Texas Basketball: 3 bold predictions for Big 12/Big East Battle vs. Villanova

Texas basketball will try and stay undefeated on Dec. 6 in the Big 12/Big East Battle against head coach Jay Wright and the Villanova Wildcats.

Yet another difficult test arrives for head coach Shaka Smart and the Texas basketball program on Dec. 6, as they try to round out this special week staying undefeated by beating another ranked team. Texas men’s hoops started out the week competing in the Maui Invitational, which was held at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, NC, this year.

Smart and the Longhorns took down the Davidson Wildcats to start out the Maui Invitational, with a first round win by a narrow two-point margin on Nov. 30. Then they upset both the Indiana Hoosiers (by a dominant final score of 66-44) and the No. 14 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels to win the program’s first ever Maui Invitational Championship. The win over the Tar Heels came by the final score of 69-67 back on Dec. 2.

Texas got the win over the Tar Heels thanks to a clutch last second bucket from senior standout guard Matt Coleman.

The three wins for the Championship in the Maui Invitational pushed the Longhorns to an unscathed record of 4-0 (0-0 Big 12). Their other win on the season came over the UTRGV Vaqueros, back on Nov. 25 in the opener.

Meanwhile, the No. 17 ranked Villanova Wildcats and head coach Jay Wright come in with a record of 3-1 (0-0 Big East). Their last two games, supposed to be played against the Temple Owls and Saint Joseph’s Hawks, had to be postponed in the way of novel coronavirus related issues.

The ESPN Matchup Predictor from the Basketball Power Index gives Villanova a slight 51.7 percent chance to win this game. And the betting line is even, so this is looking like it could be a close one.

Here’s a look into three bold predictions as the Longhorns take on Villanova in the Big 12/Big East Battle at home at the Frank Erwin Center on Dec. 6.