Texas basketball just barely beat Iowa State with a final score of 78-72, which is a reason to be concerned, especially after the game Longhorns had against Kansas. Now the Longhorns have to play against a talented West Virginia team this Saturday in what should be a good one to watch.
Texas offense
This offense didn’t play bad in its last time out, as all the starters scored in double figures for the game against Iowa State. It was just one of those games where you seem to do nearly everything right, but the game could’ve still gone either way. The Longhorns only ran a total of eight players for this one. It’s possible that resulted in some fatigue and missed shots.
Regardless, they got the win and at the end of the day that’s all that matters. The biggest thing that needs to be addressed in practice on the offensive side, is the three-point shot. Fortunately, the Cyclones missed just as many, which proved to be crucial to the Longhorns win. Had it not been for Andrew Jones scoring 23 points, they would’ve lost this game.
Texas defense
This defense didn’t force a whole lot of turnovers, which was one of the keys to the game when it beat Kansas. Another reason this game was close is because the Longhorns defense let the Cyclones main scorers do their thing on the court especially Javan Johnson, who had 21 points for the game. This defense played pretty well, the offense just needs to keep knocking down their shots and the Longhorns will be fine.
West Virginia offense
There is a dynamic duo on this West Virginia squad. Their names are Miles McBride and Derek Culver. Both Culver and McBride are the leaders for the Mountaineers this season. West Virginia has had an up and down season, but is still a very capable and dangerous team. The Longhorns need to watch out for McBride and Culver and focus on slowing them down. Doing that will force everyone else to beat them. This game is going to be close and will come down to which offense has a more consistent performance to the ones both teams had in the past.
West Virginia defense
Culver and McBride led the Mountaineers in all the five major statistical categories. Culver handles the blocks while McBride gets a good number of steals per game. The Longhorns have to be careful with the ball and take smart shots. By taking away Culver’s and McBride’s defensive prowess and making it nonexistent, it results in Texas winning this game.
Taking away what Culver and McBride do on both sides of the court is the key to a Texas win. The Longhorns won’t stop them completely, but they can at least try to slow both of them down. Texas is only projected to win this game by a small margin. So with that in mind, every possession, turnover and stop on defense is crucial to the Longhorns keeping this successful season on track. Texas will win this game, but it will come down to the final minutes. The Longhorns win with a final score of 82-78.
Photo courtesy of WVUSports.com
