Saturday afternoon features a Big 12 showdown of Top 25 teams as the No. 23 Kansas Jayhawks (12-6) square off with the No. 17 West Virginia Mountaineers (12-5). The Mountaineers will host this one at the WVU Coliseum, and tipoff is scheduled for 2 pm ET.
Kansas has a talented squad this season, but it has struggled with inconsistency. The Jayhawks have lost four of their last six games, but they are coming off a 74-51 win over intrastate rival Kansas State.
In their last six games, three of their losses have come against ranked teams. They will be looking to reverse that trend against West Virginia.
Speaking of the Mountaineers, they are currently third in the Big 12 with a 5-3 record. While the 9-0 Baylor Bears may be tough to catch, they would like to overtake second-place Texas. This could also be a crucial game, as the 6-4 Jayhawks are right on their heels.
West Virginia has won three of its last four. While the Mountaineers lost to No. 22 Florida, they did beat No. 13 Texas Tech and held off Iowa State 76-72 on Tuesday.
West Virginia is the slight favorite playing at home. They are -134 to win while the Jayhawks’ moneyline sits at +114. The spread features Kansas +1.5 while the over/under for total points is 141.5.
By The Numbers
Offensively, West Virginia has been the stronger team. In terms of scoring, the Mountaineers rank 64th, averaging 75.7 points per game (81.3 over their last three). Kansas ranks 128th, averaging 72.6 (64.7 over its last three).
Defensively, it is Kansas with the advantage. The Jayhawks rank 102nd in scoring defense, allowing 68.1 points per game to opponents (60.7 over the last three). West Virginia ranks 162nd allowing 70.4, although that has skyrocketed to 81.3 over its last few.
Kansas Hoping To Sweep The Season Series
This is actually the second matchup between the two Big 12 foes. In the first matchup, Kansas won at home 79-65 behind an unbelievable shooting night. The Jayhawks went 16-for-37 from behind the arc.
Christian Braun was one of five Jayhawks in double digits in the first matchup with West Virginia as he had 22 points (including six threes). Given that his season average is just 9.8 points, a repeat of that line is unlikely.
That is not to say that Kansas doesn’t have weapons, though. The Jayhawks have three players averaging in double-digits, including Ochai Agbaji (14.1 points, four rebounds, 2.2 assists), David McCormack (12.3 points, 5.7 rebounds) and Jalen Wilson (12.1 points, seven rebounds, 2.2 assists).
West Virginia Trying To Stay Solid At Home
West Virginia is a pretty solid team playing at home. This season, the Mountaineers are 5-2 at home and will look to use this to their advantage to get some revenge on Kansas.
To do so, they will need to get more out of their shooters. West Virginia usually shoots well from behind the arc, shooting 35.9% from three.
The Mountaineers have four players averaging in double-digits but are led by Miles McBride and Derek Culver. McBride is averaging 15.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.8 steals. Culver averages a double-double with 14 points, 10.4 rebounds and a block per game.
The other two major contributors are Taz Sherman (12.4 points) and Sean McNeil (10.6 points).
Taking West Virginia To Win And Cover
Despite the lopsided outcome in their first matchup, it is important to remember that West Virginia was actually leading that game at the half, 36-35. It was a second half of Kansas catching fire from deep that changed the game.
Not only is West Virginia solid at home, but Kansas has struggled on the road. The Jayhawks are 2-4 when playing on the road, and that could have a big impact here.
While Kansas is good and will keep it close, I don’t expect the same success it had at home (where the Jayhawks are 8-1). For my money, I am taking West Virginia to get its revenge and cover the small 1.5-point spread.
