Brown key matchup versus Texas

Texas guard J’Covan Brown leads the Big 12 in scoring, averaging close to 20 points. How Oklahoma defends the 6-foot-1 junior is the key matchup when the Sooners host the Longhorns Tuesday night at Lloyd Noble Center.

Brown has been especially hot the past three weeks. He’s averaged 22.4 points and 5.0 assists the past five games.

“He doesn’t have to be shooting it to be the key guy, either,” said OU coach Lon Kruger. “He can penetrate and distribute. But he’s always a threat to score. He can hit the 3 and put the ball on the floor. That makes him hard to guard. Everyone on him obviously has to work hard.”

In a strange scheduling quirk, the Sooners (13-11 overall, 3-9 in league play) are done playing Kansas and Kansas State and have played every team except Texas. The rematch is scheduled in two weeks in Austin.

The Longhorns (16-9, 6-6) are riding a three-game winning streak. They’re projected as a No. 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.

“They’re playing as well as they have all year these past three ballgames,” Kruger said. “They had a big road win (at Texas A&M) and a 27-point swing Saturday against Kansas State. They were down 15 in the second half and went up 12. That’s a pretty impressive run.”