Texas Too Much for West Virginia Saturday in Austin

Saturday, February 10

Austin, Texas

3 p.m.

West Virginia University

8-15,3-7Big 12

Texas

16-8,5-6Big 12

West Virginia

Texas

Photo by: WVU Athletic Communications

February 10, 2024 05:30 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: John Antonik

Dylan Disu's 27 points led Texas to a 94-58 victory over West Virginia today at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.

Disu was one of five Longhorn players to reach double figures in this afternoon's 36-point victory. Max Abmas and Tyrese Hunter contributed 19 each, Chendall Weaver scored 13 and Dillon Mitchell added 12 for Texas, which boosts its record to 16-8 overall and 5-6 in Big 12 play.

The Longhorns began the game with impressive offensive efficiency and ended the game making 36 of their 70 field goal attempts for 51.4%. In the first half, they made 65.7% of their field goal attempts, including 7-of-7 from Disu.

After the game was tied 7-7, Texas scored 20 of the game's next 24 points to build a 16-point lead. A Disu 3 got the lead to 20 and it eventually got to 27 with 1:15 left in the half on Abmas' 3.

UT assisted on 28 of its 36 made field goals and turned West Virginia's 15 turnovers into 29 points.

"That's the game right there," West Virginia coach Josh Eilert said. "They were 100% the aggressor and they took it to us. It was a physical game and when teams are really physical with us, we struggle. We struggled against UMass. We struggled against Houston's physicality and I don't know how we correct that, but 100% that was their game plan."

From behind the 3-point arc, Texas made 15 of 32 with Disu accounted for seven of those. Abmas made five and Hunter with three.

"Credit to them, and just like I told our team in the locker room, I didn't have them ready to play and that's on me," Eilert said.

West Virginia shot 38.2% overall, but just 29% in the second half when Eilert removed his starters and played his backups when the game got out of hand.

Center Jesse Edwards scored 17 points, making 7-of-9 from the floor, while grabbing a game-high nine rebounds. Guards Noah Farrakhan scored 11 and RaeQuan Battle added 10 for the Mountaineers, now 8-15 overall and 3-7 in conference play. WVU has now dropped all nine of its games away from the Coliseum this year.

"Their game plan was putting Jesse in a ball screen and picking and popping with Disu," Eilert said. "Credit to them. I think he was four-for-four from 3 to start the game and he knocked down shots. Once you see a couple go down the flood gates can open for you."

And today it did.

This afternoon's game was very similar to last year's 34-point loss in the Moody Center when Rodney Terry's Longhorns made better than 50% of their 3-point attempts and scored 94 points.

West Virginia defeated Texas 76-73 in Morgantown last month.

A paid attendance of 10,073 watched these two teams play each other for the final time during the regular season in Austin. Texas is leaving the Big 12 for the SEC next season.

West Virginia will continue its two-game swing of the Longhorn State with a Monday night matchup at TCU, which lost at Iowa State earlier today.

"We have to learn quick but flush this," Eilert said. "TCU is No. 1 in the country in fastbreak points and they get downhill. They really turn people over and Texas is not a team that turns people over, and if we're loose with the ball it could be very ugly in Fort Worth."