NEWARK, N.J. -- Well, there you have it folks.
No. 15 Texas just put on an old-fashioned whooping on seventh-ranked Tennessee, and maybe it's not as big of a surprise after the way the Volunteers escaped Friday night against West Virginia with a two-point win.
D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrams were the Longhorns' one-two punch the whole night for Rick Barnes' squad, and now they'll head back to Austin to face Texas Southern before making their way to Los Angeles to take on No. 2 UCLA Sunday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion in the Pac-10/Big 12 Hardwood Series.
That's a game I'm certainly looking forward to as I'll be back in my old stomping grounds next weekend when the Longhorns and Bruins meet in Westwood, a place I grew up watching games as a kid with my dad.
And if Texas shoots the ball the way it did tonight against Tennessee, Ben Howland's club will be for a dogfight for sure. But the Bruins also haven't lost at home in nearly two years, and with that stiffling defense that UCLA plays game in and game out, it will be an interesting scenario for the 5-0 Longhorns.
Here's some final notes on tonight's championship game, and I'll have more once again in Hang Time for your reading pleasure.
-Legends Classic All-Tournament Team:
Da'Sean Butler, West Virginia
Connor Atchley, Texas
Chris Lofton, Tennessee
A.J. Abrams, Texas
D.J Augustin, Texas (Legends Classic MVP)
-All four of Texas' double-digit scorers finished with 20 or more points. Augustin led the way with 23 points along with eight assists and four rebounds, and Connor Atchley had an impressive 22 points down low to go along with a team-high 11 rebounds. Abrams, who shot 3-for-8 from downtown, and Justin Mason, who shot the ball particularly well in making six of his eight attempts, both finished with 21 each.
-Chris Lofton paced Tennessee with 18 points, but the preseason All-American never broke loose on the Longhorns, as Augustin and Abrams teamed up in defending the senior point guard, who shot 50 percent from the field (5-for-10) and from behind the three-point line (4-for-8).
-JaJuan Smith was one of the three double-digit scorer for the Volunteeers with 13 points, but the 6-foot-2 senior from Cleveland, Tenn., only made four of his 14 field goal attempts and just 1-of-4 threes. Tyler Smith added 11 points, eight assists and eight rebounds in 33 minutes, but Bruce Pearl's team didn't get much else on the interior with sophomore Wayne Chism managing just seven points in 19 minutes and Duke Crews scoring a meager four points in 21 minutes.
-The Longhorns held a 38-30 rebounding edge over Tennessee, as Damion James, despite playing with four fouls, and Abrams both tallied six while Augustin had four. On the other side, Crews pulled down five boards and Chism had four for the Vols, who shot just 38.8 from the field for the game -- quiet a comparison when you look at the Longhorns' 63.6 field-goal percentage along with its 10-for-20 efficiency from behind the three-point line.
-Lastly, the stat sheets that were handed out to the press state tonight's attendance was 4,327. With the way things looked in the crowd, though, The Prudential Center would have been lucky to have had 1,500 for both the consolation and championship games.
