Texas bumps out Stanford, 82-62

HOUSTON -- Stanford’s big guys were no match for the small, medium and jumbo sizes of the Texas Longhorns.

Little D.J. Augustin set the tempo, 299-pound Dexter Pittman pounded and pestered Brook Lopez, and the rest of the Longhorns chipped in as Texas defeated Stanford, 82-62, Friday night in an NCAA South Regional semifinal.

“Dex did a great job,” said the 6-foot Augustin, who scored eight of his 23 points during the game-breaking run. “He put his body against him, and I don’t think Brook could handle that weight.”

The victory sends the Longhorns into Sunday’s regional final against Memphis with a chance to reach the Final Four for the first time since 2003.

Mixing their inside and outside games, the Longhorns (31-6) took control early. Still, they were up only 52-51 after Lopez did everything but dribble the ball up the court to rally the Cardinal (28-8).

Texas answered with a 20-3 run, punctuated by several plays that sent the heavily pro-Longhorns fans to their feet. Most were by Augustin, but Pittman also contributed.

Pittman was an unlikely star. A sophomore who arrived in Austin weighing 366 pounds, he’s down to 299 but still only a bit player. This time, Coach Rick Barnes made him the first guy off the bench and told him to make sure Brook and Robin Lopez felt his presence.

The 7-foot brothers didn’t like it, especially not Brook -- whose frustration was obvious.

Brook went from scoring 24 of Stanford’s first 48 points to not making a basket over the final 13:55. He finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds.

Stanford Coach Trent Johnson said of Texas: “As hard as it is for me to say, they are better.”