Monday's Shootaround: WVU-Nova and Kansas-Texas disappoint

Kansas 80, Texas 68: As recently as three weeks ago, this was thought to be a match-up of potentially the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country. That thought was half right, as Texas continued their slide into mediocrity by getting dismantled by the Jayhawks. Early on, this looked like it was going to be a game, as Texas took an early 14-8 lead. But Kansas responded in a big way, going on a 22-0 run over the next 11 minutes (yes, they held Texas scoreless for 11 minutes) and taking complete control of the game. Texas would get the lead to 10 at the half, and after Kansas surged to a 19 point lead in the second half, the Longhorns got it back to eight at one point, but that was it.

While a lot of people are going to ask 'What's wrong with Texas?' (we've been there and done that already), the real question should be 'How good is Kansas?' Kansas dominated the glass, controlled play in the paint, held Texas to 37% shooting, forced 17 turnovers, and scored 27 points off of those turnovers. I know Texas has been struggling mightily, and if you ignore J'Covan Brown going crazy in the final minutes of a game that was already decided (he scored 24 points in the final nine minutes, and Texas had only scored 36 as a team up to that point), Kansas completely shut down Texas offensively.

The Jayhawks have as much offensive firepower in the country, they are deep, they are big, and they can really get after it on the defensive side of the ball. Perhaps the scariest part is that they still aren't exactly playing at their full potential. I know teams like Syracuse and Kentucky are excellent this season, but Kansas has to be considered the favorite for the national title.

Villanova 82, West Virginia 75: Tell me if you've heard this one before: Scottie Reynolds took over down the stretch, scoring 19 of his 21 points in the final 13 minutes, and Villanova won on the road against West Virginia.

But it wasn't the play of Reynolds that won this game. In fact, believe it or not, it was probably Villanova's defense that did it. The Wildcats forced WVU into quite a few bad shots, and did an adequate job cleaning up the glass. West Virginia only got 15 offensive rebounds, which is a relatively small number when you consider how much of a size advantage the 'Eers had. But perhaps more impressive was Reggie Redding's performance on Da'Sean Butler. Butler finished just 2-12 from the floor for 13 points.

The win put Villanova into a tie with Syracuse for the top spot in the Big East, two games ahead of West Virginia.

Other notable scores

• Butler 62, Loyola IL 47: Matt Howard scored 20 points and Willie Veasley added 12 and 8 boards as the Bulldogs clinched a share of the Horizon League title.
• Pitt 77, Robert Morris 53: Pitt got 20 from Ashton Gibbs and 18 from Jermaine Dixon as they picked up a much needed win.

Monday's Best

• Denzel Bowles had 29 points and 13 boards, but James Madison was unable to beat Towson.
• Sean Baptiste scored 30 for FDU in a loss to Longwood.
• Ryan Thompson scored 31 points and had 7 boards for Rider in a win.