Austin, TX – The Texas Longhorns (15-8) took on the West Virginia Mountaineers (8-14) Saturday afternoon. The Longhorns, looking to avenge a loss in their last matchup in Morgantown, came right out of the gate swinging with four 3-pointers in the first four minutes of the game opening up an 18-7 lead. That was only the beginning of the ridiculous scoring affair the Longhorns had tonight. The Mountaineers made attempts to try to come back into this game. However, Texas’s switch heavy man defense stifled West Virginia’s offense today. By halftime, the Longhorns were up 55-30 and they coasted to a 94-58 win.
This was a complete game by Texas with all five starters finishing the night in double digits. Not only that, but they were also extremely efficient on the floor shooting 51% (36-of-70) and shot a blistering 46% (15-of-32) from the 3-point line. The Longhorns even shot 85% (7-of-8) from the FT line. Simply put, they could not miss.
While every Longhorn played well today you couldn’t miss the star of the day, Dylan Disu. He was a complete flamethrower with 27 points, two steals, and a block. What tells the story is his efficiency, shooting 62% from the floor and hitting seven 3-pointers. He has vastly improved his 3-point shooting this season, especially from the corner. If Disu is able to sustain this level of 3-point shooting it will unlock a new layer to the Longhorns offense.
Tyrese Hunter and Max Abmas contributed 19 points each. They also provided seven and nine assists respectively. They have always been consistent scorers, but recently their playmaking for others has unlocked an element to this offense as well as been very entertaining to watch.
For the Mountaineers, it was a completely different story. They finished the night shooting 38% (21-of-55) from the floor and 23% (3-of-13) from 3-point land. West Virginia also really struggled from the free throw line only converting 61% (13-of-21). Not only that, but they failed to make any adjustments on defense to keep the Longhorns off of the three-point line. This was a disappointing game for them.
Not much good came for West Virginia tonight, but fifth year center Jesse Edwards did have a nice day in the stat sheet. He finished with 17 points, nine rebounds, and one block. Edwards continued to showcase his footwork and touch around the rim. The only struggle for the Longhorns today was when he got the ball in the paint. Edwards did struggle to match up against the quicker footed Disu in man coverage. At Syracuse, his defensive success was due to him playing zone defense. However, it has been notable this season that he’s not been as effective in man defense.
The Longhorns dominated from start to finish and it was fun to watch. They will have six days until they play Houston this Friday, February 16th. The Mountaineers will look to bounce back when they face TCU this Monday, February 12th.
This article was written by Matthew Lawyer, a correspondent and scout for NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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