WVU Basketball
WVU Basketball Begins Big 12 Play at No. 7 Kansas
WVU basketball does not have the luxury of easing into conference play, as the Mountaineers begin their Big 12 schedule with a matchup against No. 7 Kansas on Tuesday at 2 p.m.
“I think in conference play the intensity always gets cranked up a little bit more,” WVU coach Darian DeVries said Monday. “Overall, I think league play always has a little added significance to it.”
The Mountaineers and Jayhawks enter with identical 9-2 records following non-conference play. The Jayhawks took surprising back-to-back losses at Creighton and Missouri earlier this month.
Even so, Kansas once again is one of the teams to beat in the Big 12 and enter Tuesday’s contest looking to avenge last year’s shocking loss in Morgantown.
“We need to play well against a really good team that’s already beaten a team (Gonzaga) that handled us easily last year in the NCAA Tournament,” KU coach Bill Self said of WVU. “Darian’s done a great job in a short amount of time.”
Kansas is led by star big man Hunter Dickinson, who is averaging 15.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks so far this season, all best on the team.
The Jayhawks of course don’t just pound it inside to Dickinson, however, as they are also an efficient three-point shooting team. Kansas is shooting 35.5% from range this year
“There’s just a lot of ways they can hurt you,” DeVries said. “They do have such great balance, they have very efficient three-point shooting and they live in the paint. They put you in a tough spot as the game is flowing to try and adjust to it.”
Dickinson’s new co-star this season has been South Dakota State transfer Zeke Mayo. The senior guard is second on the team averaging 13.5 points per game while shooting 38.7% from three.
“He’s been really good,” DeVries said. “He’s one of those guys I think is an elite catch-and-shoot guy. He has the ability to score in different ways and when he gets a clean on, he doesn’t miss it very often.”
WVU basketball doesn’t have a very good history in the matchup with Kansas, especially in recent years, and the Mountaineers are 0-11 all-time inside Allen Fieldhouse.
Tip-off on New Year’s Eve is scheduled for 2 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
For a related story, WVU basketball signee earns boost in star rating.
