Today both D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrams made it known that they were going to enter the NBA Draft process. Neither have plans to sign with an agent, but almost no one expects Augustin to return.

The All-American sophomore point guard surprised some by coming back after the 2007 season. According to some reports, the only reason Augustin has not hired an agent is that he is hedging against suffering a possible injury before the final withdrawal date of June 16. Otherwise, Augustin is not coming back to the Longhorns.

After being named first team All-American and the recipient of the Bob Cousy Award for the best college point guard, It's still hard to argue against going pro,. When the best reason offered is that the 2009 NBA Draft could be really weak, that's just not enough.

Abrams, however, will almost certainly be returning to the Longhorns. It makes sense for the junior to see what the NBA scouts say, but as a 5-11 shooting guard he will not be in demand unless he can improve his 3-point shooting above the 38% of this past season. Of course, without Augustin to set him up, that seems less likely.

The loss of Augustin definitely knocks Texas out of any talk of a pre-season #1 and likely top-ten ranking. Justin Mason will likely be the point guard by default. Given the rest of the talent still on the Texas team and how well Rick Barnes has coached the Longhorns, don't keep them out of the top-25 like so many did after Kevin Durant left.

University of Texas sophomore DJ Augustin is expected to announce his intentions to enter the NBA Draft today, according to a source for the Austin American Statesman. Augustin, last seen struggling against Memphis guard Derrick Rose in the Elite 8, is expected not to hire an agent, in an effort to protect himself in the event of a draft-impacting injury.

Augustin averaged 19 points for the Longhorns this season, and is considered one of the top point guards available in this year's draft, if he does indeed follow through with his eligibility. Currently his stock lands him as low as24th and as high as 7th.

Augustin's biggest knock is his size. At 5-11, he could suffer against taller, more athletic guards like Rose at the pro-level. But this deficit is overcome by his strength, savvy, quickness, and ability to distribute, which should land Augustin somewhere in the top half of the draft with a few solid workouts.

The Associated Press All-American team was announced today, and it's notable mostly for who didn't make it: For the first time ever, there are no senior All-Americans.

Instead, the team consists of UCLA freshman center Kevin Love, Kansas State freshman forward Michael Beasley, Texas sophomore guard D.J. Augustin, North Carolina junior forward Tyler Hansbrough and Memphis junior guard Chris Douglas-Roberts. Beasley and Hansbrough were unanimous selections.

Three seniors -- Shan Foster of Vanderbilt, D.J. White of Indiana and Roy Hibbert of Georgetown -- made the second team, but the absence of any seniors on the first team is a reminder of how much college basketball has changed. The most talented players just don't stick around until their senior seasons, and many of the best players wouldn't play college basketball at all if not for the NBA's minimum age rule. I don't know if we'll ever see a five-freshman All-American team, but I feel confident saying this isn't the last time we'll see a zero-senior All-American team.

Earlier today, my esteemed colleagues Charles Rich and Michael David Smith labeled Memphis's vicious blowout of Texas as yet another boring game in a string of second-weekend snoozers. Now, I like a close game as much as anyone else does, but I fail to see what is so boring about the most athletic team in the country playing at the height of their powers against another Top 10 team.

When Memphis is on, they're quite simply awesome to watch. Their superb athleticism at every position creates countless alley-oops, blocks, and transition opportunities. Derrick Rose, a certain Top 3 pick in June's NBA Draft, dominated DJ Augustin, a player most experts call the best point guard in the country. The Tigers used their insane quickness to make one of the quickest, steadiest backcourts in the country look out of control and outclassed. From my point of view, these accomplishments are rarer and more noteworthy than a tight finish. No matter the score, Memphis will always make a few plays that make your draw drop.

Exciting endings are obviously great and memorable, but they often come at the end of mediocre games. For instance, it's hard to argue that either Kansas or Davidson looked particularly stellar in today's admittedly exciting second game. As cool as it was to see the Wildcats nearly nip the Jayhawks, I have to admit that I had more fun watching Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts dismantle the Longhorns.

No. 1 seed Memphis manhandled Texas 85-67 and cruised to the Final Four today, giving us yet another boring NCAA Tournament game but also getting us one step closer to having all four top seeds playing in San Antonio.

The Tigers never really struggled. Although the Longhorns scored the last six points of the first half and the first six points of the second to keep things from getting too out of hand, this was the Tigers' game all the way. They took an early lead, held their ground, and then dominated most of the second half.

Chris Douglas-Roberts, Derrick Rose and Joey Dorsey all had big games for Memphis, and Texas played an oddly passive defense. The Longhorns failed to exploit Memphis's greatest weakness -- free throw shooting -- by rarely fouling until the game was out of hand, and when the Tigers did get to the line, they were uncharacteristically accurate.

After two straight years of getting stopped in the Elite Eight, Memphis is about to advance to the Final Four.

The way the games have been this weekend, there better be a heck of a pay-off next Saturday with (likely) all the top teams facing each other. Right now, it hardly seems worth it.

There have been moments this weekend where the games have gotten good -- Louisville tying UNC in the second half and Stanford's nice run at Texas come to mind -- but the overall games have hardly been riveting. Instead I find myself grateful for the bourbon by my laptop, then the games themselves. Wait, that came out wrong.

Right now Memphis is controlling the game against Texas, as they lead 39-28 at the half. The game started with promise, but now has the feel of the Louisville-UNC game from last night. One team dictating tempo, style and ultimately in control, no matter the score.

I am just hoping Davidson can continue to shock. Who knows? After all, Gus Johnson will be calling the Davidson-Kansas game.

Here are just some little tidbits about the Elite 8, which begins tonight:

Never has all four #1 seeds advanced to the Final Four (they all are still alive)

The only remaining coaches that have won a National Championship are Rick Pitino and Roy Williams. They face off against each other tonight.

Xavier's Sean Miller and Davidson's Bob McKillop will be making their first Elite 8 appearances. The others have all been there before.

Louisville and UNC play in the men's tournament at 9:00pm tonight in Charlotte. The women's team will face off in the women's tournament at noon in New Orleans.

This is UCLA's third straight Elite 8. They won the last two times.

This is Memphis' third straight Elite 8. They lost the last two times.

Half of last year's Elite 8 is back.

When Roy Williams was at Kansas and Rick Pitino was at Kentucky, Kansas beat Kentucky 150-95 back in 1989.

The last South Region champion to win the entire tournament was Kentucky in 1998.

Of the eight games that comprised the Sweet 16, only one was close in any way. That would be Xavier's overtime win over West Virginia. And the Muskies blew an 18-point lead in that one.

Sure, Western Kentucky made a mad dash to get back into the game against UCLA, but the Bruins then went away.

Every other game was won by double figures with each of the winning teams holding at least a 19 point lead at one point.

• North Carolina won by 21 (and had a 26 point lead)
• Texas won by 20 (had a 23-pt lead)
• Louisville won by 19
• Memphis won by 18 (had a 34-pt lead)
• Davidson won by 17 (had a 21-pt lead)
• Kansas won by 15 (had a 21-pt lead)
• UCLA won by 10 (had a 21-pt halftime lead)

In fact, Tennessee and Western Kentucky never had a lead in their games against Louisville or UCLA, respectively. Washington State did have a two-point lead over UNC at one point. Same goes for Stanford against Texas ... Michigan State against Memphis ... and Villanova against Kansas. Wisconsin actually was up on Davidson by three!

Forget (if possible) that Texas shot nearly 50% in the game that shredded Stanford's defense while attacking the basket. The inability of Stanford to score for long stretches in the game killed the Cardinal's chances at both ends. Ultimately Texas ran away with the game 82-62.

Stanford only shot 34% for the game. They struggled from the perimeter, they struggled inside. All those misses created opportunities for Texas to get out in transition and attack before Stanford could set on defense. Texas was able to use their athleticism to get to the basket and go inside. Heck, despite the Stanford size, Texas was was 25-43 (58%) from inside the perimeter.

The one stretch where Stanford shot well -- a roughly 5 minute stretch early in the second half -- the Cardinal went on a 14-5 run, the Longhorns found little space to attack the basket. Stanford had time to set their defense and not run after the swifter Texas guards in transition. It became a 1-point game. Then Stanford went cold. Once Stanford went back to their poor shooting ways, Texas blew them out 30-11 to the final horn.

Texas was shooting well in the game, but they couldn't have done it without Stanford's poor shooting.

Much has been made about Memphis's inability to make free throws consistently. Our own Michael David Smith relayed John Calipari's ridiculous statements about winning yesterday's game with Mississippi State at the free throw line and they deserve to be mocked.

Coaches used to harp on making free throws almost above all else. When teams give you a chance at free points, you best take it or else you'll be going home a loser. This year, though, Memphis was joined by Louisville and Georgetown in making less than 50% from the line but only the Hoyas paid the price. D.J. Augustin of Texas airballed a free throw to set up Miami's last chance to tie their game and the Longhorns only made 12-of-21 overall, but the Canes still fell short. On Saturday, five of the eight winning teams were below 70% from the line.

Can it be that making free throws is no longer a necessary ingredient to winning games? For teams like Memphis and Louisville, talent may indeed trump these shortcomings. But take a look at the two biggest weekend upsets and one near-miss for some evidence about the enduring need to make your foul shots.