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Texas Basketball vs. West Virginia: 5 takeaways from momentum building Big 12 win

By Andrew Miller

AUSTIN, TX - MARCH 3: Teddy Allen #13 of the West Virginia Mountaineers shoots the ball against the Texas Longhorns at the Frank Erwin Center on March 3, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TX - MARCH 3: Teddy Allen #13 of the West Virginia Mountaineers shoots the ball against the Texas Longhorns at the Frank Erwin Center on March 3, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images) /
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AUSTIN, TX – DECEMBER 9: Elijah Mitrou-Long #55 of the Texas Longhorns reacts as the Texas Longhorns defeat the Purdue Boilermakers at the Frank Erwin Center on December 9, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TX – DECEMBER 9: Elijah Mitrou-Long #55 of the Texas Longhorns reacts as the Texas Longhorns defeat the Purdue Boilermakers at the Frank Erwin Center on December 9, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images) /

5. Second half is becoming a strength

Through much of the non-conference slate, one of the factors that plagued Texas basketball was the inability to play a full 40-minute game. Smart’s team just couldn’t get it going in both halves, and it led to some disappointing upset losses at home at the Frank Erwin Events Center. There’s a clear pattern emerging for the Horns in terms of effort and pace of play this season.

At least the Horns are heading down the right path to avoiding the second half letdowns that it had against teams like the VCU Rams and Providence Friars. In each of the last four victories for Texas, it won the second half and mostly by a considerable margin. Texas lost the second half in its most recent defeat, which came by a six-point margin against Providence.

Although the Horns didn’t play as well in the second half as the first against West Virginia, it did win it on the scoreboard. What’s most important about this second half effort from Texas was the ability to close out a game that is going to be a key victory on the resume for the rest of the regular season.

West Virginia is a team that has a rotation that can go about nine or 10 players deep with different skill sets at each position. Closing out a game against a deep rotation and a suffocating defense like that of head coach Bob Huggins and the Mountaineers have can be very challenging for a team that sometimes struggles offensively like the Horns do.

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