Texas Basketball: 3 takeaways from critical win over Virginia Tech
Andrew Jones has Texas on the upswing ahead of matchup against Purdue
Following this critical win over Virginia Tech in the Round of 64, the focus will immediately shift to their tough looming matchup against the three-seed Purdue Boilermakers out of the Big Ten. And there was one really sparkling performance that should give the Longhorns some confidence coming out of this win over the Hokies.
A major key for the Longhorns against Purdue will be the play of the redshirt senior shooting guard/wing Andrew Jones. If Jones plays anywhere near the level he did against Virginia Tech when Texas takes on Purdue in the Round of 32, the Longhorns will be in a really good spot.
This was definitely the biggest game of the season so far for Jones. In a way, it was the biggest game of his career to date.
The way Jones put on a show for Texas in this one helped to notch his first career NCAA Tournament win. He gave Texas a game-high 21 points on a solid 7-of-11 shooting from the field, 5-of-7 from beyond the arc, and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. Jones also came up with five rebounds, one assist, one steal, one block, and two turnovers.
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It’s hard to see Texas winning this game without the standout production of Jones. His shooting from downtown kept Texas in the thick of it throughout the first half when the rest of the team was struggling to get in rhythm on offense. And he continued to play effective on-ball defense while maintaining a decent level of offensive efficiency in the second half.