Texas basketball set to face an undermanned WVU team in Big 12 opener

As new head coach Chris Beard and No. 17 ranked Texas basketball gears up to take on head coach Bob Huggins and the West Virginia Mountaineers in the Big 12 opener this weekend, there is plenty on the line for both teams. But it appears that Texas could have the upper hand in terms of depth available for this Big 12 opener against the Mountaineers on New Years Day.

Huggins announced this week that West Virginia is set to miss “a couple of players in COVID protocol” for the Texas game on Jan. 1. West Virginia also already had their meeting with the TCU Horned Frogs, which was originally set to take place on Jan. 3 in Fort Worth, postponed due to COVID-19-related issues.

It’s not exactly clear as of yet which players the Mountaineers will be missing in this meeting with the Longhorns on Jan.1. But the very fact that West Virginia is going to be shorthanded is obviously something notable that could impact the outcome of this game.

Chris Beard and No. 17 Texas basketball set to take on an undermanned West Virginia team for Bob Huggins on Jan.1

On the Texas side, it appears that Beard and his crew are about as close to full strength as this team will get for the rest of the season. After the former blue-chip recruit and freshman forward Jaylon Tyson put his name in the NCAA Transfer Portal earlier in the week, the Longhorns were already down one player in the rotation.

But Tyson wasn’t a regular starter for Texas. And he wasn’t getting even second unit minutes all that often for Beard and the Longhorns in the last few weeks.

Texas saw the rise of junior center Tre Mitchell and junior power forward Dylan Disu in the last few games. Mitchell and Disu were nothing short of overpowering in Texas’ dominant win over Incarnate Word back on Dec. 28.

Beard and the Longhorns are also set to bring the nation’s top defense in terms of points allowed per game into this Big 12 opener against the Mountaineers. Texas is allowing just 51.3 points per game through the first dozen games of the regular season heading into Big 12 play.

Texas comes into this meeting with West Virginia sporting a record of 10-2 (0-0 Big 12) following the win over Incarnate Word on dec. 28. Meanwhile, West Virginia comes into this one with a record of 11-1 following a dominant 30-point win over Youngstown State back on Dec. 22.

This will be the first road game of the season against a ranked opponent for Huggins and the Mountaineers. West Virginia is 1-0 over ranked competition this season, but they beat No. 15 UConn at home back on Dec. 8.

Texas will host West Virginia at home at the Frank Erwin Center on Jan. 1, with tip-off time set for 11 a.m. CT. Beard and the Longhorns have a shot to get their first real impressive win of the season if they can take down West Virginia this weekend at home.