Texas @ West Virginia preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 9, 2019 ) Texas 75, West Virginia 53

No. 13 West Virginia pounded TCU by 32 points early in the week and was looking to improve to 4-1 when the wheels fell off Saturday against a Kansas State team that was winless in Big 12 play. In a short turn around, the Mountaineers will try to bounce back from their worst loss of the season when they host Texas on Monday in another league contest.

West Virginia trailed by as many as 24 points early in the second half before it showed some resolve, pulling within six before losing 84-68. "We weren't ready," Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins said on his postgame radio show. "We weren't ready yesterday (to practice) and we weren't ready today. ... We missed four or five layups to start the game and we shot 50 percent from the free throw line. How are you going to win? We turn it over 18 times again. We're not going to win doing that." The Longhorns bounced back from two losses to open Big 12 play with wins over Kansas State and Oklahoma State, and they led Kansas by five at the half before dropping a 66-57 decision on Saturday. The seventh-ranked Jayhawks closed the game on a 12-3 run to post the victory.

TIME: 7 p.m. ET TV: ESPNU

ABOUT TEXAS (12-5, 2-3 Big 12): Jericho Sims (9.7 points, 8.1 rebounds) posted a career-best 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting against Kansas, and the junior has averaged a team-best 11.8 points and 10.2 rebounds with eight blocks in the first five Big 12 Conference games. Junior guard Matt Coleman III (12.0 points, 4.3 assists) contributed 10 points and three assists in 30 minutes while Courtney Ramey (11.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists) was held to eight points on 3-for-9 shooting with five rebounds and five assists versus the Jayhawks. Coach Shaka Smart continues to have his team playing tough defense, ranking 37th in the nation allowing 92.3 points/100 possessions entering Sunday, but the offense averages only 104.4 points, which is No. 113 and lowest since the 2017-18 season (104.2).

ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA (14-3, 3-2): The Mountaineers turned the ball over 18 times and got just 27 points from their starting five. Chase Harler (4.9 points) and freshman Miles McBride (10.2 points, 2.1 assists) scored 11 off the bench while junior Gabe Osabuohien contributed a season-high 10. Oscar Tshiebwe (11.6 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.4 blocks) shoots 60.7 percent from the floor while McBride has reached double figures in eight straight games (14.1 points, 48.7 field-goal percentage).

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Texas leads the all-time series and swept the Mountaineers last season, including an impressive 75-53 victory in Morgantown, W.V.

2. Sims has the second-best effective field-goal percentage (2- and 3-pointers) in the Big 12 (67.0) behind Kansas' Udoka Azubuike.

3. Tshiebwe leads the nation in offensive rebound percentage (20.0) and Derek Culver ranks fifth in the Big 12 (12.6) for a team that is third in the country (38.8).

PREDICTION: West Virginia 65, Texas 54