Texas Longhorns Roll Over West Virginia in Big 12 Opener, 74-59

Longhorns build 19-point halftime lead behind the offense of Courtney Ramey and their stifling defense

Led by Courtney Ramey’s exceptional first half, the No. 17 Texas Longhorns blew out the short-handed West Virginia Mountaineers, 74-59, to open Big 12 play on Saturday at the Erwin Center.

Ramey scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half, fueled by a trio of 3-pointers and the Longhorns’ exceptional overall shooting, which allowed them to build a 19-point halftime lead.

Because the game was in Texas’ hands by the break, coach Chris Beard was able to play most of his roster, including forward Dylan Disu, who is still working his way into shape after missing most of non-conference with an injury.

Texas (11-2, 1-0 in Big 12) saw two other guards hit double figures, as Marcus Carr led Texas with 20 points and Andrew Jones added 14 points.

Texas remained undefeated at home (10-0) and ended West Virginia’s (11-2, 0-1) eight-game winning streak.

The Mountaineers entered the game shorthanded. Taz Sherman, Gabe Osabuohein and Kobe Johnson all missed the game due to COVID-19. Sherman was a huge loss for the Mountaineers, as he averages 20.9 points per game and entered Saturday’s game as the Big 12’s second-leading scorer behind Kansas’ Ochai Agbaji. Osabuohein is considered the Mountaineers’ best interior defender.

Without Sherman, the Mountaineers were unable to adjust quickly enough on offense. WVU’s second-leading scorer, Sean McNeil, scored 12 points, but the Texas defense left him with little room to operate. Meanwhile, forward Jalen Bridges came alive for the Mountaineers in the second half and ended up leading WVU with 18 points. The Mountaineers lost another guard, Kedrian Johnson, to an injury in the second half. Malik Curry added 14 points for West Virginia.

But, by then, the Longhorns’ lead was impenetrable.

Texas, which entered the game allowing a Division-I best 51.3 points per game on defense, allowed the Mountaineers to score just 20 points in the first half as it built a 39-20 lead. McNeil led the Mountaineers with seven first-half points, but the rest of the Mountaineers combined for 13 points. WVU shot 32 percent from the floor and had 12 turnovers to eight made field goals.

Ramey had an exceptional first half for Texas, as he made three 3-pointers and finished with 13 first-half points, just one off his season high. Texas was shooting 50 percent at the half, with Carr adding eight points. Texas also had 10 points off the Mountaineers’ 12 turnovers. Texas went on a 25-6 run for the final 10:10 of the first half.

Texas plays its first Big 12 road game on Jan. 4 when it heads to Manhattan, Kansas, to face Kansas State at 6 p.m. on Big 12 Now.

---

You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Longhorns? Click Here

Want to join in on the discussion? Click here to become a member of the Longhorns Country message board community today!

Follow Longhorns Country on Twitter and Facebook.