College Basketball on Monday and we will see the Texas Longhorns travel to Morgantown, West Virginia to take on the West Virginia Mountaineers. The game is scheduled for a 9:00 pm (Eastern) start time and will be televised on ESPN. Currently the odds for the game have West Virginia favored by 6 points while the total sits at 125.5. Check out Sportsbook Spy to see who the Public is taking on all of today's games.
Analysis: Texas got off to a dreadful start in Big 12 play, losing each of its first five conference clashes, but it has started to turn things around of late with wins in two of its last three. The Longhorns dismissed TCU at home on Saturday, 60-43, but they have yet to win a true road game in five tries this season. Sheldon McClellan entered the first meeting with West Virginia shooting 37.3 percent and went 2-of-13. He comes off his most efficient showing in league play as he shot 6-of-9 and scored 15 points against TCU on Saturday. Though Texas did have one of its better shooting performances and had its second-fewest amount of turnovers (11), coach Rick Barnes still remained displeased by his team allowing a 19-point lead to go to nine late in the second half. McClellan is the team's top scorer at 14.8 ppg, and his stellar free-throw percentage (.798) outshines his lackluster effort from the field overall (.379). Julien Lewis chips in 11.5 ppg, while Javan Felix (8.0 ppg) dishes out 5.6 apg and comes up with 1.3 spg. Jonathan Holmes grabs a team- high 7.1 rpg for Texas, which averages a modest 63.9 ppg. Defense has been UT's strength this season, as it limits foes to just 62 ppg, and its field goal percentage defense (.358) is one of the best in the nation.
West Virginia is also fresh off a Saturday afternoon win, claiming a quality road victory over Texas Tech, 77-61. On the season however, it is only a game up on Texas in the Big 12 standings at 3-5. West Virginia had one of its best shooting performances of the year in the 16- point win over Texas Tech, as it shot 56.5 percent from the field, including 10-of-18 from 3-point range. Pacing four players in double figures was freshman Eron Harris, who netted 18 points, and while he is averaging just 8.0 ppg for the season, that number has inflated to 13.8 in the last six contests. Aaric Murray scored 12 points off the bench, while Gary Browne and Juwan Staten each poured in 11 points against the Red Raiders. Despite getting outshot from the field this season, .401 to .438, the Mountaineers still score more points (67.1 ppg) than their opponents (66.1 ppg) by sporting positive rebounding (+2.2) and turnover (+2.2) margins. Murray (10.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.7 bpg) is the only player to tally double figures on a nightly basis, but Staten comes awfully close with 9.9 ppg while also accumulating team-highs is assists (58) and steals (25).
Free Pick: I like the Over in this one. Texas has struggled for much the year on offense, but they have scored 64.3 ppg in their last 4 games and are off a 52.3% shooting performance vs TCU, which is a good defensive team. The Long Horns should put some points on a Moutaineer defense that has allowed 66.3 ppg in their last 7 games. West Virginia has had it’s problems offensively this year, but they still average 70.2 ppg at home and have put up 67.5 ppg in their last 4 games overall, while Texas has allowed 78.2 ppg on the road this year. The offensive problems these teams have had is not because of pace. They both do like to run a and will do that tonight and give us at least 130 points.
-25 of picks FREE! No Obligation - No Credit Card Required - Becoming a member is Fast and Free!
Get More Free Picks from the Pregame Pros HERE.
Check out Pregame.tv each week to get Videos with analysis, handicapping tips and Free Plays.
Betting Tips For College Basketball Conference Games
Chuck Edel, Chris Andrews and Vegas Runner give some tips on betting college basketball conference games.