FACTS & STATS: Site: Alltel Arena (16,060) -- Little Rock, Arkansas. Television: CBS. NCAA Tournament Record: Miami-Florida 4-5, Texas 30-28. Series Record: Series is tied, 1-1.

GAME NOTES: Shooting for a spot in the Sweet 16 for the fifth time in the last seven years, the Texas Longhorns give it their best shot versus the Hurricanes of Miami-Florida at Alltel Arena in Little Rock this afternoon. The second- seeded Longhorns bounced back from yet another loss to Kansas in the Big 12 Conference Tournament title tilt last weekend with a resounding 74-54 triumph versus Austin Peay in first-round action in the South Region of this event. The win was the fifth in the last six games for Texas, which is now 30-28 all- time in the tourney. As for the seventh-seeded Hurricanes, who are sporting a 4-5 mark in the event which is celebrating it's 70th anniversary, they rebounded from a devastating loss to Virginia Tech during the ACC Tournament with a strong 78-64 effort versus Saint Mary's-CA on Friday night. The victory was the 15th of the season against non-conference competition and the 23rd overall for Miami. This meeting is the third ever between the two programs, with each having recorded a win previously. The most recent encounter took place in 1989 with the Longhorns posting a 123-104 win at home in Austin. The winner of today's bout will hit the floor versus Stanford next week in the Sweet 16.

Trailing by six points early in the second half, the Hurricanes put together a mammoth 25-5 run over the next 8:43 to take a commanding lead over the Gaels and never looked back. A big piece of the run was supplied by All-ACC performer Jack McClinton who ended up with a career-best 38 points on 12-of-19 shooting from the field, with all but three of those field goals coming after the break. McClinton also nailed all 11 of his free-throw attempts, as he scored nearly half the team's points. James Dews and Jimmy Graham both added nine points, the latter also clearing seven rebounds which helped the squad grab a 47-33 advantage on the glass. McClinton more than doubled his scoring average on the season, which currently stands at 17.7 ppg. He also boosted his already impressive free-throw shooting to an incredible 91.7 percent, helping the squad reach 74.3 percent at the line as a team. Dews adds 10.3 ppg and has combined with McClinton to account for 146 of the club's 227 three-point baskets.

Tying a school-record for three-pointers made in a single NCAA Tournament game with six, A.J. Abrams led an offensive attack for the Longhorns which resulted in an easy 20-point win over Austin Peay on Friday. Abrams finished with a game-high 26 points, one of four players to finish in double figures for the victors. Connor Atchley added 12 points and seven boards, although he shot just 3-of-10 from the field, while both Dexter Pittman (11 points) and Damion James (10 points) registered double-doubles with 10 boards apiece. Putting his own offense on hold was D.J. Augustin who tallied just six points, but handed out a team-best eight assists, while Justin Mason filled out his stat line with nine points, nine rebounds and seven dishes. Augustin had his scoring average dip to 19.4 ppg, but also saw his assist total surge to 201 for the season two days ago. Abrams, who has knocked down 105 three-point shots, accounts for 16.4 ppg and James remains a double-double threat with 13.1 points and a team-high 10.5 rebounds per game for Texas.

The success of the Longhorns in the tournament in recent years should go a long way in preparing this group. The chances of McClinton coming up huge once again and carrying almost half the offense for the Hurricanes is a stretch, but even if he is able to duplicate his effort from Friday, Miami as a whole is still going to struggle.

Predicted Outcome

Texas 81, Miami-Florida 70