GAME NOTES: A Top-20 showdown between two teams representing the Big 12 Conference takes place on Saturday evening, as No. 16 West Virginia comes calling on No. 20 Texas,

West Virginia enters with a 15-2 overall record, which include victories in three of its first four Big 12 bouts. The Mountaineers bounced back from a 74-72 loss to Iowa State last Saturday to rout No. 18 Oklahoma on Tuesday, 86-65, both of which took place at home. With two wins in Texas earlier this month (TCU, Texas Tech), WVU is 8-2 all-time in games played in the Lone Star State.

Texas began the season with seven consecutive wins, and victories in 10 of its first 11 games overall, but the team has gone just 2-3 since. Two of the recent setbacks have come against conference rivals in the last 12 days, as both Oklahoma (70-49) and Oklahoma State (69-58) topped the Longhorns. UT is 8-2 at home, with both defeats coming in the team's last three games in Austin.

The all-time series between these two programs favors Texas by a 5-3 margin, and the Longhorns won all three meetings last season, the last being a 66-49 decision in the Big 12 Tournament.

Freshman Jevon Carter came off the bench to score 18 points, grab seven rebounds and log three steals, Devin Williams logged a double-double with 14 points and 11 boards, and Nathan Adrian chipped in 11 points, all of which West Virginia used to blow out Oklahoma earlier this week. The Mountaineers took 18 more shots than did the Sooners, and the home team took advantage of 22 turnovers while recording a 42-35 rebounding advantage. Another big factor in the game was the fact that WVU's bench outscored OU's by a staggering, 55-8.

Despite a miserable outing against Oklahoma in which he went just 1-of-9 from the floor to finish with four points, Juwan Staten (15.8 ppg, 4.3 apg) has been West Virginia's most productive offensive players this season. Devin Williams (11.0 ppg, 7.9 rpg) is the only other player averaging double digits for the Mountaineers, who put up 78.8 ppg while allowing only 62.2 ppg. Five others net between 6.2 and 9.8 ppg, as WVU uses a balanced attack to earn the majority of its victories. Well, that and the fact that it goads the opposition into a staggering 22.3 turnovers per contest.

Myles Turner poured in 18 points, Demarcus Holland a season-high 12 and Isaiah Taylor 11, but those efforts went for naught as Texas dropped a double-digit decision at Oklahoma State last Saturday. The Longhorns, who swatted away a dozen shots to tie a school record for blocks in a Big 12 game, five of which were credited to Turner and four to Jonathan Holmes, shot just 34.4 percent from the field while permitting the Cowboys to drain 9-of-17 3-point tries as part of their 47.3 percent overall shooting effort. Cameron Ridley grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds for the 'Horns.

Despite the talent that resides on the roster, Texas is generating just 69.8 ppg, doing so behind rather vanilla shooting efforts of .436 overall and .347 from beyond the arc. Thankfully, the team's defensive stance permits a mere 57.3 ppg, as foes are finding the bottom of the net on only 35 percent of their total shots, which includes a 30.8 percent showing from long distance. Corralling loose balls has also played a key role in UT's success, as the team owns a whopping +12.3 rebounding margin. Taylor (12.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg) leads the team in both scoring and assists, while Turner (11.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.8 bpg), Holmes (11.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg) and Javan Felix (10.4 ppg) have been consistent contributors as well.

The Longhorns are scuffling at the moment, and facing a team as formidable as West Virginia, even at home, isn't exactly the recipe for getting back on track. Texas will fight to the end, but expect the Mountaineers to earn a narrow victory.