Teams: Houston (16-3, 8-0) and West Virginia (13-6, 4-4)
Tip-off: 6 p.m. CST
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: KPRC 950
The Mountaineers are currently eighth in the Big 12 standings after losing three out of their last four games. However, WVU is a formidable opponent with wins at Kansas, Gonzaga, Arizona and their last win over No. 3 Iowa State at home 64-57. With West Virginia being 9-2 at home so far this season, Houston will have to play well to beat them.
After being ranked No. 23, the Mountaineers lost both their games this week at home to Arizona State and then lost their last game to Kansas State on the road 73-60. Senior guard Javon Small had 22 points along with five assists and three steals to lead WVU while sophomore guard Sencire Harris had 12 points with a game high nine rebounds. Small continues to be a standout player as the 6’3 guard leads West Virginia and the Big 12 with 19.6 PPG.
“Most times he’s the best player on the floor, and that gives his team an advantage,” head coach Kelvin Sampson said.
Small also averages the most assists (5.1) and steals (1.9) per game for WVU. Head coach Darian DeVries is in his first season as head coach and faced Houston for the first time earlier this month, where the Cougars beat the Mountaineers 70-54 on January 15th in Houston. DeVries is also 0-1 vs Kelvin Sampson. This game will be the first time Houston will play West Virginia in Morgantown, another tough Big 12 road environment.
The No. 6 Cougars enter with all the momentum after a thrilling, historic comeback at Allen Fieldhouse vs No. 11 Kansas 92-86 in double overtime. Junior point guard Milos Uzan has been in the spotlight this week as the Big 12 Player of the week and national player of the week for his near triple double effort of 17 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and zero turnovers. This was his 13th game for Uzan with one or fewer turnovers. Uzan leads the Big 12 and the country with his assist-turnover ratio of 4.57.
Houston continues to have the no. 1 scoring and field goal percentage defense in the country with the lowest amount of turnovers. Sophomore forward Joseph Tugler is third in the Big 12 with 2.5 blocked shots per game. While junior guard Emanuel Sharp continues to recover from his ankle injury, where he only played 25 minutes vs Kansas, the sharpshooter still ranks top 10 in both three-point and free throw percentage. Houston has a chance to win 18 conference games in a row, which would be 2nd all time in the history of the Big 12.
I expect a closer game as Houston plays back to back road games in tough environments. WVU plays well at home and will be looking to bounce back. This game was close in the Fertitta Center, and it will be here as well, but UH gets the job done.
