Texas again is Kryptonite for West Virginia’s pressure defense
In 24 games against opponents other than Texas so far this year, West Virginia’s aggressive trapping defense has forced just shy of 20 turnovers per game.
The Longhorns have committed fewer than that in two games against the Mountaineers.
Texas is Kryptonite for 10th-ranked West Virginia’s vaunted press because the 24th-ranked Longhorns have an array of ball handling-savvy guards and a coach well versed in both implementing a pressure defense and attacking it. One month after Texas committed just eight turnovers in an upset victory over the Mountaineers in Morgantown, the Longhorns had just seven in Tuesday night’s 85-78 win.
Javan Felix and Isaiah Taylor have combined to log 132 minutes in two games against West Virginia, yet they have only committed a combined five turnovers during that stretch. On Tuesday, they consistently made excellent decisions and attacked when the opportunity presented itself, enabling Texas to build a lead as big as 16 points late in the second half.
A victory over West Virginia was crucial for a Texas team that suffered back-to-back losses at Oklahoma and Iowa State last week and faces a fourth consecutive ranked opponent on Saturday. Fans in Austin were wary of a Rick Barnes-esque February swoon, but the Longhorns showed poise and resilience in defeating a formidable opponent and improving to 13-1 this season at home.
Texas (17-9, 8-5) continues to exceed expectations for Shaka Smart’s debut season despite the absence of injured center Cameron RIdley. The Longhorns are trending toward a No. 5 or 6 seed in the NCAA tournament and they still have a chance to improve on that if they can topple Baylor, Kansas or Oklahoma at home in the coming weeks.
The success has come in an entirely different manner than how Smart achieved it at VCU. Smart was wise enough to realize he didn’t have the personnel to play the swarming HAVOC-style defense that had been his trademark at his previous stop, so he slowed down the tempo and had the Longhorns employ a far more traditional approach.
One of Texas’ few glaring weaknesses so far this season has been poor outside shooting, but on Tuesday the Longhorns were able to punish West Virginia whenever it left shooters free.
Eric Davis, who scored only seven points in his four previous games, swished three straight first-half threes and drilled another 3-pointer just before halftime. Connor Lammert also regained his outside shooting touch, finishing 3 of 6 from beyond the arc.
West Virginia couldn’t be as aggressive as usual on defense because it didn’t have its full complement of players with Daxter Miles sidelined and Jaysean Paige coping with an ankle injury. Guard Tarik Phillip scored 19 points off the bench and center Devin Williams had 18 points and 12 rebounds, but Paige went scoreless and attempted only two shots.
Coming into play Tuesday night, West Virginia was tied for first place in the Big 12 with Kansas. Now the Mountaineers (20-6, 9-4) are a game behind entering a crucial matchup with Oklahoma on Saturday in which the loser will be all but eliminated from the Big 12 title chase.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
