Texas basketball vs. UTRGV: Prediction, scouting report for Longhorns' in-state trip
After holding steady in the No. 5 slot of the Associated Press poll for a third straight week, the Texas women head to Edinburg on Wednesday night to face UT-Rio Grande Valley. This will be the last game that Texas plays before Christmas and the Longhorns will take a five-day break after Wednesday. The Longhorns (11-0) and Vaqueros (0-9) will meet at the Bert Ogden Arena (6:30 p.m., ESPN+, 103.1).
Here's what you need to know about the matchup:
They're No. 2 — Harmon and Jones, that is
Entering this week, Texas point guard Rori Harmon and forward Taylor Jones ranked second nationally in a few statistical categories. Harmon's 85 assists trailed just the 86 distributed by Iowa phenom Caitlin Clark, and Harmon also boasts the second-best assists-to-turnover ratio. Jones' .713 field goal percentage has been bested by only the 77.4 success rate of UCLA's Lauren Betts.
On Monday, Harmon split the Big 12's player of the week award with Kansas State's Ayoka Lee. Harmon was honored after she fell one rebound shy of a triple-double in a 19-point, 11-assist, nine-rebound performance at Arizona last Wednesday. Meanwhile, Lee scored 36 points and shot 15-for-17 from the field in a rout of North Florida. So far, Harmon and Lee are the only two-time winners of the weekly award this season.
Texas is facing a struggling UTRGV team
UTRGV has played one Big 12 team, a 95-53 loss to Texas Tech on Nov. 7. The Vaqueros also have lost 72-63 to Oral Roberts, which was beaten by 38 points when it visited Austin last month. With 16.4 points per game, guard Iyana Dorsey leads UTRGV offensively.
So why is this game being played in the first place?
It may seem odd that a top-10 team has agreed to travel across the state to play a winless mid-major program. Texas coach Vic Schaefer, though, said on Tuesday that it makes sense.
Schaefer said Texas didn't give UTRGV a game guarantee when the Vaqueros were a last-second fill-in during the 2021-22 season after the Longhorns had a COVID-19-related opening on their schedule. Instead, UTRGV will get a chance to make money at the gate when the Longhorns come to town.
Schaefer said this is a way to grow the game and he is OK with these sorts of arrangements.
Schaefer also said that playing in Edinburg would give Texas fans in that part of the state a chance to see the Longhorns. He pointed out that UT's baseball and men's basketball programs have made similar outreach trips to Edinburg in recent years.
Texas vs. UTRGV prediction
Texas. These teams have played 10 times before and Texas has never been beaten by the school formerly known as UT-Pan American. In fact, none of UT's wins in this series have been decided by less than 15 points. The Vaqueros will be lucky if they can keep this within 15 points Wednesday.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas travels to play non-conference basketball game against UTRGV
