Three Keys For A Mountaineer Victory Over Texas
On Monday night, the Mountaineers conclude their "Texas Two Step" road trip with a game in Austin as they take on the Texas Longhorns. West Virginia is coming off of an overtime loss in Forth Worth against TCU on Saturday afternoon. This game versus Texas will be West Virginia's second to last road game of the regular season and the Mountaineers will need to finish up their season strong if they want to beef up their resume for the NCAA tournament committee. The game will tip-off at 7 p.m. EST and will be televised on ESPNU.
Texas currently has a record of 16-11 on the year and a conference record of 6-8, which currently ranks sixth in the Big 12. The Longhorns, along with most of the Big 12, are considered to be "on the bubble" teams in the eyes of the NCAA tournament committee and are looking to secure their ticket to the big dance. A win over a West Virginia team who demolished them in Morgantown would help Texas, and provide some sweet revenge.
The Mountaineers' road troubles have been the biggest headline of the year, but if they follow these three keys they should leave Austin with a win.
1. Figure Out The Offense
Mountaineer fans have been growing frustrated over the past few years with Bob Huggins' offensive schemes. Even when West Virginia had good scorers over the last decade like Kevin Jones and Jevon Carter, the Mountaineers never seemed to be able to play consistent half-court offense. Press Virginia was created so that the Mountaineers could cause more turnovers and get out and run and score in transition. This season, West Virginia is only averaging 70.6 points per game which ranks sixth in the Big 12 and 192nd in all of college basketball. The Mountaineers are also averaging 12.5 assists per game, ranking seventh in the Big 12 and 228th nationally. This means West Virginia isn't moving the ball enough and finding open shots, but when they do get open looks - they don't hit them.
2. Make Shots
West Virginia is shooting just 42% from the field this season which ranks sixth in the Big 12. When it comes to three pointers, the Mountaineers have shot just 29% this season from behind the arc, which ranks dead last in the Big 12 and 337th in all of college basketball, and if that holds up, would go down as the worst shooting year in the entire history of West Virginia basketball. West Virginia still has a lot to figure out before conference tournament play, but it would help to use games like this one to grow some confidence and get some momentum going into the Big 12 tournament.
3. Make Free Throws
West Virginia finished just 8 for 15 from the free throw line against TCU. If the Mountaineers had shot better from the free throw line, maybe the game wouldn't have gone to overtime and West Virginia would have gotten a much needed win. The Mountaineers are currently shooting 64% from the free throw line, which ranks ninth in the Big 12 and 329th in all of college basketball.
Teams that go far in March are units that can score consistently. If West Virginia wants to make a run at the national championship, they will have to fix these offensive struggles. Their team defense is solid and good enough to win games, but at some point they will have to score the basketball more.
If you cannot watch the game on Monday evening but will have access to your phone, there is no reason to worry. Before every game, Mountaineer Maven has posted a "Game Thread" where our Mountaineer Maven team and West Virginia fans can comment and interact with each other. *Note: don't follow/comment on the thread through Facebook/Twitter comments, but through the actual article itself* Let's help each other out by commenting as much as possible for those who can't watch and keep them posted play by play and score by score.
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