MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The last time West Virginia played in the Coliseum, there was late-game magic against Kansas. The last four times West Virginia faced Texas, there wasn’t even a hint of magic.
We’ll be courtside as the No. 20 Mountaineers, winners of two straight, face the unranked and free-falling Longhorns, who need a few wins to put themselves on the good side of the bubble:
West Virginia wins 71-64 (final)
Devin Williams produced 14 points and seven rebounds as No. 20 West Virginia snapped a long stretch of futility against Texas, 71-64. … It didn’t matter that point guard Juwan Staten endured an off night for the Mountaineers (22-6, 10-5 Big 12), who had dropped four straight meetings against Texas by double digits. … Jonathan Holton and guard Daxter Miles each scored 12 points as West Virginia built an 18-point first-half bulge and held on at the finish. … Demarcus Holland scored 14 and point guard Isaiah Taylor scored 13 but they each committed four turnovers for the Longhorns (17-11, 6-9), who fell to 1-8 against the top six teams in the Big 12 standings.
West Virginia leads 53-40 (6:43 second half)
Texas is just 1-of-6 in the past six-plus minutes, fueling West Virginia’s 13-2 run. And get this: It included another Holton 3. He has two after gong 0-of-8 from 3 the past nine games.
West Virginia leads 50-40 (9:15 second half)
A Miles 3 from the left wing leads Texas coach Rick Barnes to call timeout. (That’s three consecutive makes for WVU.) Miles has 10 points, including 2-of-3 shooting from deep.
West Virginia leads 45-40 (10:32 second half)
Texas had drawn with 40-38 before Jevon Carter’s 3 and Staten’s layup (on basket interference) gave WVU some breathing room. You still get the feeling that if UT could avoid turnovers (16 and counting) it might be able to lock down the Mountaineers for a spell.
West Virginia leads 38-34 (16:41 second half)
The Longhorns have gone on a 7-0 run—while WVU has missed all three of its second-half shots—to make this a game again.
West Virginia leads 36-25 (halftime)
The Mountaineers hold a 20-3 edge in points off turnovers. … Holton and Miles have seven points each to lead WVU, while Adrian and Williams have scored five each. … Kendal Yancy leads Texas with seven.
West Virginia leads 36-25 (halftime)
Texas forward Jonathan Holmes was ejected 21 seconds before halftime for elbowing Devin Williams in the face. It was totally the proper call, even though it was in retaliation for Williams shoving him in the back. Holmes leaves with six points on 2-of-3 shooting. … Amazingly, Texas shot 73 percent in the half, yet trails by double digits.
West Virginia leads 33-18 (2:41 first half)
3s by Nate Adrian and Jonathan Holton briefly put WVU up by 18 and with that the Mountaineers have made 14 of their last 28. … Texas point guard Isaiah Taylor just committed his fourth turnover of the half by jumping to pass out of a trap and then landing. Rick Barnes doesn’t teach his point guards to do that.
West Virginia leads 23-10 (7:47 first half)
After back-to-back 3s by Daxter Miles and Jevon Carter, West Virginia is shooting 63 percent against that Texas zone. And talk about passing: WVU has eight assists on 10 baskets. … is living down to its recent reputation
West Virginia leads 14-6 (11:30 first half)
Texas is shooting 75 percent and trails by eight. That’s the sum of eight turnovers in eight-plus minutes. (Isaiah Taylor has three of those.) … Some 12 of WVU’s early points have come in the paint—some on transition layups, but also a couple baskets by Williams. One was a tip-in and the other a nice move where he leaned into Cam Ridley to prevent the Texas forward from blocking the shot.
West Virginia leads 8-2 (15:31 first half)
An eventful first few minutes, especially if you like five-second closely-guarded no-calls. In other news, Devin Williams absorbed a shot to the mouth and Texas was whistled for back-to-back offensive fouls trying to push off pressing defenders. Gary Browne also was called for two early fouls, both a tad questionable.
PREGAME NOTES
— Brandon Watkins looks good, but we’ll see if he’s healthy enough to play after missing the past three games.
— The Mountaineers’ layup line included Nicholas Wince, a 5-year-old from Middlebourne, W.Va., who has joined the team today as part of a touching Make-A-Wish event. Nicholas, who has been diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, participated in the afternoon shoot-around and is an honorary Mountaineer. After struggling to get the ball to the rim, the kid received a lift from Jonathan Holton for a bucket that drew cheers from the pregame crowd. The dude even had his own video montage.
— My pregame pick was Texas 68-66, but hey I also picked Kansas and Oklahoma State last week, so don’t put much stock in it.