Dylan Disu, Texas basketball race past West Virginia while avenging earlier loss
It didn’t take long for Texas to exact its revenge against West Virginia.
Behind a blistering start from Dylan Disu, Texas burst out to a double-digit lead less than 4 minutes into the game and cruised to a 94-58 win Saturday at Moody Center. The win not only kept Texas (16-8, 5-6 Big 12) in the middle of the pack in the conference race but it also eased the pain of a frustrating 3-point loss at West Virginia (8-15, 3-7) last month.
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Disu, a 6-foot-9 graduate forward from Pflugerville, had 11 of his 27 points in the first 3 minutes, 12 seconds of the game. By halftime, Disu had 19 points on 7-of-7 shooting, including 5-for-5 from 3-point range. By the time he missed his first shot at the 18:46-minute mark of the second half, Texas led 58-30 and the echoes from a blown lead at home last month to Central Florida were growing fainter by the second.
Disu added his name to the school record books with his red-hot first half while making a career-high seven 3-pointers. He became just the sixth Texas player to record a perfect half from 3-point range with a minimum of five attempts, joining Jase Febres (5-5 against Kansas State, 2019), Javan Felix (5-5 against Baylor, 2014), Avery Bradley (5-5 against Nebraska, 2010), Kevin Durant (5-5 against Kansas, 2007) and William Clay (5-5 against Georgia, 1998).
Disu also joined Chris Owens, Chris Mihm and Joey Wright as the only players to go 7-for-7 from the field in a half. He also strengthened his case to become the best 3-point shooter in a single season in school history; Disu entered the game making 53.3% of his 3-point shots for the season, which is well ahead of the record pace of 42.3% set by AJ Abrams in the 2006-07 season.
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Disu had plenty of help as Texas built its lead to 55-30 by the halftime break and cruised to its biggest win of the season. Every starter scored in the game's first 20 minutes, welcomed news for a Texas team that has often leaned heavily on Disu and Max Abmas for its offense. As a team, Texas made a season-high 15 3-pointers and recorded 28 assists, which broke the program's Big 12 record of 26 assists against Nebraska in 1998.
Final: Texas 94, West Virginia 58 pic.twitter.com/IiICOn65sQ
— Thomas Jones (@ThomasJonesAAS) February 10, 2024
Abmas flirted with a triple double with 19 points, six rebounds and a season-high nine assists. Dillon Mitchell (12 points) and Chendall Weaver (11) each reached double-figures, and Tyrese Hunter had his most points in six games with 19 and matched a season-high in assists with seven.
Texas will have its first week-long break of the conference season this week before its next game Saturday at No. 5 Houston.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Dylan Disu, Texas basketball race past West Virginia for Big 12 win