Texas Basketball: 3 reasons the Longhorns can upset OU

3) Why Texas basketball can upset OU

Strangulating defense on Austin Reaves

If everything goes in this game according to the overarching projection from the ESPN matchup predictor, then Oklahoma will come out with the win. The ESPN matchup predictor gives the Sooners just shy of a 60 percent chance to win this game in Norman. But that’s not a huge edge given to Oklahoma over Texas in this game.

A driving force that led to Oklahoma’s win over Texas in the first meeting between these two teams this season was the play of star senior guard/wing Austin Reaves. The 6-foot-5 and 205 pound former Wichita State Shocker is having a big season for the Sooners, and he was big for them in their win over Texas on Jan. 26.

In that game alone, Reaves registered a game-high 23 points, to go along with six rebounds, four assists, and two turnovers. He shot an efficient 7-of-15 from the field, 2-of-6 from beyond the arc, and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.

But that was an outlier amid the three games that Reaves has played in against the Longhorns so far in his college career. The other two saw him register a combined 23 points and seven turnovers.

Since the Longhorns will be more shored up in the backcourt and wing rotations in this game, and they’ll actually have Smart on the sidelines, Reaves will have a more challenging time on both ends of the floor this time around.

Still, shutting down Reaves needs to be a main focus at hand for Smart and the Longhorns. Reaves has played in 16 games so far this season for the Sooners (starting in all of them), averaging around 33 minutes on the floor per game. And he’s averaged 16.6 points per game, 5.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.3 blocks. Reaves shot 44.2 percent from the field, 23.1 percent from beyond the arc, and 88.2 percent from the free-throw line.