Texas Basketball vs. UNC: 5 bold predictions for Las Vegas Invitational

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AUSTIN, TX – NOVEMBER 12: Elijah Mitrou-Long #55 of the Texas Longhorns drives against Travis Munnings #1 of the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks at the Frank Erwin Center on November 12, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images) /

4. Elijah Mitrou-Long gets the most minutes on the floor yet

As time moves along, and if he keeps scoring at a high rate, the former transfer guard Elijah Mitrou-Long could see his minutes on the floor spike. His season high in minutes played with Texas basketball in 2018-19 is 24. Mitrou-Long’s usage remained constant, though, with the lowest total of minutes played in a game sitting at 20.

UNC puts up points at a frantic pace, so Smart needs to pull out all the stops. Ranking fourth in the nation with 98.6 points per game, the Tar Heels are difficult for any team to defend. In three of its five games, UNC posted more than 100 points. The closest Texas came to putting up 100 points this season was against The Citadel, with 98.

The fact that the most points Texas scored in any game is less than the average points posted by the Tar Heels per game is a worrying sign. Getting a volume scorer in the mix like Mitrou-Long can help the Horns keep pace with the Tar Heels. Mitrou-Long is posting more than 16.0 points per 40 minutes. He’s also shooting at a nice mark from two-point range at 45 percent.

However, the edge Texas holds here is on defense. UNC is a stout defensive team backed by a deep rotation. But, it struggles to hold its opponents under 70.0 points per game. UNC is 124th in the nation, allowing 68.0 points per game. Mitrou-Long can help to get the UNC defense uncomfortable and out of rhythm with his volume scoring and ability to create offense.

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