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FNNs MIDWEST REGION 2ND RD TOP of the TICKET II  -  Texas Longhorns -5.5 (-110)  | The Hook'em Horns spread position in this Saturday night matchup inside of the Wells Fargo Arena is good to -7 points. 
3% game rating

The lack of length and physicality in the paint will be the doom of the Nittany Lions today in their second-round matchup against the Longhorns. The recipe for Penn State to remain a part of today's 40-minute affair is to pull a rabbit out of its hat and find a way to shoot above and beyond its skill set connecting on 50 percent of its field goal takes.

The Longhorns are a difficult task for the guard-oriented offense of PSU to tackle.

Texas A&M failed in a miserable fashion against the backcourt of the Lions. They offered little resistance in the 76-59 first-round loss and were not the Buzz-led physical defense that had gotten them to the conference finals the last month of the season, hell the entire two months of the SEC slate.

Penn State knocked down 48 percent of their takes in Thursday's win over the Aggies and threw 13 shots from the 3-line to the wind. Everything went right for Penn State and I am betting that things are not as easy nor does the ball bounce in such a fortuitous fashion for this Nittany crew.

I read a stat in some of the breakdowns sent to me following Penn State's win over A&M. One of the breakdowns mentioned that Penn State was 14-1 when they hit 40 percent of better from beyond the arc this season. Most teams, even one I am a part of is going to be victorious shooting at a 40-plus percent clip from distance. I am betting that the Lions don't have the success from beyond the arc tonight they did on Thursday evening.

Penn State is neither dynamic offensively nor defensively and they do not present the Achilles arrow that issues the Longhorns a thorn on game night. Texas, across the season, was outrebounded, on average, each and every game this season. Penn State is not a threat to accumulate double-digit second chance points.

And while Penn State's backcourt is the heart and soul of the team they are not a match for one of the top five backcourts in Division I ... that being the Longhorns.

The perimeter defense of Texas contests everything, and their success in keeping the opposition from being hot from the 3-line is the death of any chance Penn State has in this matchup.

The Longhorns length and active defensive scheme create turnovers and contests perimeter takes, successful attempts.

If you adhere to the stats as I presented you in relation to the success of Penn State when they shoot 40-plus percent from deep you won't like, unless you are supporting the Longhorns as heavily as I am, that Texas is 21-2 when holding the opposition to 36 percent or less from beyond the arc.  36% or under.

Texas moves in preventing transition possessions and Penn State doesn't have the iso offensive personnel to get to the charity stripe enough to earn a win over Texas tonight. 

Texas Longhorns -5.5 (-110)