Texas Longhorns vs West Virginia Mountaineers Prediction, 1/9/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Texas Longhorns vs West Virginia Mountaineers

Date: Saturday, January 9, 2021

Location: WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, WV

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Texas (-1)

WVU Coliseum is the site where and the West Virginia Mountaineers (9-3) will take on the Texas Longhorns (9-1) on Saturday. West Virginia opens this matchup as 1-point underdogs. The total has been set at 139.

Texas comes into this one with a win-loss record of 9-1 this season. They lose possession by turning the ball over 13.3 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 21.4 fouls per game. As a unit, Texas is pulling in 41.0 boards per game and has totaled 129 dimes for the campaign, which ranks 145th in the country in terms of passing. The Longhorns are connecting on 34.1% on shots from 3-point land (84 of 246) and 72.6% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 76.0 pts per game (112th in the nation) while shooting 44.9% from the field. On defense, the Longhorns are forcing 12.3 turnovers per contest while drawing 17.8 personal fouls. They give up 25.7% from 3-point land and they are ranked 41st in college basketball in points per game from their opponents (63.1). The Longhorns defensively are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 38.3% (220 of 575) and they concede 34.7 boards per game as a squad. They rank 64th in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 77 conceded on the campaign.

The Texas Longhorns played the Iowa State Cyclones and took home the win by a score of 78-72 in their last game. Texas ended the game with a 44.8% FG percentage (30 of 67) and made 8 out of their 26 three-point shots. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Longhorns knocked down 10 of 15 attempts for a percentage of 66.7%. Concerning grabbing rebounds, they earned 39 with 11 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 11 dimes in the matchup while having 6 steals and 4 blocked shots. In regard to defending, Texas allowed their opponent to shoot 44.8% from the field on 30 out of 67 shooting. Iowa State dished out 10 dimes and had 3 steals in this game. Furthurmore, the Cyclones snagged 26 rebounds (4 offensive, 22 defensive) and got 4 blocks. Iowa State finished the game shooting 90.0% from the free throw line by converting 9 of their 10 shots. They converted 7 out of their 22 shots from beyond the arc.

Andrew Jones is someone who was a factor for the matchup. He ended up finishing with 23 points on 10 of 20 shooting. He played for 37 mins and collected 6 rebounds. Jones ended up shooting 50.0% from the floor and also distributed 4 assists. An additional guy that was a factor in this game for the Longhorns was Greg Brown. He collected 8 rebounds and also tallied 2 assists. He walked away from this one shooting 60.0% from the floor for the matchup by going 6-of-10 (15 points). In all, Brown was on the hardwood for 22 min.

West Virginia has a win-loss record of 9-3 on the campaign. West Virginia has totaled 904 pts for the campaign (75.3 per game) and they pull in 41.1 boards per game. The Mountaineers have committed 16.0 fouls per contest and they shoot 70.4% from the free throw line. On the offensive side of the court, the Mountaineers are shooting 41.8% from the field, which is 276th in college basketball. They are dishing out assists 13.8 times per contest (159th in college basketball) and they cough up possession 11.8 times per contest. The Mountaineers on the defensive end are ranked 171st in college basketball in points allowed per contest with 69.5. They give up 13.8 dimes and 35.9 boards on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 233rd and 207th in D-1. The West Virginia defense gives up 29.7% on shots from beyond the perimeter (86 of 290) and their opposition knocks down 67.7% of their foul shots. They are able to force 14.3 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 42.2% from the floor (150th in the nation).

The last time they took the court, the West Virginia Mountaineers walked away with a victory by a final of 87-84 when they faced the Oklahoma State Cowboys. The Mountaineers recorded 23 defensive boards and 16 offensive boards totaling 39 in this game. They blocked 4 tries while getting 5 steals for the matchup. The Cowboys had 23 fouls in this game which got the Mountaineers to the charity stripe for a total of 29 attempts. They were able to make 20 of those for a rate of 69.0%. When talking about three-point shots, West Virginia made 9 out of 24 attempts (37.5%). When the final whistle was blown, the Mountaineers shot 29 for 70 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 41.4%. The Mountaineers permitted the Cowboys to convert 31 of 66 tries from the field which had them sitting at 47.0% for this contest. They went 24.0% from beyond the perimeter by connecting on 6 out of 25 and finished the contest at 16 of 25 from the charity stripe (64.0%). In relation to rebounds, West Virginia allowed Oklahoma State to pull down 38 in total (14 offensive).

Derek Culver pitched in for the Mountaineers in this contest. He converted 10 of 19 for the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 52.6%, which had him finishing with 22 points. Culver snagged 19 boards in his 36 mins and accumulated 2 assists in the game. Someone else that played a role for West Virginia was Miles McBride. He ended up with 21 points in 30 minutes played by way of 6 of 14 shooting in this matchup. McBride walked away from this one going 42.9% from the field as well as contributing 5 dimes and 4 boards.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Texas (-1)

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