Kansas City, MO -- (Sports Network) - The third-ranked Texas Longhorns shoot for their second CBE Classic crown tonight as they challenge the Pittsburgh Panthers in the title game at the Sprint Center in Kansas City.

Texas, which won this event over Iowa back in 2005, is off to a 3-0 start in 2009-10, thanks to victories over UC Irvine, Western Carolina and coincidentally, the Hawkeyes which they defeated last night by a final of 85-60 to advance to this title game.

Despite losing quite a bit of talent from last year's squad, the Panthers have managed to break out in a big way with four wins in as many tries. Despite an awkward 63-60 win over Wofford in the season opener, the Panthers have won every other game by double figures, including last night's 68-55 victory against Wichita State.

With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, the Panthers won the only previous meeting back in 1991-92, capturing the Preseason NIT title by a score of 91-87 at Madison Square Garden.

The Panthers swarmed WSU last night on defense, especially in the first half when it held the Shockers to just 37.5 percent shooting from the floor and 1- of-7 behind the three-point line. In the end, Wichita State came in at 40.9 percent from the field, making it that much easier for Pittsburgh to cruise to the win. Travon Woodall led all Panthers with 19 points, adding six rebounds, five assists and four steals to combat six turnovers, while Ashton Gibbs and Gary McGhee recorded 18 and 10 points, respectively. Gibbs is the top scorer on this offense with his 17.0 ppg, accounting for almost one-fourth of the team's 68.2 ppg in the early going. Gibbs is shooting not only 50 percent from the floor, but also 42.9 percent behind the three-point line. Woodall checks in with 10.5 ppg, in spite of his mere 34.2 percent accuracy from the field. Perhaps more important than his scoring potential, Woodall is the one who directs the offense on the floor for head coach Jamie Dixon, responsible for seven assists per game in the early going. Not to be overlooked in the offense are Brad Wanamaker and Nasir Robinson who both post 10.0 ppg and combine for more then nine rebounds per contest.

Texas was somewhat stunned in the first half against the Hawkeyes last night, failing to put any distance between itself and Iowa at the break. Obviously the Longhorns made the right adjustments as they came out in the second half and shot a sizzling 66.7 percent from the field, in spite of only 1-of-10 behind the three-point line, all while limiting Iowa to a mere six total field goals in the 25-point decision. Damion James registered a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, while Jordan Hamilton came off the bench to lead all players with his 16 points on 4-of-8 shooting beyond the arc. Dexter Pittman (15 points, eight rebounds), J'Covan Brown (14 points) and Avery Bradley (11) all played a significant role for the UT offense. Averaging less than 27 minutes per game, James is still tallying a double-double with his 16.3 points and 11.3 rebounds per outing. Perhaps most remarkable for someone who is so active in the paint is that James has been charged with a total of only three personal fouls through as many starts. The team as a whole is averaging less than 16 fouls, which is why Texas has managed to make it to the free-throw line twice as many times as the opposition (76-to-38) and is outscoring those teams by a staggering 34.6 ppg.