40 Acres Sports

[tag]Dexter Pittman[/tag] had his first double-double as a Longhorn against [tag]Austin Peay[/tag] but that wasn’t the thing I was most impressed with on Friday. The one play of the day that made me jump up out of my seat was Big Dex’s one-handed recovery of a loose ball. The ball was bouncing near the free throw line and Pittman bent over, palmed the ball with his left hand, and then tossed an outlet pass to DJ Augustin to start the break.

Apparently I wasn’t the only one impressed with it, Austin-American Statesman write Kirk Bohls spent half of his Saturday article discussing Dexter’s hand size:

The first thing you notice about Dexter Pittman is his huge hands.

OK, the second thing.

It’s hard to overlook the fact that when Pittman walks into a room, there’s much less space for everyone else.

However, after his tremendous size, which is literally diminishing by the meal, the most conspicuous thing about the 6-foot-10-inch, 295-pound-and-falling sophomore center is his truly mammoth hands. The biggest hands you’ll ever see on a human.

In Texas’ practices, he shows them off by catching the basketball with a single hand. He especially loves to taunt diminutive teammate A.J. Abrams with his hands, because the flashy junior guard has been Pittman’s primary tormentor regarding that ongoing battle of the pounds. […]

But no one was kidding Pittman about his hands — hands so large they could double as catcher’s mitts.

They come in handy when he’s trying to secure rebounds or block shots. He gives Texas a physical presence down low, something it needs since its best reserve post player, Gary Johnson, continues to sit out with a severe ankle sprain. Johnson remains questionable for the Longhorns’ second-round NCAA tournament game Sunday against Miami.

“I think I have the biggest hands in the country,” Pittman said. “Sometimes I will palm A.J.’s head. Or I’ll cover his whole face with one of my hands.”

He also puts them to good use on the court.

In the Longhorns’ 74-54 rout of 15th-seeded Austin Peay in the first round, he had a career-best 10 rebounds to go with 11 points, in his first double-double at Texas. He grabbed seven rebounds in his first seven minutes Friday. The breakout performance came in his first NCAA tournament action; he never got on the court in Texas’ two 2007 postseason games.

Even more impressively Friday, he actually palmed a loose ball laying on the floor of Alltel Arena, and quickly flicked it to a teammate.

“Did you see him snatch that ball with one hand?” Texas assistant Ken McDonald gasped. “Like it was a tennis ball. Now that’s coaching.”

I’m not sure how much Pittman will be able to contribute through the rest of the tourney, it will depend on the match-up, but if he continues to improve I’m excited about what he’ll bring in the next two seasons. Big Dex at a stronger, lighter 280 pounds could be a force in the Big 12.

The opening round game of the 2008 Men’s Basketball Championship turned out about as well as the Texas Longhorns could have hoped for. A nice, comfortable 74-54 win against an overmatched [tag]Austin Peay[/tag] team moves the Horns on to round two against Miami. [tag]AJ Abrams[/tag] was the leading scorer for Texas, he definitely had his three-point stroke working on Friday.

Texas got out to a huge 19-3 lead early and never let up against the Governors. The defense was active and the big men inside gave the undersized scorers for Austin Peay no room to make anything happen. [tag]Connor Atchley[/tag], [tag]Damion James[/tag], and big [tag]Dexter Pittman[/tag] controlled the paint and blocked six shots during the game. Texas kept their 15 to 25 point lead throughout the game, and while the starters didn’t get a ton of rest late the second half was relatively easy and everybody should be ready to go Sunday against the Hurricanes.

Related Links

• Game recaps
• CBS video highlights
• CBS GameCenter

This time ESPN college basketball guru Joe Lunardi previews the [tag]Austin Peay[/tag] Governors. Sort of. He’s only got 36 seconds of information on Texas’ opening round opponent, and he still couldn’t make it that long without a urine-related joke. No mention of a single player or coach, watch the SI.com preview video for some better analysis.

Here’s the preview of Austin Peay:

Day one was sadly short of upsets, and the evil Dukies were able to hold off Belmont in the final seconds Hopefully our Good Friday of basketball is a day of tons of upsets where everyone but the Horns go down.

Here’s what to watch on day two:

(10) Saint Mary’s vs (7) Miami – 11:30am
The Hurricanes are coached by former Texas assistant Frank Haith, but his team won’t have enough for a strong St. Mary’s team. The Gaels played the Horns tough for a half back in early January and will give Miami trouble here in the first round. Prediction: Saint Mary’s

(15) Austin Peay vs (2) Texas – 2:00pm
Arkansas fans will be chanting “Let’s go Peay!” with all their redneck vigor, but the Longhorns should be able to handle the Governors easliy. Prediction: Texas

(11) St. Joseph’s vs (6) Oklahoma – 6:10pm
The Sooners were struggled against good teams this year and St. Joe’s is a good team. Somehow I managed to pick every 11-seed to win, only one for three so far… Prediction: St. Joe’s

(12) Villanova vs (5) Clemson – 8:50pm
Clemson gave UNC a run for their money three times this year and Villanova was one of the last teams in. Yet, this is my 12/5 upset of the year. Prediction: Villanova

Related Links

• Bevo Sports day one preview
• ESPN scoreboard
• Printable bracket (PDF)
• My Tourney Challenge bracket

Texas Longhorns NCAA Tournament tickets. Buy or sell tickets for Sunday’s games in Little Rock or the Final Four in SA.

I’m not even sure where [tag]Austin Peay[/tag] is located, but the Longhorns will be taking them on Friday in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The former school of NBA legends Trenton Hassell and Bubba Wells, Austin Peay has 8,650 undergraduate students at the Clarksville, Tennessee campus. The 15th-seeded team in the South bracket, the Governors are led by scorer Drake Reed and outside shooter Todd Babington.

Check out the SI.com Film Room preview below for more info:

The Longhorns will face the Governors on Friday at 2pm on CBS. Start working on your excuse to leave work early now.

AccuScore predictions for first round of NCAA Tournament. Giving Austin Peay a surprising 14% chance to win.