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WVU set to tangle with Texas

West Virginia measures the success of its pressure defense with a number of benchmarks.

The main one being the number of deflections. The target number for the Mountaineers each game is 40 or more deflections and it’s been proven that when West Virginia hits that number good things seem to happen in regards to turnovers out of the pressure.

But how did the number 40 become the goal?

“The time we’ve been under 40 we’ve lost. It’s not real scientific,” head coach Bob Huggins said.

West Virginia (14-2, 3-1) is coming off an impressive performance against No. 1 Baylor, forcing 29 turnovers on the way to a convincing 89-68 win over the Bears. Senior forward Nathan Adrian scored 22 points against Baylor and was a major catalyst on the defensive end spearing the Mountaineers efforts.

“He understands angles. Just understands how to play and he makes great rotations. He does a good job sitting down and guarding smaller guys,” Huggins said.

The Mountaineers will hit the road this weekend for a matchup with Texas (7-9, 1-3) who is coming off a 64-61 loss to TCU earlier this week.

The challenge for West Virginia will be to put the Baylor game behind them and move onto a Longhorns team that has struggled but is plenty capable.

West Virginia had an off-day Wednesday but got back to work after that and while Huggins and the coaching staff have talked to them, the challenge will also fall with the upperclassmen.

“Hopefully when you have enough upperclassmen that have been through it and understand, they’ll impart that wisdom to the younger guys,” Huggins said.

The Longhorns are led in scoring by sophomore guard Tevin Mack at 14.8 point per game but he will not be available for the match up after being suspended.

In his absence, sophomore guard Kerwin Roach comes in as the leading scorer for the Longhorns at 11.3 points per game. On the inside, Texas will use a three-headed monster down low led by true freshman Jarrett Allen with 11.2 points and 7.7 rebounds.

“He is so agile and bouncy. He’s off the floor quick, he’s long and a terrific shot blocker that really runs in transition,” Huggins said.

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