West Virginia Mountaineers vs Texas Longhorns Prediction, 2/20/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: West Virginia Mountaineers vs Texas Longhorns

Date: Saturday, February 20, 2021

Location: Frank Erwin Center in Austin, TX

TV: ABC

Odds/Point Spread: West Virginia (+2.5)

The West Virginia Mountaineers (14-6) travel to Frank Erwin Center on Saturday where they'll take on the Texas Longhorns (13-5). Texas opens this matchup as 2.5-point favorites. The O/U opens at 147.5.

West Virginia enters this one with a win-loss mark of 14-6 so far this year. They turn it over 11.9 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 16.4 personal fouls every game. As a unit, West Virginia is pulling down 39.3 rebounds per contest and has accumulated 283 assists so far this season, which ranks 93rd in college basketball in terms of passing the ball. The Mountaineers are shooting 36.9% on shots from downtown (146 of 396) and 70.1% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 77.5 points per game (61st in college basketball) while shooting 43.1% from the field. On the defensive end, the Mountaineers have forced 14.3 turnovers per contest while drawing 20.7 personal fouls. The Mountaineers defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 43.3% (528 of 1,218) and they surrender 35.7 boards per game as a team. They rank 260th in college hoops in giving up assists with 271 surrendered for the campaign. They are giving up 31.4% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 222nd in college basketball in points per game allowed (71.9).

The West Virginia Mountaineers faced the Oklahoma Sooners and went home with a loss by a final score of 91-90 in their last contest. West Virginia finished with a 42.4% field goal percentage (36 out of 85) and made 7 out of their 24 shots from 3-point land. From the charity stripe, the Mountaineers made 11 of their 21 attempts for a percentage of 52.4%. Regarding hauling in boards, they earned a total of 47 with 15 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 19 dimes for the game as well as earning 3 steals and 4 rejections. With regard to defending, West Virginia let their opponent shoot 42.4% from the floor on 36 out of 85 shooting. Oklahoma doled out 13 dimes and had 3 steals for this contest. Furthurmore, the Sooners grabbed 41 rebounds (9 offensive, 32 defensive) and got 4 blocked shots. Oklahoma went 100.0% at the free throw line by burying 10 of their 10 attempts. They also made 11 of their 32 tries from downtown.

Derek Culver is a player who was a factor for this game. He ended up finishing with 29 points on 13 out of 23 shooting. He saw the court for 32 minutes played and grabbed 14 boards. Culver ended up shooting 56.5% from the floor and also earned 2 dimes. One more player that came through in this game for the Mountaineers was Sean McNeil. He totaled 4 boards and totaled 2 dimes. He ended up shooting 50.0% from the floor for the game via 7-of-14 (21 points). Overall, McNeil saw the court for 46 minutes.

Texas has a mark of 13-5 for the season. As an offense, the Longhorns are connecting on 44.8% from the field, which is ranked 154th in college hoops. Texas has scored 1,356 points for the season (75.3 per game) and they collect 39.8 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 12.9 times per game (199th in college hoops) and they lose possession via turnover 13.5 times per game. The Longhorns commit 20.3 fouls every game and they shoot 69.2% from the free throw line. The Longhorns on the defensive side of the court are 100th in college hoops in points per game surrendered with 67.6. They are able to force 12.6 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 40.5% from the floor (44th in college basketball). The Texas defense gives up 31.3% on shots from beyond the perimeter (105 of 335) and their opposition knocks down 67.7% of their foul shots. They have conceded 8.3 dimes and 35.3 rebounds every game, which is ranked 2nd and 195th in those categories on the defensive end.

For their last game, the Texas Longhorns walked away with a victory by a final of 70-55 when they faced the TCU Horned Frogs. The Longhorns collected 22 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 30 in this matchup. They also turned away 4 attempts while getting 6 steals for the game. The Horned Frogs were called for 13 fouls in this matchup which got the Longhorns to the charity stripe for a total of 13 tries. They were able to make 8 of those for a rate of 61.5%. When talking about shots from beyond the arc, Texas buried 6 of 21 tries (28.6%). When all was said and done, the Longhorns ended up going 28 for 57 from the field which gave them a percentage of 49.1%. The Longhorns permitted the Horned Frogs to knock down 19 out of 52 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 36.5% in this matchup. They shot 33.3% from 3-point land by going 7 of 21 and walked away from this one shooting 10 out of 13 from the free throw line (76.9%). When it comes to team rebounding, Texas allowed TCU to get 26 in all (6 on the offensive side).

Andrew Jones ended up being a major contributor for the Longhorns for this game. He knocked down 9 of 16 for this contest for a field goal rate of 56.3%, which had him sitting at 19 points. Jones grabbed 4 boards in his 27 mins played and tallied 2 dimes in this matchup. Another guy that ended up playing a role for Texas was Matt Coleman. He ended up scoring 15 points in his 35 minutes played by way of 6 of 8 shooting in this contest. Coleman walked away from this one going 75.0% from the field as well as contributing 4 dimes and 4 rebounds.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take West Virginia (+2.5)

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