West Virginia tries to rebound from its worst performance of the season when the Mountaineers host Texas in a Big 12 showdown Monday night. The game tips off at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPNU.
The No. 14 Mountaineers (14-3, 3-2 Big 12) were blown out for the first time this season in a 84-68 loss at Kansas State on Saturday. They return home looking to cleanse the stench from their performance in Manhattan, Kan., against unranked Texas (12-5, 2-3).
The Longhorns are coming off of a 66-57 home loss to No. 3 Kansas on Saturday.
The Longhorns possess a balanced offensive attack, led by junior guard Matt Coleman III (6-foot-2) with 12.0 points a game. He also leads Texas in assists at 4.3 per game.
Coleman is one of four Longhorns to average double-figure scoring alongside Courntey Ramey (11.1 ppg), Andrew Jones (10.4) and Jase Febres (10.1).
Junior forward Jericho Sims (6-9) leads Texas on the glass with 8.1 rebounds a contest and adds 9.7 ppg in scoring.
Depth figures to be an issue for Texas against a deeper Mountaineers squad. Coleman, Ramey and Febres all average more than 30 minutes a game and the Longhorns starting five all average more than 24 minutes of floor time.
By contrast, no Mountaineer averages as many as 30 minutes a game. The entire Texas starting five average more than anyone for West Virginia. Adding the long road trip and the quick turnaround from the Longhorns tough game against Kansas Saturday to this mix and the Mountaineers have a good chance to wear down Texas.
WVU is a 9 point favorite. ESPN’s BPI gives the Mountaineers a heavy analytical edge in the game.
