The Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas - After three weeks on the road and two straight losses, No. 10 Texas got back on track with another blowout victory at home.

Brandon Mouton and Brad Buckman scored 15 points apiece as the Longhorns cruised past McNeese State 97-59 Thursday night.

Playing at the Frank Erwin Center for the first time since Nov. 27, the 38-point difference was Texas' largest margin of victory at home in Rick Barnes' five seasons in Austin.

"We've kind of seen the country now the last couple of weeks," Barnes said after games in Houston, Washington and Tucson, Ariz.

The Longhorns had climbed to No. 2 - the highest ranking in school history - before consecutive losses to No. 9 Notre Dame and top-ranked Arizona.

"When we come back home we want to get to the point where it's an event," Barnes said.

Texas (6-2) has won its three homes game this season by an average of 32 points.

James Thomas added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Longhorns, recording his sixth double-double of the season. T.J. Ford had 11 assists in 22 minutes of play.

Eldridge Lewis and Greg Tucker had 13 points each for McNeese State (4-3). The Cowboys were the first opponent in a five-game homestand for Texas.

Buckman got his first start in Sunday's loss at Arizona and fouled out with 4 points and two rebounds. It was a different story against McNeese State, as the 6-foot-8 freshman powered his way to 11 points and five rebounds by halftime.

"It's been my dream to start for the University of Texas ever since I was a little kid," said Buckman, who played high school ball in Austin. "It's finally come true. Hopefully I can keep it up."

MCNEESE ST. (4-3)-Johnson 2-3 1-4 5, Williams 3-14 1-2 7, Jackson 0-1 0-0 0, Lewis 5-7 1-3 13, Coleman 2-13 2-2 8, Oliver 2-5 2-3 6, Tucker 4-7 4-4 13, Watts 0-0 0-0 0, Garriet 1-4 0-0 3, Farmer 2-6 0-0 4. Totals 21-60 11-18 59.

TEXAS (6-2)-Buckman 7-12 1-2 15, Thomas 6-8 0-0 12, Mouton 6-11 1-4 15, Ford 4-8 1-2 9, Ivey 5-7 0-0 10, Paulino 0-4 0-0 0, Harris 1-4 0-0 3, Erskin 2-3 5-6 9, Klotz 3-4 0-0 6, Ross 4-5 0-0 9, Gressett 2-2 0-0 4, Boddicker 2-9 0-0 5, Ogden 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 42-77 8-12 97.

Halftime-Texas 40-22. 3-Point goals-McNeese St. 6-22 (Lewis 2-2, Coleman 2-8, Tucker 1-2, Garriet 1-3, Williams 0-7), Texas 5-19 (Mouton 2-4, Ross 1-2, Boddicker 1-3, Harris 1-4, Ford 0-1, Ivey 0-2, Paulino 0-3). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-McNeese St. 33 (Williams 10), Texas 46 (Thomas 10). Assists-McNeese St. 9 (Williams 4), Texas 25 (Ford 11). Total fouls-McNeese St. 13, Texas 14. A-7,127.

No. 22 Tulsa 90, Oral Roberts 80

TULSA, Okla. - All five starters scored in double figures for the Golden Hurricane, led by Kevin Johnson's and Jason Parker's 18 points apiece. Reggie Borges had 29 points to lead the Golden Eagles.

ORAL ROBERTS (6-2)-Moore 0-1 0-0 0, Borges 9-15 9-11 29, Tiggs 5-10 0-0 12, Atkinson 0-4 0-0 0, Spencer-Gardner 5-8 1-1 13, Tragardh 3-4 3-4 9, Bluitt 3-5 3-3 11, Charles 0-0 0-0 0, Gastel 2-2 1-2 6. Totals 27-49 17-21 80.

TULSA (6-1)-Davis 5-6 1-4 11, Johnson 7-13 2-2 18, Swanson 5-10 3-4 16, Glenn 7-10 3-6 17, Parker 5-11 8-8 18, Wallace 1-2 0-0 3, Meier 0-0 0-0 0, Collins 0-0 0-0 0, Ledoux 3-5 1-2 7, Price 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 33-59 18-26 90.

Halftime-Tulsa 47, Oral Roberts 42. 3-point goals-Oral Roberts 9-23 (Bluitt 2-3, Borges 2-4, Spencer-Gardner 2-5, Tiggs 2-7, Gastel 1-1, Atkinson 0-3), Tulsa 6-15 (Swanson 3-5, Johnson 2-3, Wallace 1-2, Glenn 0-1, Parker 0-4). Fouled out-Spencer-Garnder. Rebounds-Oral Roberts 19 (Borges 7), Tulsa 37 (Johnson 8). Assists-Oral Roberts 12 (Spencer-Gardner 4), Tulsa 15 (Swanson 4). Total fouls-Oral Roberts 19, Tulsa 17. A-8,465.

No. 23 North Carolina 80, Vermont 54

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Rashad McCants scored 19 points, Jackie Manuel added 14 and the Tar Heels forced 23 turnovers in snapping a two-game losing streak.

The Catamounts were without their two best players; T.J. Sorrentine is recovering from broken wrists and Taylor Coppenrath has pneumonia.

VERMONT (3-6)-G.Anderson 4-8 2-4 11, Jones 2-4 0-0 4, Sheftic 2-10 3-6 7, A.Anderson 0-1 0-0 0, Goia 4-14 0-0 11, Phelan 0-1 0-0 0, Hehn 3-9 3-4 10, Njila 3-6 0-0 6, Sullivan 2-6 0-0 5. Totals 20-59 8-14 54.

NORTH CAROLINA (6-2)-Williams 5-9 6-7 16, McCants 7-11 2-2 19, May 2-4 2-3 6, Felton 2-7 2-2 6, Manuel 5-8 0-0 14, Scott 2-6 0-0 5, Holmes 0-2 0-0 0, Grant 2-3 0-0 4, Noel 2-6 0-0 4, Sanders 0-1 0-0 0, Johnson 2-4 0-0 6. Totals 29-61 12-14 80.

Halftime-UNC 37-26. 3-Point goals-V 6-20 (Goia 3-9, G.Anderson 1-2, Hehn 1-4, Sullivan 1-4, A.Anderson 0-1), UNC 10-30 (Manuel 4-5, McCants 3-6, Johnson 2-4, Scott 1-5, Holmes 0-1, Williams 0-2, Noel 0-2, Felton 0-5). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Vermont 36 (G.Anderson 7), North Carolina 40 (Manuel 7). Assists-Vermont 11 (Hehn 7), North Carolina 22 (Felton 8). Total fouls-Vermont 15, North Carolina 14. A-16,258.

No. 17 Stanford 84, UC Irvine 57

STANFORD, Calif. - Julius Barnes, the team's only senior starter, scored 24 points, and No. 17 Stanford avoided its first three-game losing streak outside the Pac-10 Conference since 1969 with an 84-57 victory Thursday night over UC Irvine.

"Effort was the key factor in the win," said Stanford coach Mike Montgomery , who needs one victory for 500 in his career. "It's amazing how well the ball goes in the hole when you defend harder on the other end."

Josh Childress added 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Cardinal (6-3), who had lost three of their previous four games since an upset victory over nationally ranked Florida in the Preseason NIT. Dan Grunfeld added 12 points and Rob Little 11.

Greg Ethington scored 13 points to lead the Anteaters (3-3), who had won three in a row. Jordan Harris added 12.

Stanford scored a season-high for points, and UC Irvine was held to a season low.

"They were just bullseye from the outside tonight and we couldn't handle them," UC Irvine coach Pat Douglass said. "The zone hurt us in spots, and it seemed to help them on the boards."

UC IRVINE (3-3)-Zuzak 2-10 2-2 6, Harris 3-7 6-7 12, Parada 3-6 1-2 7, Gloger 2-4 0-0 4, Hood 0-4 0-0 0, Peace 0-1 0-0 0, Schraeder 3-6 0-0 7, Baskauskas 1-1 0-0 2, Efevberha 0-1 0-0 0, Okoro 3-5 0-1 6, Ethington 4-10 4-4 13. Totals 21-55 13-16 57.

STANFORD (6-3)-Childress 4-7 0-0 11, Davis 3-4 2-4 8, Little 3-3 5-6 11, Barnes 9-13 2-3 24, Lottich 3-5 0-0 8, Kirchofer 1-2 0-0 2, Weatherby 0-0 0-0 0, Besecker 0-0 0-0 0, Grunfeld 4-4 2-2 12, Robinson 1-2 2-3 4, Haas 0-1 2-3 2, Haryasz 1-2 0-3 2. Totals 29-43 15-24 84.

Halftime-Stanford 38, UC Irvine 22. 3-point goals-UC Irvine 2-13 (Ethington 1-2, Schraeder 1-3, Efevberha 0-1, Harris 0-1, Hood 0-2, Zuzak 0-4), Stanford 11-18 (Barnes 4-6, Childress 3-5, Grunfeld 2-2, Lottich 2-4, Haas 0-1). Fouled out-Parada. Rebounds-UC Irvine 23 (Harris, Okoro, Ethington 4), Stanford 30 (Childress 10). Assists-UC Irvine 7 (Gloger 2), Stanford 18 (Childress 4). Technical foul-UC Irvine bench. Total fouls-UC Irvine 22, Stanford 17. A-3,013.

Notes

WEST VIRGINIA: The Mountaineers' men's basketball program has adequately addressed rules violations and no further action is necessary, the NCAA decided.

The university began an internal investigation after Bowling Green coach Dan Dakich - who briefly accepted a job as West Virginia's coach - discovered a possible violation. He quit a week later.

The investigation concluded three unidentified players had accepted free meals, lodging and transportation before signing to play for the school.

Mountaineers athletic director Ed Pastilong declared four athletes ineligible to play after submitting his report to the NCAA in June.