West Virginia vs. Texas: College basketball game preview, TV schedule
In the regular season finale for Texas, they have a ranked West Virginia team arriving to town. Can the Longhorns get a much-needed win before the Big 12 Conference Tournament?
TV schedule: Saturday, March 3, 12:00 p.m. ET. ESPN
Arena: Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas
When Selection Sunday comes in less than two weeks, there might not be any more debated team than Texas 17-13 (7-10). The Longhorns have played in six overtime games this season, with a couple of them going into double-OT. They have great wins over teams like Butler, Texas Tech and Oklahoma (2x).
But the losses have been piling up, and if this team loses in their regular season finale on Saturday, and don’t win the Big 12 Conference Tournament, they’ll have 15 losses on the season. It’ll be a similar situation as the Vanderbilt Commodores, who became the first team in NCAA history to receive an at-large bid with 15 total defeats.
They also have some injury issues to deal with, with star freshman Mo Bamba not playing in Monday’s 80-70 loss to Kansas. As of now, it’s 50-50 whether he’ll be able to play on Saturday.
Their opponent is West Virginia 20-8 (11-6), who won the team’s third straight game in a 84-74 victory over an admittedly hobbled Texas Tech team. Jevon Carter had 21 points and seven assists in the game to lead the Mountaineers. Daxter Miles Jr. had 18 points, while Sagaba Konate had 16 on 8/9 shooting.
In the earlier matchup in Morgantown, it was ugly from the very beginning, with West Virginia dominating 86-51. No player from Texas even made it to double figures, while Carter dropped 22 points along with Konate’s 10 points, 14 boards and six blocks.
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This is an absolute must-win for Texas, considering that this game is at home. Problem is, the possibility of Bamba not playing would be devastating for a team who struggles to score. If he’s out, Konate will dominate, to another easy win.
Prediction: (With Bamba) West Virginia 75- Texas 69
(Without Bamba) West Virginia 80 – Texas 65