Texas Basketball: 3 reasons Longhorns can dominate West Virginia

2) Why Texas basketball could dominate WVU

Shutting down Miles McBride

There is a potential decisive edge that Smart and the Longhorns own over head coach Bob Huggins and the Mountaineers in this game. Texas has one of the better, and more experienced, backcourt duos in the Big 12 this season between the likes of versatile senior guard Matt Coleman and offensively gifted junior guard Courtney Ramey.

After a tough stretch of games after the turn of the calendar year for the duo of Coleman and Ramey, they’ve greatly picked up their play of late. The winning streak that Texas is currently sitting on came largely thanks to the bounce back of the starting backcourt. Coleman especially has fit his usual utilitarian role of late for this team.

Where Coleman and Ramey really need to come through in a big way for the Longhorns against the Mountaineers is in defending the star sophomore guard Miles McBride. You could argue that the most challenging team for McBride so far in his college career was the Longhorns.

In three outings against the Longhorns in his career to date, McBride has only managed to score in double figures once, and has turned the ball over a total of five times, compared with only three assists. McBride is playing really well as a potential All-Big 12 First-Team selection candidate.

In 20 games played so far this season (all of which he’s started in), McBride averaged 16.2 points per game, 4.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.7 steals, and 0.2 blocks. He’s shot 43.5 percent from the field, 44.6 percent from beyond the arc, and 81.6 percent from the free-throw line.

McBride could run into a huge hurdle in the lock down defense that Coleman could play on him in this game. Coleman and/or Ramey defending McBride could be the matchup to watch here.