Playing sports during a pandemic sometimes means last-minute changes in player availability that can completely reshape a game and that’s exactly what happened to the West Virginia Mountaineers just before tipoff against the No. 17 Texas Longhorns at the Erwin Center on Saturday.
With leading scorer Taz Sherman and the team’s best defensive player, Gabe Osabouhien, among the three West Virginia players out due to COVID-19 protocols, Texas entered the game at a significant advantage and took care of business against the visitors.
In the decisive first half, the Longhorns defense stymied the Mountaineers, forcing 12 turnovers and holding West Virginia to 32-percent shooting from the floor.