Texas was looking to avenge their most recent defeat in College Station against the Texas A&M Aggies Monday back in Austin, and boy did they ever.

Texas beat the Aggies 77-50, with most of the credit deservedly going to the defensive effort and the return of DJ Augustin’s jump shot. Augustin, who shot below 20% over the past 3 games, made 9 of his 14 shots and finished with 27 points, nearly outscoring the Aggies by himself in the first half, getting clipped 18-17. Texas dominated from the get go, going up 11-2 within the first 3 minutes and really never looking back. It’s the only game of the conference season for Texas where there were 0 ties and 0 lead changes. It was only tied at nil-nil.

Texas used a brilliant wrinkle in their opening offensive set the first couple minutes, running two high posts, running a pick and roll on one side, and popping the other behind the 3-point line. They got three open shots, two 3’s, one each by Connor Atchley and Damion James, because A&M played to protect the lane and dropped both big men to protect from either an Augustin layup or letting the roll-man get open.

The D was all over the place, playing scrappy, chasing shooters and probably put in the most energy on that side all year. A&M shot only 19% from the field in the 1st half, and only made 1 of 14 3’s in the entire game. AJ Abrams probably had the toughest assignment, guarding Josh Carter, the 6-7 swingman, and held him to 3-11 shooting and only 11 points.

The rest of the starting five and Gary Johnson continued to be productive, and Texas is at its best when the team plays well at all five positions. Even though Abrams and Atchley combined for only 14 points, their production on offense was less essential with DJ’s night and both did a solid job on the defensive end, especially with Atchley’s 3 blocks. James played significantly better than in College Station, where he played so poorly he was benched the last 15 minutes of the game, and then came off the bench the next two contests. James had 15 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks, and was flying all over the court, putting in a couple dunks (one via alley-oop), and an alley oop lay in with his left hand. Justin Mason also played well defensively, holding senior Dominique Kirk to 1-7 shooting, and adding 8 rebounds, always impressive with his 6′2” frame. Johnson had 8 points and 7 rebounds, another solid game, all while showing the muscle and energy they were expecting when they recruited him out of high school.

Texas is entering white-hot territory and growing whispers after their sixth win in a row of maybe pulling out a 1-seed again. We’ll see how that works out. They got a chance if they keep it out to have a Little Rock 1st-2nd round, Houston regional, and San Antonio final four. That’d be the best turn since 03 when they had a San Antonio regional to get to the Final Four as a one-seed. Will history repeat itself? We’ll see.