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The Texas Longhorns will prepare to face off against the North Carolina State Wolfpack in the Third-Place game of the TicketCity Legends Classic at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Texas is coming off of their first loss of the season as the Longhorns fell in a tough and physical 100-95 in overtime versus the Oregon State Beavers in the opening round.
The Longhorns will need to address their erratic and over-aggressive play and the Wolfpack could be the remedy they need. Texas turned the ball over 23 times and put Oregon State on the free-throw line 43 times on Saturday and head coach Rick Barnes wasn't pleased about it at all:
"Their maturity won out because they made some plays we didn't make. I think we have a chance to be a good basketball team but we have to learn to guard and we can't be fouling people out." -- Rick Barnes
The Longhorns will have to deal with the return of two players in N.C. State's lineup. C.J. Leslie will be the focal point in this game, as the forward was suspended for the first three games of the season for accepting $410 worth of impermissible benefits. Leslie had 20 points for the Wolfpack and kept NC State in the game versus Vanderbilt. Per the North Carolina State's official site, Freshman Thomas de Thaey's amateur certification has been cleared by the NCAA. The forward from Belgium, is eligible immediately for the 2011-12 season, and will be in uniform and available to play tonight for the Wolfpack.
Texas versus North Carolina State tips at 6:30 p.m. ET. with the game broadcast on The Longhorn Network, ESPN3 and on twitter at @LonghornRdTrip.