You don't win your conference outright. You get a number two seed. But somehow you end up playing a de facto home game in the Sweet 16. Right about now it's good to be a Texas Longhorn. 

After rebounding spectacularly from the loss of Kevin Durant to the NBA, the Longhorns find themselves yet again in the Sweet 16, this time playing just 150 miles from home in Houston, Texas, quite possibly the city that is home to more Texas alumni than any other in the country. And while Texas will always be a football school, it is impossible to deny that on Friday night, Reliant Stadium will be a sea of burnt orange.

Considering the size and strength of their Stanford Cardinal opponent, the Horns could use every advantage possible in what promises to be one of the most hotly contested games of the Sweet 16.

For their part, the Cardinal players are saying all the right things despite being a slight underdog playing at what most would consider a serious disadvantage in Texas. But they see it like just another road game.

"Same thing," Stanford center Brook Lopez said, comparing the match-up against Texas to the Cardinal's tough regular season. "Just a bigger arena."

Well, it may be a little different than playing at Arizona or Oregon. For one thing, you lose this game, your season is over. Actually, that is the only thing.

The match-up between two seed Texas and three seed Stanford should be an interesting one in terms of style. Which team will be able to impose their style and pace on the other? The answer to that question will likely determine the outcome.

Will Texas be able to handle Stanford's interior presence, anchored by the 7-foot Lopez and his twin brother Robin? Will Stanford be able to keep All-American guard D.J. Augustin from running them ragged and kicking the ball out to the sharp shooting A.J. Abrams?

If the two styles cancel each other out can the Longhorns rely on the home court advantage to win its 7th straight NCAA tournament game in its home state in the last six years?

Texas coach Rick Barnes for one doesn't want his players relying on the home court to put his players over the top against one of the best teams from arguably the strongest conference in the country. 

"We don't want them distracted from the fact that we have to get ready to play a basketball game against an outstanding team," Barnes said.

Barnes will need Augustin to be at his best in handling the rock for the Horns, a team that led the country in turnover ratio. The key to any deep run in the tournament is controlling the ball and rebounding. That second part is where Texas may have problems, but also where they are a bit underrated. 

Many people see this team as a guard-oriented team, but Connor Atchley led the Big XII in blocked shots and Damion James is a freakish athlete who can guard and outjump players several inches taller. Add to the mix 6'10", 300-pound beast Dexter Pittman off the bench and the Horns have a formidable inside presence with fouls to give in trying to contain Lopez. 

But unlike the Wisconsin Badgers, the Cardinal is now as methodical and plodding as some people may think. Stanford averaged over 70 points a game, so trying to slow down the game may get them a little bit out of their offensive rhythm, a rhythm that may already be susceptible to a boisterous crowd. Cardinal coach Trent Johnson doesn't think the latter should be a problem, however.

"This is a mature, experienced basketball team," he said. "The one thing I've told them that the crowds get bigger and the magnitudes in question in the game gets bigger, but it's still a game itself, and your ability to relax and do what you've done all year long is going to put you in situations where you can be successful or not."

That may sound good in the locker room, but the fact of the matter is that all but one of the Cardinal's losses came on the road this season, and this promises to be a road game unlike any other.

I like the Horns guard play to open this one up in the second half and win by a half dozen as long as they hit their free throws down the stretch. D.J. Augustin I'm looking at you.