The biggest college basketball game today happens in Morgantown, West Virginia, where the top two teams in the Big 12 battle for solo lead in the conference. Will the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks take another ranked team down? Or will the No. 11 West Virginia Mountaineers scale to the top of the Big 12 with a victory?
Read on for more about this game. You can also check out our preview of Miami (FL) vs. Virginia.
[sc:MarchMadness ]Kansas Jayhawks vs. West Virginia Mountaineers Preview
Where: WVU Coliseum, Morgantown
When: Tuesday, January 12, 7:00 PM ET
Line: Kansas Jayhawks vs. West Virginia Mountaineers – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Kansas Jayhawks (14-1, 3-0 Big 12)
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]Save for a hard-earned triple overtime win over No. 2 Oklahoma, it’s safe to say that the Jayhawks are on cruise control so far in conference play. In Kansas’ latest show of might, the Jayhawks dealt Texas Tech a 69-59 defeat to improve their conference record to 3-0.
Kansas boasts of a crushing offense that has been pounding out an average of 88.4 points per game, second highest in the nation. Furthermore, the Jayhawks have a 48.9 shooting percentage, among the best marks in Division I ball. The Jayhawks had fewer points than their season average though in the Texas game on just 41.8% from the field.
Senior forward Perry Ellis, who scored 17 points in the Red Raiders game, tops the Jayhawks with 16.0 PPG, while three others also average double digits in scoring. Wayne Selden puts up 15.5 PPG, Frank Mason contributes 13.5 PPG, and Devonte’ Graham chips in 10.7 PPG.
Kansas can bet that the Mountaineers will be on its face all night long, so it would be important for the Jayhawks to choose their shots wisely against West Virginia’s opportunistic defense. After all, the Mountaineers take most of their initial attempts off transition.
Kansas’ offense, however, is so good that it’s easy to overlook its equally sound defense. Kansas allows just 67.3 points per game and limits opponents to only 39.9% shooting. Moreover, the Jayhawks are ranked fourth overall in KenPom in terms of adjusted defensive efficiency.
Kansas is 4-2 SU in its last six games against the Mountaineers, going back to 2013.
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Betting on the West Virginia Mountaineers (14-1, 3-0 Big 12)
West Virginia is one pesky team. Owning one of the best defenses in the nation, the Mountaineers’ high-pressure defensive style will be in for an acid test against the high-scoring Jayhawks.
The Mountaineers allow just 63.4 points per game, which is largely because of their outstanding backcourt press that often leads to their opponents turning the ball over. In the Mountaineers 77-60 win over Oklahoma on Saturday, they held Oklahoma State to only 44 shots—around three fewer than their season average—while seeing the Cowboys commit 16 errors.
On the season, WVU is second in the nation with only 47.3 shots allowed per game and 22nd in points surrendered with 63.4. Perhaps the most telling defensive stat for West Virginia is the 20.8 turnovers its opponents per game.
Expect West Virginia to employ the same frenetic defense later tonight to throw off Kansas’ attacks. The Jayhawks, however, usually start three guards in Selden, Mason, and Graham so the Mountaineers’ press may not be effective. In any case, WVU’s frontcourt will have to find other ways of gaining possessions such as winning the rebounding battle. The Mountaineers are plucking down 41.3 boards per game, slightly better than Kansas’ 39.4 average.
Devin Williams leads WVU in scoring in scoring (14.5 PPG) and rebounding (8.6 RPG), while six players average at least a steal per game.
West Virginia is 18-2 SU in its last 20 games as the home team. The under is also 3-0 in its past three contests in Morgantown.
Writer’s Prediction
Kansas wins, 78-70.
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