No. 16 West Virginia put its unbeaten road record on the line at the Frank Erwin Center, where No. 20 Texas had dropped a couple games this season—and been knocked down a peg after being tabbed Big 12 title contenders.
Then again, the Longhorns looked like national champions while administering three beatdowns on WVU last season. The memory of those blowouts had the Mountaineers stoked for a rematch, but there was no payback to be had. WVU fell 77-50, beaten handily for the first time this season.
A recap of the live updates throughout the game:
Texas wins 77-50 (final)
Cam Ridley scored 19, Jonathan Holmes added 16 and the Longhorns won their fifth straight in the series without much resistance. … Juwan Staten scored his only field goal with 1:04 left and finished with three points. Gary Browne was the lone double-digits scorer for the Mountaineers with 14 points. … WVU shot 24 percent and gave away 17 turnovers, mitigating the 19 that Texas committed. … The Longhorns held a 44-32 edge on the glass and outscored the Mountaineers 31-18 at the foul line.
Texas leads 70-47 (4:55 second half)
Holton returned from four-foul purgatory and enjoyed all of 12 seconds before picking up foul No. 5. He left with seven points and three rebounds and played only 8 minutes. Williams picked up his fifth foul a minute later—exiting with seven points and four boards.
Texas leads 62-47 (7:57 second half)
Devin Williams just picked up his third foul on a ticky-tack charge. Then, in a silly loss of poise, he dunked the ball and drew a T for his fourth foul. The big kid’s struggles against Texas continue. … Speaking of struggles: Staten is 0-of-5 with one point and still no assists. … Jevon Carter heated up with three 3-pointers, but after two of those Texas answered with and-1s.
Texas leads 44-32 (15:56 second half)
West Virginia had a chance to draw within 10, but off a steal by Holton, Phillip missed a transition layup. That’s how a team shoots 26 percent. … Holton subsequently picked up his fourth foul near the 16-minute mark, depriving WVU of its press front man. … The Texas 2-3 zone has given West Virginia fits and kept Staten out of the lane. Gary Browne looks like the team’s best offensive option.
Texas leads 37-23 (halftime)
West Virginia’s bench, after scoring 55 vs. the Sooners, has only five points through the opening half. Gary Browne leads WVU with nine points and Holton has five, but Williams has three points, two boards and three turnovers. Staten has one point and zero assists—he’ll need a monumental second half if the Mountaineers are to stand a chance. … Ridley leads Texas 12 points, Holmes has eight and Turner has seven off the bench.
Texas leads 37-23 (halftime)
The Longhorns are making it look easy so far, outrebounding West Virginia 23-14 and shooting 41 percent to WVU’s 28 percent. Yes, the 14-7 foul differential included some iffy moments, but there’s no disputing that Texas is playing with more fire.
Texas leads 30-18 (5:12 first half)
The Mountaineers have more turnovers than Texas so far, which explains the score differential as much as any stat. Texas also leads 19-12 in on the boards. … Juwan Staten, who was 1-of-9 in Tuesday’s rout of Oklahoma, is 0-of-3 so far tonight, including an airball floater over Myles Turner. That shot essentially proved the difficult physics of a 6-footer trying to shoot over a 6-11 dude.
Texas leads 24-12 (9:09 first half)
Cam Ridley has matched WVU’s scoring by himself—he’s 5-of-7 from the floor, including a two of the Horns’ three dunks. He also just spiked a Jevon Carter shot into the second row. … West Virginia, which likes to speed up its opponents, has appeared to speed up itself on a few occasions, resulting in throwaways by Devin Williams, Gary Brown and Tarik Philip.
Texas leads 18-10 (10:52 first half)
After Jonathan Holton scored five quick points, the Longhorns answered with an 18-2 run. … West Virginia fell into immediate foul trouble, putting UT in the bonus within seven minutes. The Longhorns will be in the double-bonus on the next foul. Holton has two, one of those on a double-technical for jawing with Texas forward Jonathan Holmes, who was embroiled with Devin Williams on a previous possession.