting five carried the Longhorns about as far as could be expected. A lack of quality depth and experience cost Texas in the end.

The Longhorns reached the championship game of the South Regional and were playing in Houston with a 7-0 all-time NCAA record in Texas working in their favor.

But the mission of top-seeded Memphis, a team disparaged all season for its weak schedule, proved too much for Texas to handle in an 85-67 defeat, which capped a 31-7 season.

Considering the win total was the best in Texas history, no one complained too loudly when the Longhorns were ousted.

Still, it can be argued Rick Barnes overachieved with this club. Sure, the Longhorns returned four starters. But the one key component from last season, Wooden Award winner Durant, left for the NBA after one season. That left Barnes to structure a completely different team.

Although progress was slow along the interior, where the development of returnees will still take some time, the Longhorns relied on an outstanding backcourt to tie Kansas for the Big 12 championship following a 13-3 run through the league.

But the beacons of his team, backcourt mates D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrams, are both entering the NBA draft. While Abrams won't sign with an agent immediately, the prospect of losing both leaves Barnes to scramble to rebuild yet again.

Augustin ran the show and was among the best in the country dictating the pace of the game and involving his teammates. Abrams was a deadly 3-point threat, while forward Damion James was one of the best rebounders in the Big 12 despite being somewhat undersized.

As the season progressed, Texas improved defensively, though the lopsided loss to Memphis again pointed out the Longhorns' tendency to wither with a thin bench. In their seven defeats, the Longhorns allowed opponents to connect at a .492 percentage for an 82-point average.

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