Mountaineers Stumble Against Ranked Longhorns at Home Court

The West Virginia Mountaineers, ranked 24th, faced a challenging matchup against the 10th-ranked Texas Longhorns and concluded with a score of 70-49. The Mountaineers now stand with an overall season record of 5-4, while the Longhorns improved to 7-2.

The game at WVU Coliseum in Morgantown was anticipated to be a competitive conference clash but turned out to be dominated by the visitors. The Longhorns established their presence early on, ending the first quarter with a lead and maintaining it throughout the game. Their offensive execution was evident as they shot an impressive 53 percent from the field and an exceptional 90 percent from the free-throw line.

The Mountaineers struggled offensively, converting only 27 percent of their field goals and making just four out of thirty-one three-point attempts, which amounted to a mere 13 percent success rate. Despite their defensive efforts that led to thirteen steals, it wasn't enough to bridge the gap created by Texas' efficient scoring.

West Virginia's points in paint totaled twenty-four but paled in comparison to Texas' thirty-two. Additionally, West Virginia capitalized on turnovers better than their opponents did by scoring sixteen points off turnovers compared to Texas' eight. However, this hustle did not translate into overcoming Texas' lead.

One notable aspect for West Virginia was their tenacity on both ends of the court reflected in nine offensive rebounds matching those of Texas and achieving seven fast break points against Texas’ four. Yet these efforts were overshadowed by other statistics such as total rebounds where they were nearly doubled up by Texas (24 vs. 47).

Looking ahead for fans of West Virginia Mountaineers is an away game against Iowa State Cyclones at James H. Hilton Coliseum in Ames on January 10th at 6:30 PM local time (7:30 PM Eastern). This upcoming contest will be available for viewing on ESPN+ over internet broadcast networks.