Bohls, Golden: The Big 12 homestretch is here, but how will the Texas men, women finish?

It's a big weekend for Texas sports, and it's also a big weekend for Austin sports as Austin FC opens its third season on Saturday night. And that's the day the Longhorns men's basketball team can put itself in position to play for the Big 12 regular-season championship and the women's basketball team can emerge from its road trip to Norman in great shape with a win over Oklahoma:

1. Texas men, women are in the Big 12 homestretch

Both Texas basketball teams have three Big 12 games left. How will they finish?

Bohls: A split decision. Sorry, but I think the Jayhawks will win the men’s title for — gulp — the 21st time in the Big 12’s 27-year history, only because Kansas has one more home game than the Longhorns and rarely loses at the Phog. Texas could well pull it off but probably has to sweep Baylor and TCU on the road and beat Kansas in Moody Center to earn only its second outright title since 1996 and fourth outright or shared crown. The Longhorns women, locked in a tie with Oklahoma, also have a tall order. Vic Schaefer’s bunch has to go to Norman, host Baylor and finish at decent Kansas State. I’ll say Texas beats the Sooners and wins the Big 12 by one game.

Golden: Just short. Someone should ask these two teams the last time they won a Big 12 regular-season title. It’s like asking about the last time you had a bowl of Wolf Brand Chili. “It’s been too long” works in both cases. The men have a rough schedule, so I don’t see them winning at Baylor and Kansas to get it done. Same with the women. Oklahoma on the road is a tall task. I see both teams finishing second in the regular season and hopefully 1-1 finishes in the conference tournament, just enough to stay focused and have fresh legs for the Big Dance.

2. Hitting the panic button about Longhorns baseball?

What would you say to a concerned Texas baseball fan right now?

Bohls: Uh, relax. Four games don’t make a season or even a trend. But if the Longhorns don’t right themselves over the next month with a pretty mediocre schedule outside of a game with No. 1 LSU next week and a series with Cal State Fullerton, then the fan base might wonder where this rebuilding team is headed at least for this season. It doesn’t “look” like an Omaha team, but it’s way too early to panic.

Golden: Whoaah. Give the Longhorns time to figure this out. The reliance on young talent having to grow up early is a huge concern. Over the last three or four seasons, David Pierce has had a couple of go-to veterans at the plate or on the mound to keep things on the level when tough times happened. Now the Horns are one of the most inexperienced teams in the country.

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3. Two more questions for Chris Del Conte

If you could've asked a question during Texas AD Chris Del Conte's town hall, what would it have been?

Bohls: About Texas' future schedules. I’d ask when Texas joins the SEC, will it continue to pursue one high-profile football opponent on the level of an Ohio State, Michigan or Notre Dame or go all creampuff in nonconference?

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Golden: About Texas' retirement standards. When will the administration tweak the rule in football that allows jersey retirements only for those who have won a national player of the year award? It’s so slanted toward the offense. Defensive stars Derrick Johnson and Brian Orakpo won the Nagurski Awards and Johnson also captured the Butkus. Aaron Ross and Michael Huff won the Thorpe Award given to the nation’s top defensive back. Those national accolades will hopefully be taken into consideration so these Longhorn legends can have their jerseys forever displayed in DKR.

4. Break out your stopwatches: It's NFL combine time

Which Longhorn has the most to gain at the NFL scouting combine?

Bohls: Keondre Coburn. He should look to impress with his likable personality and his tremendous drive as he tries to become the next Poona Ford in the NFL. Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson have already proved themselves, as has DeMarvion Overshown. I don’t think Moro Ojomo, whom I fully respect, will evolve into an elite edge rusher, but Snacks can show a work ethic and a passion that could allow him to play in the league for a half-dozen years or more.

Golden: DeMarvion Overshown. I would have said Roschon Johnson, but his broken hand will probably limit his effectiveness. I’m going with Overshown because he will be even more impressive than scouts who have seen his great athleticism up close expect. He will interview well, test off the charts and be an immediate difference maker on special teams. He’s projected as a third-round pick, but his upside could push him up to Round 2.

5. Are you ready for some football ... on grass?

Sounds as if grass is eventually coming to Royal-Memorial Stadium. Thoughts?

Bohls: I love grass. Got to go with the real stuff. It’s easier on players’ joints, for one thing, more aesthetic than the fake stuff and might be more of an inducement to recruits who’d prefer playing on grass instead of harsher, pseudo-concrete surfaces.

Golden: Hallelujah. The joints and anterior cruciate ligaments of future Longhorns would owe a debt of thanks to Del Conte if he made this happen sooner rather than later. For those of us who played football growing up, the game is tailor-made for grass. It will cost more than synthetic turf, and the upkeep is a monster, but you gain so much more in the optics because a natural surface is much easier on the body overall.

6. Now that truly would be March madness

Do you favor the NCAA Tournament field being expanded to 90 teams?

Bohls: I do not. Hey, 68 is plenty. Such wild growth would only dilute the field, render the regular season more meaningless, add many more undeserving Power Six teams instead of midmajors to the tournament and make for an unwieldy format. Do we really need this sport to spill deeper into April — or May? — than it already does?

Golden: Heck, no. Why are they trying to fix something that isn’t broken? Money, that’s why. March Madness is the one event in America that has never disappointed us. It’s simply glorious. To water it down in the pursuit of more greenbacks does the sport a disservice. Football needed to expand its postseason. College basketball should not touch one of the joys of the spring sports season.

7. All eyes are on Alabama (for the wrong reasons)

Should Alabama just kick Brandon Miller off the team?

Bohls: No. But he sure deserved some type of punishment as more information becomes available. The star player on the No. 1 Crimson Tide might not be prosecuted for a crime, but he was implicated when police said he took the murder weapon to the friend who's accused of killing a young mother and blocked the victim’s car in his own car. Miller’s attorney disputes that version. Miller scored 41 points Wednesday night, but his coach, Nate Oats, was tone deaf in his ridiculous comments and was way too dismissive and too quick to exonerate Miller.

Golden: Yes. It boggles my mind that Miller was allowed to play Wednesday. He was involved in a tragedy and should have been held out pending more facts coming out in the investigation. He played great in the overtime win over South Carolina but should not have been anywhere near that arena.. Basketball should be the last thing we’re talking about here because a young mother lost her life.

8. About those rule changes, Part 1

Are you on board with new baseball rules such as ghost runners in extra innings and electronic umpires?

Bohls: Of course not. Putting an automatic runner at second in extra-inning games bastardizes the game’s authenticity and makes a mockery of some stats such as pitchers’ ERAs. Pitch clocks are fine, but I like real-live human beings calling balls and strikes. If we go robo-ump, what’s next? Zero umpires on the field with video replays deciding every fair/foul ball and bang-bang play at first? Is this tennis? What baseball needs is more action and fewer lulls. I hate the obsession with home runs. Strikeouts used to mean something to batters, but no more.

Golden: I'm not. It comes across as desperate and unnecessary. People who love baseball don’t care about some clock, and the thought that ghost runners or pitch clocks will bring swarms of people back to MLB is laughable at best. Congrats for trying to improve your game, but don’t make it an overscienced clown show.

9. About those rule changes, Part 2

Should college football speed up games with changes to some rules?

Bohls: Yes. I would dispense with clock stoppage after first downs, at least until, say, five minutes left in the game or only in the fourth quarter, and go with running clocks after out-of-bounds plays the first three quarters.

Golden: Yes. And I love the idea of keeping the clock running on first downs gained in the field of play. However, the game action isn’t the only part of the experience that can be sped up. Are the home fans really invested in what the other school’s band is putting down? Get rid of that part of halftime, save 10 minutes and get the teams back out there. The NFL halftime is 13 minutes. College should follow suit.

10. Year 3 of Austin and the MLS has arrived

Austin FC's season opener is here. Are we a soccer city yet?

Bohls: Absolutely. The MLS team, which will open play at home Saturday night, continues to gain a 97% season ticket renewal, packs Q2 Stadium to fuel the team like few other arenas and supports the Verde & Black as much as any other club. Plus, Austin made last year’s Western Conference final and is one of the favorites to advance that far or farther this season.

Golden: To a point. The Q is always packed, and that’s a testament to the dedication of this rabid fan base. Austin, as it turns out, enjoys both kinds of football, and in the case of Austin FC, those fans have enjoyed playoff success that’s eluded the Royal-Memorial Stadium entrants since the 2009 title game run. In that sense, soccer has earned its rightful place in the city’s sports culture.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas men's, women's basketball both face tall orders on Big 12 fronts