During the Texas basketball team's season-long stay near the top of the national polls, almost every college hoops fan noticed as the Longhorns thrashed opponents left and right.
What those fans may have missed was how six different teams came away from a matchup with Texas with a victory in hand.
And while all of those teams except for one -- fellow Big 12 school Oklahoma State -- are sitting comfortably in the Tournament with no worse than a No. 12 seed, they have each demonstrated how to corral the mighty Longhorns.
By slowing down point guard Daniel Gibson, boxing out with diligence down low, and shooting for a good percentage from three-point range, Penn just might be able to eke out a win. Maybe.
Like Penn, Texas possesses a consistent starting five without a great deal of support off the bench.
But unlike the Quakers, Texas' starting five of Gibson, Kenton Paulino, LaMarcus Aldridge, Brad Buckman and P J Tucker all score with regularity.
Like fellow Final Four contenders UConn, Memphis and Illinois, Texas' offense relies heavily on a dynamic point guard in Gibson.
The sophomore's play has been somewhat erratic this season, but Penn will have to limit his ability to pass the ball and run the floor if they have any hope of slowing the game down.
Texas coach Rick Barnes said that his team's success depends greatly on "Daniel ... playing well and moving without the ball, whether spotting up or just being active.
"When Daniel is being aggressive offensively and playing to his ability, it definitely gives us a major lift," he said. "It makes it easier for [Paulino]; it makes it easier for Brad Buckman; it makes it easier for everybody."
The job of guarding Gibson -- who himself nets 13.7 points per game -- will likely fall to Eric Osmundson and David Whitehurst; the Quakers' best on-the-ball defender, Ibrahim Jaaber, will likely guard the versatile swingman Tucker.
Tucker lives off of the dribble and is capable of scoring at will if left open. Jaaber will need occasional help from teammates if he is to keep the junior from repeating his 24-point performance against Memphis.
The saving grace of this matchup, though, is that Tucker leads his team in turnovers. His 106 are 40 more than his closest teammate, Aldridge. Jaaber could give Penn a big boost if he could capitalize on that weakness and improve his season average of 3.4 steals per game.
The matchup that could likely cause the most problems for Penn is on the interior against Aldridge, a center, and Buckman, a power forward. The tandem rarely posts up in the traditional sense, instead relying on second-chance points and tip-ins on the offensive glass.
The challenge down low, therefore, is to box out the Longhorns.
Villanova coach Jay Wright agrees. Wright's Wildcats -- one of Penn and Texas' two common opponents this year -- fell to the 'Horns in Austin, 58-55.
"You've got to spread them out if you can, and that's not easy to do," he said. "You've got to keep them away from the basket ... because they are so big and strong and they attack the offensive glass very well."
For Penn forward Mark Zoller, the battle inside will be a vital one.
"What's most important is [for Penn's big men] to stay on the floor," Wright said. "Because it's been a problem, and I'm sure they're going to try to go inside."
But even if Penn accomplishes the unlikely feat of limiting Texas' frontcourt, the problem of scoring will still likely fall to the Quakers' guards. That is because Texas plays a simple, 2-3 zone defense in the mold of Syracuse's.
That zone -- which the Quakers struggled mightily against during the Ivy League season -- will likely neutralize any baseline drives or post moves.
Wright experienced that very problem in his loss to Texas.
"I thought -- and I told Dunphy -- that ... they did a very good job of funnelling us toward Aldridge and then blocking shots," he said. "I thought we could have done a better job of getting inside and then kicking out, because we had no luck getting to the rim with him guarding the basket."
If that happens, Penn's three-point shooting -- 32 percent on the year, to Texas' 38 -- could be the only way to score, as Jaaber, Osmundson and Zoller try to shoot over the zone.
But Barnes said that nothing is set in stone, noting that opponents have succeeded with a variety of strategies.
"Coaches have adjusted throughout the game," he said. adding that Penn will play "very intelligent" basketball.
