Texas Basketball vs. Radford: 5 bold predictions against Highlanders

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DAYTON, OH – MARCH 13: Carlik Jones #1 of the Radford Highlanders handles the ball on offense against the Long Island Blackbirds during the second half of the First Four game in the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at UD Arena on March 13, 2018 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

4. Carlik Jones gets a double-double

Polite Jr. is the leader in the front court, especially on the glass, for Radford. But, the scoring is led by another player that stands out in the back court. Sophomore point guard Carlik Jones looks to be making a massive leap this season as he’s leading his team in scoring by a good margin. Jones has what it takes to keep Radford on pace with Texas basketball on the scoreboard.

There’s two candidates from Radford that would be good choices to finish with a double-double. Polite Jr. could get there in scoring and rebounds and Jones could get there in scoring and assists. Jones is a much better scorer than he is facilitator, but he’s still sitting two assists per game above what he racked up as a true freshman.

Jones averages 18.5 points per game and five rebounds. He can be a threat on defense too, averaging 2.5 steals per game. The advanced metrics he’s posting on both ends of the floor is pretty solid too. Jones doesn’t have a usage rate through the roof, which is something you might expect from a point guard that leads his team in scoring.

While Jones registers some very efficient offensive stats, the advanced metrics are friendly to him in all aspects of his game. He has a solid rebounding percentage that sits above 14 percent and a low rate of turnovers, which sits at 10 percent. All these stats add up to a player that has a great chance of posting a double-double against a rotation that features some young players in the back court for the Horns.

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