AUSTIN, Texas — Texas got pummeled by West Virginia earlier this season. The Longhorns were anything but the same timid bunch in the rematch.
Andrew Jones scored 22 points and Courtney Ramey added 21 to lead the surging Longhorns over the 20th-ranked Mountaineers 67-57 on Monday night as Texas won its third in a row with an injury-depleted lineup.
Texas (17-11, 7-8) has its first three-game win streak in conference play since 2016. The Mountaineers (19-9, 7-8) have lost six straight on the road in the Big 12.
West Virginia beat Texas by 38 points back on Jan. 20, the worst loss of coach Shaka Smart’s five years with the Longhorns. But the Mountaineers came staggering into the rematch off a long road trip and Texas didn’t buckle in a physical matchup while Jones and Ramey poured in points from the outside.
Oscar Tshiebwe scored 14 points to lead West Virginia.
Jones scored 16 points in the first half on a barrage of 3-pointers, and the Longhorns shot 52% against one of the best defensive teams in the country to lead 34-28 at halftime. Texas trailed by 25 at halftime in the first meeting.
Texas is missing three starters or regular players with injuries and had another, forward Kamaka Hepa, knocked out with strep throat Monday night.
“Over the last couple of games, me and Courtney have just felt a chemistry. It’s beginning to click,” Jones said. “With guys out, it’s forcing me to step up. When two players are in sync, you can do great things and lead a team to victory.”
West Virginia cut the Texas lead to three early in the second half before Ramey drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing, then made another to push the lead to nine.
The Mountaineers’ last real chance to push for the lead came when Smart was called for a technical foul and Sean McNeil made both free throws to get West Virginia within 54-47. But Texas’ Matt Coleman III made a quick jumper on the other end and any momentum quickly died.
“I did not try to get that. When you are playing (West Virginia), it’s hand-to-hand combat,” Smart said. “It’s a very challenging game to officiate. I imagine I just got caught up standing up for our guys.”
