by Chuck Sommers
Friday, Feb 10, 2023
Time: Noon ET
Venue: Moody Center, Austin, TX
Where to watch: ESPN2
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Texas -6.5
FanDuel: NL
BetMGM: Texas -6.5
Caesars: Texas -6.5
Season record
West Virginia: 15-9 (4-7 Big 12)
No. 5 Texas: 19-5 (8-3 Big 12)
February is here and the college basketball season is taking full shape. Conference races still to be determined, the top 25 completely in shambles for what seems like every week, and there's bound to be an upset what seems like every single week. But as the season continues to progress with what seems like exciting action every week, you know our champion handicappers continue to put the work in each and every week to not only make money for them, but to ensure you get money in your pocket. All you need to do is look at the last 30 days. Scott Rickenbach has reeled in a net profit of $14,000 with a 24-9-0 run on the college hardwood. Team Del Genio has killed it with a 13-1-0 run at +$11,900. Will Rogers (28-15-0) and Matt Fargo (40-27-0) have also seen five figures over the last 30 days with college basketball. Surely, you want to get on this winning as well. All you need to do is go to bigal.com, check out our Best Bets page and make sure you are following along on the action. March will be here before you know it! Take advantage of our best best plays and find out what our champion handicappers are doing at bigal.com!
West Virginia - Texas preview, prediction and analysis
Recent form
West Virginia: won 76-71 vs. Iowa State
Texas: lost 88-80 at No. 9 Kansas
The Texas Longhorns will try to bounce back after a tough loss in Lawrence last week when they host the West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday at Moody Center.
The Texas Longhorns will try to bounce back after a tough loss in Lawrence last week when they host the West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday at Moody Center.
The No. 5 Longhorns are coming off an 88-80 loss to the suddenly red-hot No. 9 Kansas Jayhawks on Monday, despite the home team blowing a lead and hanging on. Marcus Carr led the way with 29 points on 10 of 21 shooting, and Timmy Allen had 18 points on 6 of 12 shooting.
“It was their night tonight in terms of what they got done,” Texas interim coach Rodney Terry said.
Texas bounced back fine after their loss at Tennessee on Jan. 28 with wins against Baylor and Kansas State. The loss dropped Texas to 8-3 in Big 12 play, but they’re still hanging around the top spot in the Big 12 standings with about a month to go. This is a Texas team that’s kind of been up-and-down to this point, but they’re still explosive, averaging nearly 80 points per game while only giving up 68.5. Not really sure where their weaknesses are when we get to tournament time, but they’ll be setting up shop against Kansas and co. at some point.
“Give those guys credit. They came in and played at a very high level,” Terry said, “and we knew that would be the case.”
The Mountaineers, meanwhile, are looking for their fifth win in six games and are coming off arguably their best win of the season, 76-71 against No. 11 Iowa State last week in Morgantown.
Kedrian Johnson led the way with 22 points, and Emmitt Matthews Jr. had 20 points to pace a West Virginia offense that won despite getting outshot (42%), outrebounded (30-23) and only committed three more turnovers fewer than Iowa State.
''We dug ourselves a hole, and so we're trying to climb out of it,'' coach Bob Huggins said. ''I think that's a big part of our competitiveness now. I think that's a big part of why we're playing so much harder than what we played before. We're trying to get out of that hole. And we've made strides.
''Once you get close to getting out of the hole, you sure as heck don't want to fall back in it.''
West Virginia is only 4-7 in conference play despite that 15-9 record. After a horrendous start to Big 12 play, they’ve put themselves in position to inch closer to the tournament with possibly getting to the middle tier.
Prediction
It’s hard to lose at home when you’ve played as well. Texas is a top 5 team for a reason. It might not be their conference to win, but they’ve been good enough to make things happen all year long. Texas 74, West Virginia 67
Betting trends
West Virginia is 11-16 ATS on the road the last 3 seasons.
West Virginia is 6-3 ATS off 2 straight overs this season.
Texas is 26-35 ATS as a favorite the last 3 seasons.
Projected starting lineup
West Virginia:
PG: Kedrian Johnson
SG: Erik Stevenson
SF: Emmitt Matthews Jr.
PF: Tre Mitchell
C: Jimmy Bell Jr.
Texas:
PG: Marcus Carr
SG: Tyrese Hunter
SF: Timmy Allen
PF: Dillon Mitchell
C: Dylan Disu
Statistical leaders
West Virginia:
Points: Tre Mitchell – 13.6
Rebounds: Tre Mitchell – 5.9
Assists: Kedrian Johnson – 3.4
Texas:
Points: Marcus Carr -- 17.0
Rebounds: Timmy Allen -- 5.0
Assists: Marcus Carr -- 4.0
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
