No. 16 West Virginia has been winning all season on defense by forcing turnovers and capitalizing on the other end. No. 20 Texas turned the tables on the Mountaineers on Saturday with a zone defense that led to a bad shooting night for coach Bob Huggins’ team.
Texas’ size advantage on the offensive end allowed the Longhorns to force a half-court game and dominate in those situations with plenty of points in the paint. They also blocked shots and won on the boards as usual in a 77-50 victory.
It was just what coach Rick Barnes needed after two disappointing losses to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. The Longhorns proved they’re not about to shrink from contention in the Big 12 Conference this early in the race.
Texas’ only senior, Jonathan Holmes, bounced back from going a combined 2-for-18 in those losses to score 16 points with 11 rebounds. Holmes turned things around by getting to the free throw line where he made 11 of 12 attempts.
Junior Cameron Ridley was a force for the Longhorns scoring 19 points with six rebounds and four blocks. Ridley made eight of 10 shots, including several heavy-handed dunks.
West Virginia (15-3, 3-2) made just 24 percent of its field goal attempts and Texas (13-4, 2-2) blocked seven shots for the 13th time in 17 games. The Mountaineers' leading scorer, guard Juwan Staten, finished with just three points and made just one of seven field goals attempts.
In his fourth game back from a prolonged absence because of a wrist injury, Texas guard Isaiah Taylor helped the Longhorns handle the West Virginia pressure defense. He committed only one of the Longhorns’ 18 turnovers, a much better success rate than teammate Javan Felix experienced. Felix fell victim to the traps and pressure defense and committed eight turnovers.
Taylor scored only five points, but he was only needed to facilitate in this one getting the ball to the big guys and forward Myles Turner, who scored 16 points with seven rebounds off the bench.
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[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at kyle.ringo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo
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