MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — The 14th-ranked West Virginia men’s basketball team will welcome Texas (12-5, 2-3 Big 12) to the Coliseum today with the hope of rebounding from Saturday’s difficult loss to Kansas State, while putting an end to the Longhorn’s recent success against the Mountaineers (14-3, 3-2).
Texas has won three straight against WVU, with a margin of victory of 12.3 points per game in those wins. West Virginia hasn’t knocked off the Longhorns since Jan. 20, 2018, back when it was ranked No. 6 in the country and Jevon Carter poured in 22 points and eight assists. Chase Harler and Logan Routt are the only two WVU players on the roster who have experienced a win against Texas.
Lots of questions surrounding the Mountaineers and how they will play tonight against another pretty good defensive team from the Big 12, so we’ll get right to it with what you need to know:
TV: ESPNU (Comcast 174, 853 HD; DirecTV 208; DISH 141) for the 7 p.m. game. BETTING LINE: West Virginia is a 9-point favorite.
STARTING OFF WITH ANDREW JONES
Two years ago, Texas guard Andrew Jones was in the fight for his life against leukemia. He overcame it to return to play in two games during last season and is now back averaging 10.4 points and 2.1 assists per game in 2019-20 as a redshirt sophomore.
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS
WEST VIRGINIA
F–Emmitt Matthews Jr., Soph., 6-7, 210, 7.2 ppg. F–Oscar Tshiebwe, Fr., 6-9, 258, 11.6 ppg. F–Derek Culver, Soph. 6-10, 255, 10.6 ppg. G–Jermaine Haley, Sr., 6-7, 215, 8.9 ppg. G–Jordan McCabe, Soph., 6-0, 188, 3.1 ppg.
TEXAS
F–Jericho Sims, Jr., 6-9, 240, 9.7 ppg. F–Kamaka Hepa, Soph., 6-9, 225, 3.1 ppg. G–Jase Febres, Jr., 6-5, 195, 9.9 ppg. G–Courtney Ramey Soph., 6-3, 185, 11.1 ppg. G–Matt Coleman, Jr., 6-2, 185, 12.0 ppg.
THREE GOOD QUESTIONS
WHAT ARE THE KEYS AGAINST TEXAS? The Longhorns are a guard-heavy team with Jones playing next to point guard Matt Coleman III , Courtney Ramey and Jase Febres, all of whom have good size with Coleman being the shortest at 6-foot-2. They use their speed to cut off driving lanes, but do give up a size advantage down low.
Texas allows just 61 points per game and with all of the guards in play, the Longhorns are also second in the Big 12 with 146 3-pointers. They have been out-rebounded on the season, so it will be up to WVU to show some toughness down low and dominate this game in the paint. Emmitt Matthews Jr. will also likely have a size advantage on the guy guarding him, so this could be a good opportunity for him to turn things around offensively.
CAN WVU GET IT TURNED AROUND AFTER THAT LOSS TO K-STATE? Players said after the game that the quick turnaround may be the best thing for them to forget that game and get focused on the rest of the season. Whether or not that happens remains to be seen.
Just going off Texas’ game against Kansas on Saturday, the Longhorns will look to muddy up the waters a little and keep things low scoring in order to keep the possessions between the teams more balanced.
WVU can get around that by not only dominating the glass, but also scoring off of second-chance opportunities. That was something the Mountaineers didn’t do against Kansas State (14 offensive rebounds, but only 9 second-chance points.
The other thing here is the Mountaineers know their backs are against a wall. There are still two games against Baylor and one home game remaining against Kansas, but WVU can’t afford to drop these other league games if it wants a shot at the Big 12 title.
IS THERE A NEED FOR WVU TO CHANGE ITS STARTING 5? I may be on the short end of this argument right now, but I don’t think so. It’s hard to look past how Matthews and Jordan McCabe have struggled with their shot and even Jermaine Haley doesn’t seem as aggressive in driving to the basket like he was late last season.
With that said, Haley and Matthews are still tough match-ups for opposing teams, because of their size. Starting McCabe gives Miles McBride the opportunity to come into the game against players who may be a little tired.
Traditionally, Bob Huggins has been a coach who likes to bring an impact player off the bench, whether it be Kevin Jones as a freshman or Jaysean Paige as a senior. I don’t think that’s a bad strategy. Gabe Osabuohien is becoming a defensive impact player off the bench, too. West Virginia’s bench play has been a real plus, except for the K-State game. I don’t think you make drastic changes based off one game.
PREDICTION TIME
Nine points seems like a lot for a team that is struggling offensively. If WVU is able to dominate down low, then maybe it will be OK, but all it takes is a couple of fouls calls against Derek Culver or Oscar Tshiebwe to shake that up. Texas knows it can get right back into the NCAA tournament discussion with a win. I’m going with a WVU win, but the Mountaineers won’t cover, 68-62.
JUSTIN’S SEASON PREDICTIONS AGAINST THE SPREAD: 6-9.
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