WVU Men’s Hoops History With Big XII Opponents
By Ken Durbin
Texas (1-2 all-time)
Dec 22, 2012; East Lansing, MI, USA; Texas Longhorns forward Jonathan Holmes (10) drives to the basket against Michigan State Spartans center Derrick Nix (25) during 1st half at Jack Breslin Students Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
One of the more frequent opponents for the Mountaineers historically are the Texas Longhorns. Again, three meetings is certainly not a lengthy history, but there have been nothing but tight contests in this series.
The first time the Mountaineers locked horns with Texas came in the 1973-1974 season in the Far West Classsic. WVU came away with a narrow 80-79 victory over the Longhorns due in large part to big performances from Jerome Anderson and Warren Baker.
It would take another 32 seasons until the two squads would face off. In the 2005 Guardians Classic, the #2 Longhorns exacted revenge on the #13 Mountaineers for the narrow defeat more than three decades prior. In front of the crowd in Kansas City, Texas took a narrow 1-point victory over West Virginia, reversing their fortunes against the Mountaineers from 32 years prior. WVU had the lead early, before collapsing late in the second half to give Texas the victory.
The Mountaineers would get a chance to face the Longhorns in the NCAA tournament at the end of the 2005-2006 season. WVU was seeking to get past Texas for a berth in the Elite Eight. In one of the best games of the 2006 NCAA tournament, the Mountaineers and Longhorns were tied with only seconds remaining in the contest.
Kevin Pittsnogle had tied the game on a three point basket with 7 seconds left in the game. WVU fans thought for sure that the game would be sent to overtime, but were shocked when Kenton Paulino sunk the game winning three pointer at the final buzzer.
WVU will get their first shot at vengeance on January 9 in Austin. The Longhorns will finally make a trip to Morgantown on February 4. These two contests promise to follow in the path of previous meetings, hotly contested down to the final buzzer.