Texas men’s basketball preview: Longhorns face Louisville in first game in New York City


No. 19 Texas vs. Louisville

2:30 p.m. Sunday, Madison Square Garden, New York City

TV/radio: ESPN/1300 

About Texas (3-0): Sophomore forward Dillon Mitchell leads the team with 10 rebounds a game and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds in Wednesday’s 80-64 win over Rice. … Texas has been winning the battle at the 3-point line. The Longhorns have shot 32-of-70 from 3-point range this season while holding opponents to 11-of-54 from long distance. … All three of the starting guards in Texas’s lineup — Tyrese Hunter, Max Abmas and Ithiel Horton — are averaging at least 14 points a game. … This week marks the seventh appearance at the Empire Classic tournament for the Longhorns, who won the event in 2014.

Texas forward Dillon Mitchell leads the team with 10 rebounds a game and pulled down a career-high 13 boards in Wednesday's win over Rice. Mitchell and the Longhorns compete in the Empire Classic on Sunday and Monday in New York City.

More:Five-star guard Tre Johnson signs with Texas men’s basketball team

About Louisville (2-1): Second-year coach Kenny Payne has the Cardinals halfway to their win total from last year, when Louisville had a disastrous 4-28 record. … Sophomore guard Michael James scores 18 points a game to pace Louisville, which rebounded from a stunning home loss to Chattanooga Nov. 10 with a 61-41 win over Coppin State on Wednesday. … The Cardinals and Texas join Indiana and defending national champion Connecticut in the four-team Empire Classic tournament. Indiana and Connecticut play the first semifinal Sunday, and the winners of those games will play Monday at 6 p.m. on ESPNU. The losers of the two semifinals will face off Monday at 3:30 p.m., also on ESPNU.

— Thomas Jones


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