The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
7-10, 1-4
West Virginia
15-2, 4-1
Men’s Basketball falls to No. 10/9 West Virginia, 74-72
01.14.2017 | Men's Basketball
Allen records career-high 19 points, while Jones ties career high with 17 points in home loss.
AUSTIN, Texas -- Freshman forward Jarrett Allen set a career high with 19 points while freshman guard Andrew Jones tied his career high with 17 points, but Texas dropped a 74-72 decision to No. 10/9 West Virginia on Saturday afternoon at the Frank Erwin Center. The defeat marks the fifth time this season that the Longhorns (7-10, 1-4 Big 12) have lost by three points or less, including the third time in the first five Big 12 Conference contests.
Allen hit 6-of-7 field goals and also set a career high in free throws made (7-of-8) and tied his career high in minutes played (36). Jones tied his season high in three-pointers made, converting 4-of-9 from behind the arc. Senior forward Shaquille Cleare posted a season-high 12 points, and sophomore guard Kerwin Roach Jr. rounded out the double-digit scoring with 11 points, six boards and five assists in a career-high 38 minutes.
After a pair of free throws from West Virginia sophomore Esa Ahmad tied the game (12-12) at the 12:52 mark, the Longhorns used a 9-2 run capped by a Jones 3-pointer to take a 21-14 lead with 7:52 remaining. Texas maintained its advantage until late in the half, when a Brandon Watkins jumper at 2:11 tied the game at 31-31. The Mountaineers (15-2, 4-1 Big 12) continued on a 12-0 run in which five different players converted shots from the field to build a 39-31 advantage with 16 seconds left. Roach sank a 3-pointer as time expired in the half, trimming the deficit to 39-34.
Texas used a 12-2 spurt in the opening five minutes of the second half, claiming a 46-41 advantage at the 15:11 mark following a Roach layup. A Jones 3-pointer with 10:35 left gave Texas a 53-47 cushion, but the Mountaineers scored seven unanswered points to take back the lead, 54-53, with 9:33 to play.
After another Jones 3-pointer tied the score 60-60 with 6:51 to play, the Mountaineers responded with six unanswered points to take a 66-60 lead at the 3:23 mark. With 23 seconds remaining, Cleare sank a layup to bring the Longhorns to within two (72-70), but Carter made two free throws on the ensuing possession to seal the win.
Senior guard Teyvon Myers paced WVU with 16 points while hitting 7-of-10 free throws. Junior guard Jevon Carter contributed 15 points for the Mountaineers, converting 5-of-6 free throw attempts and grabbing four rebounds.
The Longhorns return to action on Tuesday, Jan. 17, when they face No. 1/1 Baylor in Waco. Tip is set for 6 p.m. Central at the Ferrell Center, and the game will be televised nationally by ESPN2.
Texas Basketball Postgame Notes
#10/9 West Virginia 74, Texas 72
January 14, 2017
Austin, Texas (Frank Erwin Center)
Attendance: 10,751
Team Notes
- UT dropped to 8-5 in the all-time series against West Virginia. The Longhorns had won six of the last seven contests against WVU entering today's game.
- The Longhorns fell to 484-116 all-time in home games at the Frank Erwin Center. The Horns fell to 212-33 at the Erwin Center in the last 15 seasons (since start of the 2002-03 season). Texas fell to 7-4 this season and 21-7 at home in the Shaka Smart era.
- This marked UT's first game against a ranked opponent this season.
- The Longhorns held West Virginia to 22.2% from 3-point range (4-18) on the afternoon.
- WVU entered the game ranked fifth in the nation (NCAA Division I) in scoring offense (90.1 ppg). UT held the Mountaineers to 74 points.
- WVU entered the game leading the nation in both turnover margin (+13.9) and turnovers forced (24.3). UT was -4 in turnover margin (WVU had 15 turnovers, UT had 19 turnovers).
- Reached double figures in scoring (19 points) for the 11th time this season (17 games).
- Set a career high in points (19). Previous high was 18 vs. TCU on Jan. 11, 2017.
- Set a career high in FT made (7-8). Previous high was 5 vs. UTA on Nov. 29, 2016.
- Tied his career high in minutes played (36). Also played 36 vs. Incarnate Word on Nov. 11, 2016.
- Reached double figures in scoring (12 points) for the fifth time this season (17 games) and seventh time in his UT career (50 games).
- Set a season high in scoring (previous high: 11 vs. Alabama on Dec. 2, 2016) and was just 2 points shy of his UT career high (14 vs. Baylor on Feb. 20, 2016).
- Set a season high and tied his career high in FG made (6-9).
- Set a career high in minutes played (33). Previous high was 32 vs. Colorado on Nov. 22, 2016.
- Made his first collegiate appearance, checking into the game at the 16:01 mark of the first half, and played 3 minutes (all in the first half).
- Reached double figures in scoring (17 points) for the eighth time this season (17 games).
- Tied his career high in points and 3-pointers made (4-9).
- Reached double figures in scoring (11 points) for the 11th time this season (16 games) and 20th time in his career (49 games).
- Tied his season high in rebounds (6). Also had 6 boards vs. Eastern Washington on Nov. 17, 2016.
- His 5 assists were one shy of his career high (6 vs. Oklahoma State on Jan. 4, 2017).
- Made his first collegiate start.
West Virginia
Head Coach Bob Huggins
On how Texas' young team played: This league is just brutal. Everybody that plays is a good player. The coaching in this league is second to none.
On his team's offensive balance: That's been our team all year. If you think about it one day someone will have 20 and then the next day a different player will have 20. I think it's hard to scheme to stop a certain guy because like Dak (Daxter Miles) struggled today. I mean, he really struggled. Those are two of our leading scorers, but those other guys stepped up. That's what this team has pretty much been for the last couple years.
On Nathan Adrian: He's under the weather and in some ways I said to Tommy on the radio it was kind of a blessing we didn't have to play him all that much until the end. He's not playing with a full tank, he's very sick.
On the team coming in after a big win: Well we gave them a day off after the Baylor game and I tried to talk to them right after the game, but we came in and got ready and obviously we just didn't have any energy. Honestly, you have to give them credit, because nobody travels the way we travel. It's just rough. Your sleep patterns are different all the time.
TEXAS
Head Coach Shaka Smart
On Texas' poise: I think there were a couple of key stretches, probably late in the first half where we lost a level of poise and didn't handle things as well as we needed to. When you're playing a really good pressure team, aggressive team, it takes 40 minutes and we didn't have 40 minutes worth of points in that game. We were close.
On playing a seven-man rotation against the West Virginia pressure: I just thought it was going to be really interesting to see how our guys responded and just where our team is. I thought our guys showed a great deal of fight. I thought the way we played, setting any results aside and the way that our guys played for each other and played for Texas, that more closely resembled what we want to be. It's just disappointing to come up short because this was one that, if a couple of things went differently, we could have taken.
On Texas' defensive effort: Our guys showed a lot of fight on defense. I think West Virginia's guards, particularly Jevon Carter, deserved a lot of credit for the tough baskets that they made. Jevon Carter, if you had to point to one guy that was a difference maker, it was him as he made big-time plays and finishes. Most of those possessions, we defended pretty well but he had a rainbow 18-footer, he had an unbelievable finish in the lane. He was the guy that imposed his will more than anybody else upon the game.
On if close results are weighing on Texas' younger players: When you're playing a team sport, there's focus on how the team did and how you did individually. You want those things to do well, you want to get better. When you lose, I tell those guys that you should never not be disappointed to lose. When we watch the tape for today, we'll say, "hey, one less turnover here or one extra missed ball there." We've got to get a little bit better with that and obviously we've talked about that with all these one possession losses.
Freshman Guard Andrew Jones
On how he can fill the shoes of Tevin Mack: I just did what I had to do out there on the court. I fed off my teammates, and that really played a factor. I did what I had to do in order for my team to be successful.
On the team's reaction to when they heard of Mack's suspension: We just stayed together as a team. That happened, but we just have to focus on each other and focus on what we need to do to come out with a win. We have to focus on moving on to the next game in the future.
Sophomore Guard Kerwin Roach Jr.
On what he attributes his improved play to: Just being focused. Being out there and trusting in these guys to make the right play or make the right shot. I have been watching a lot of film, that's all.
On the toughness of not letting poor results bother him: It's pretty tough when you're that close, losing by two points to the No. 10 team in the country. We just have to stay together. I feel like with Tevin being out, we can only be closer. There are only seven of us playing right now, so we just have to be a close-knit group.
Freshman Forward Jarrett Allen
On what Coach Smart said in the locker room at halftime: Coach said in the locker room that if we could do something like "one less turnover, one more stop," I think that can help us a lot.
On how close he thinks the team is to getting over the hump: Yeah, you can feel it. As a team, we can feel each other pulling closer for each other and playing more as a team. The only way is up for us.
