Using ESPN’s BPI (Basketball Power Index), Longhorns Wire gives game by game predictions and final record for Texas basketball.
The Texas Longhorns men’s basketball team currently sits at 6-1 after their first seven games of the season. Shaka Smart led his team into the Maui Invitational that was held in North Carolina due to COVID-19. After defeated Davidson and Indiana, they would face the Tar Heels in the championship game. Matt Coleman delivered the heroics as they won with a buzzer-beating shot.
The Longhorns were supposed to play their first conference game of the season against Baylor this past weekend but it was postponed. The game is expected to be made up at some point in the season. No word on when that game will take place.
Their next game will take place in Austin as the Longhorns host the Oklahoma State Cowboys. We take a look at the game-by-game predictions using ESPN’s Basketball Power Index.
Longhorns Wire staff members express their confidence level ahead of Texas’ critical matchup with West Virginia on Saturday.
Ricardo B. Brazziell-USA TODAY Sports
Texas is looking to win their third consecutive game when they host the West Virginia Mountaineers on Nov. 7.
The Longhorns are 2-1 overall at home this season with the lone loss to Texas Christian in early October. Texas has shown that they can compete with the top teams in the country, but they’ve also succumbed to the play of lesser opponents.
There are just as many question marks off of the field as there are on it. Which team will show up on Saturday to remain in the Big 12 title race?
Confidence 1-10?
Patrick Conn, Staff Editor
This is a tough one to nail down. Just when you think you have this team pegged, they fall back. When they began the season with a 2-0 record, many thought that the Longhorns were on the rise after a disappointing 2019 season. This year has been extremely inconsistent. Win two, lose two, win two. Are they about to lose two more? Let’s hope they can figure it out against the best total defense in the Big 12 Conference.
Confidence Level: 3
Cami Griffin, Senior Staff Contributor
I chose a confidence level of 5 here because I truly feel as if this game can go either way. West Virginia has a solid defense — the best overall defensive unit in the conference — but Texas also deploys the highest scoring offense. If it weren’t for Texas’ recent inconsistency issues, i’d have this score as high as an 8 here. However, you truly cannot predict a team led by head coach Tom Herman anymore.
Confidence Level: 5
Griffin McVeigh, Staff Contributor
It has been a long time since Tom Herman has had the ability to put quality back-to-back games together in one season. Last week’s win over Oklahoma State was great and could be seen as a momentum boost for the rest of the season. West Virginia has had their up and downs as well. Nobody knows which team will show up on either side. I am banking on Texas since they are at home in this one.
Confidence Level: 6
The fans haven’t been overly confident either. According to a recent Twitter poll, the fanbase had no idea whether or not to trust Herman’s team against West Virginia.
Polling the nation: Confidence in Texas beating WVU
