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Texas St.-Texas Preview

Dec 11, 2009 - 5:50 PM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

Texas State (3-6) at Texas (7-0), 4:00 p.m. EDT

Texas' highest-scoring game in nearly four years wasn't good enough for coach Rick Barnes. He certainly wouldn't tolerate another subpar performance against Texas State.

Following a dominant game offensively, the second-ranked Longhorns look to avenge one of their worst shooting games from last season as they host the Bobcats on Saturday afternoon.

After shooting below 42 percent in two straight games, Texas (7-0) made 59.0 percent of its shots in a 107-74 win over Long Beach State on Monday night. The Longhorns scored their most points since a 110-38 victory over Prairie View A&M on Dec. 30, 2005.

Still, Barnes has even higher standards for his team.

"We've come a long way in five weeks," he said. "(But) we're a long way from being the team I envision. I want to be the team that can be relentless every possession on defense and offense. I want people to say 'They are nasty and they are going to keep coming.'"

Texas shot 35.9 percent against Texas State last Dec. 13 but still won 81-73 for its 20th straight victory in the series. The Bobcats (3-6) haven't beaten the Longhorns since a 33-31 win in Austin on Dec. 7, 1937.

The Longhorns lead the series 38-5.

Forward Damion James had 17 points and nine rebounds in last year's contest with Texas State. He's the Longhorns' leader with 15.7 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.

James had 14 points versus Long Beach State despite being limited by foul problems, while Texas' heralded group of freshmen had their most productive game. Avery Bradley scored 17 and Jordan Hamilton and J'Covan Brown each had 13.

"We get better every single day," Bradley said.

Bradley, ranked by some as the top recruit in the nation, shot 7 for 13 from the field and 2 for 4 from 3-point range. The guard is averaging 9.4 points.

"Coach said sometimes I need to look to score," Bradley said. "If I miss a shot, I'm looking to make the next one."

Bradley is one of three starting guards for Texas. That group includes junior Dogus Balbay, who had a career-high 11 assists in his second straight start after being used off the bench for the first five games.

"If they keep finishing, I'm going to keep (passing)," said Balbay, who leads the Longhorns with 5.1 assists a contest.

Texas State has been tinkering with its lineup all season, using different combinations of starters in each of its games. The Bobcats have six players averaging at least 8.0 points.

Cameron Johnson leads Texas State with 12.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. The junior forward, though, was held to three points on 1-of-5 shooting in a 94-86 loss to SMU on Monday night.

Uriel Segura, Tony Bishop and J.B. Conley each had 18 points for Texas State. Conley went 2 for 4 from beyond the arc and is making 52.0 percent of his shots from long range.