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Wake Forest-Texas Preview

Mar 18, 2010 - 4:21 PM By NOAH TRISTER AP Sports Writer

Wake Forest (19-10) at Texas (24-9), 9:35 p.m. EDT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Perhaps Rick Barnes and Dino Gaudio should compare notes on how to pull a team out of a late-season funk.

The two coaches have similar challenges on their hands heading into Thursday night's matchup between eighth-seeded Texas and ninth-seeded Wake Forest in the NCAA tournament's East Regional. Barnes' Longhorns were once ranked No. 1 in the country before struggling through February and early March, and Gaudio's Demon Deacons have lost five of their last six, including a lopsided defeat to Miami in the ACC tournament.

"The regular season's over with. It's over and done with," Barnes said. "It's more mental this time of year than anything else."

Texas started 17-0 before fading. The Longhorns (24-9) barely finished above .500 in the Big 12 and appeared outmatched against teams like Kansas, Kansas State and resurgent Baylor. With defenses focusing on 6-foot-10, 290-pound Dexter Pittman, Texas never did turn things around in conference play and lost to Baylor 86-67 in the league tournament.

Wake Forest (19-10) met a similar fate in the ACC tournament, and the 83-62 loss to lowly Miami gave the Demon Deacons another burden to carry into this week's game. Wake Forest is also still smarting from a loss to 13th-seeded Cleveland State in last year's NCAA tournament.

"I told our guys, 'If you're going to make a mistake tomorrow night, make it on the side of aggression,"' Gaudio said. "That's exactly what we have to do."

If nothing else, Texas and Wake Forest can take solace in the fact that neither seems like a particularly imposing opponent right now. Besides, misery loves company.

"I guess for both teams and for everybody in the tournament, it's a new start," Wake Forest guard Ishmael Smith said. "I've tried to cut off the TV and kind of just concentrate and focus on the task at hand. That's winning the first-round game."

The Demon Deacons lost four in a row before beating Clemson on March 7. They followed that up with the debacle against Miami, which was seeded 12th in the ACC tourney.

"I haven't the slightest (idea) what happened," Smith said. "We will put that game behind us. I have no explanation about that one."

Texas has been searching for answers for a while now too - to the point that players were asked Wednesday if they wished they'd never been ranked No. 1 in the first place. The Longhorns were atop the AP poll for the first time in school history on Jan. 11.

There is at least one mitigating factor in Texas' slump. The Big 12 was unusually strong this year, earning a conference-record seven NCAA tournament bids, including a No. 1 seed, a No. 2 and a No. 3.

"I don't know if many people understand how good that conference is," Texas guard Justin Mason said. "I don't think our team just went down the drain. I think it was a case of us playing teams that were equal and talented as us."

Texas forward Damion James is averaging 18 points and 10 rebounds per game, but the Longhorns have plenty of weaknesses, particularly free throw shooting - Texas is at 63 percent on the season.

Wake Forest has problems of its own, of course. The Demon Deacons lost at home to NIT-bound North Carolina in late February, and the Miami game was another head scratcher.

About all anyone can be sure of is that on Thursday night, one of these teams will have a reason to feel pretty good - which will be a welcome change after the way the last few weeks have gone.

"I'm sure they're taking the same perspective we're taking," Smith said. "That this is a new beginning."