Five Things to Know Before WVU vs. Kansas State

As West Virginia and Kansas State square off on Monday night, let’s take a look at five things to know before the Big 12 Conference matchup.

Another Chance at a Quadrant-1 Win

For the next six games, WVU will have quadrant-1 opportunities every game. Over the weekend, the Mountaineers fell 13 spots in the NET rankings, to No. 70 after the loss to Oklahoma State.

As of Monday morning, West Virginia sits at 14-10. If the Mountaineers can win three or four games, they can put themselves back into the bubble by Selection Sunday. With how competitive the Big 12 is, someone from the conference could get into the NCAA Tournament with 17 wins. Don’t lose hope just yet, there’s a lot of basketball still to be played.

First Matchup

Back on Jan. 8, the Wildcats made the trip to Morgantown short-handed. Kansas State was without head coach Bruce Weber, as well as multiple players due to COVID health and safety protocols. The Mountaineers ended up winning this game, 71-68.

West Virginia started out slow, but a great second half performance by Sean McNeil put the team in a position to steal the game away from the Wildcats. McNeil finished the game with 26 points, with 19 of those coming in the second half. The senior guard shot 9-of-15 and 4-of-6 from three. WVU knocked down their free-throws at the end of the game and secured their first win the Big 12. Can they make it four Big 12 wins on Monday?

Can WVU Keep Their Season Alive?

This is essentially it for West Virginia. After Monday night, they have six regular season games left. WVU needs to get into the win range of at least 17 wins by Selection Sunday to even be considered. If the Mountaineers fall in Manhattan on Monday, they’ll need to steal a game from Kansas or Texas, while taking care of business on the road against Iowa State and TCU. Not saying they can’t do it, but they’ll be digging themselves a deeper hole if they fall to Kansas State.

“We’ve got to take it game-by-game,” WVU guard Malik Curry said after the Oklahoma State loss.

Betting Lines

The spread for the West Virginia and Kansas State game is -3.5 KSU. The WVU money line is +145.

The over/under is 135.

How to Watch and Listen

You can watch West Virginia take on Kansas State on Monday, at 7 p.m., on ESPN2. The Big 12 matchup will take place inside the Bramlage Coliseum, in Manhattan.

Mountaineer Sports Network will broadcast the game on the radio, with Tony Caridi and Jay Jacobs once again calling WVU games for the entirety of this season.