West Virginia starts the first of two games this week against top ten opponents when they face No. 10 Houston on the road on Wednesday night.

WVSports.com offers a look at some key elements of the match-up to get you ready for tip-off.

SERIES: Houston leads 1-0

LAST MEETING: Jan. 6, 2024 in Houston — UH 89, WVU 55

Tip-Off: 8:00 PM ET

TELEVISION: ESPN+ (James Westling and Reid Gettys)

COACHES

Darian DeVries, West Virginia

12-3 (1st season at WVU), 162-58 (7th season overall)

Kelvin Sampson, Houston

276-82 (11th season at UH), 776-352 (36th season overall)

LAST TIME OUT

Houston is riding an eight-game win streak, and they are undefeated in Big 12 play. The Cougars are coming off an 87-57 win over Kansas State on the road on Saturday. Houston had five scorers reach double figures, forcing 15 turnovers and outrebounding K-State 44-20.

West Virginia enters Saturday off a 78-70 win over Colorado, in which the Mountaineers had to hold off a second-half surge from the Buffaloes. West Virginia's defense was able to limit Colorado from the field, but the Buffaloes used the free-throw line to their advantage before the Mountaineers hung on late. Javon Small led WVU with 26 points.

Houston is scoring 77.1 points per game this year which is ninth in the Big 12. Their defense is tops by far in the Big 12 allowing 54.2 points per game. It is also the best in the country, with the next closest being Tennessee at 57.9 points per game.

Houston is shooting just above 46 percent from the field, and their 34.7 opponents' field goal percentage is the best in the league as well as the best in the country. Houston's performs well from beyond the arc on both sides of the ball as they have the best team 3-point percentage in the league and the fourth-best on defense.

Houston is the second-best in the Big 12 in turnover margin, as their 9.4 giveaways are the fewest per game. They have a +5.20 margin per game. They also have the second-best rebounding margin per game in the Big 12.

Over their last five games, their most frequent lineup on the floor has been Milos Uzan, LJ Cryer, Emanuel Sharp, J'Wan Roberts, and Joseph Tugler. They've been used 24 percent of the time.

Cryer and Sharp lead Houston in scoring at 14.1 points per game. Roberts is averaging 8.9 points per game and 6.7 rebounds per game this season.

Houston comes into the game ranked 3rd in the NET, and 3rd according to KenPom. This is a Quad 1 game for the Cougars, and they have yet to win a Quad 1 game, currently sitting at 0-3.

West Virginia is scoring 74.5 points per game this season but giving up 63.9 points per game, which is fourth-best in the Big 12. They are 13th in the league in field goal percentage at 43.6 percent but third in the league in opponent field goal percentage at 38.4 percent.

WVU is shooting 35.1 percent from beyond the arc, and opponents are shooting just 28.1 percent from beyond the arc against the Mountaineers this season. That is the 11th-best mark in the nation this season. West Virginia is forcing 13.8 turnovers per game and is turning the ball over 11.1 times per game. Their turnover margin ranks sixth in the Big 12.

Over their last five games, their most frequent lineup on the floor has been Javon Small, Sencire Harris, Jonathan Powell, Toby Okani, and Eduardo Andre. This lineup is used 28.6 percent of the time.

WVU's leading scorer is Small, who also leads the Big 12 in scoring, averaging 19.8 points per game this season. Amani Hansberry leads WVU in rebounds with 5.9 per game.

West Virginia is ranked 30th in the NET, and 42nd by KenPom. This is considered a Quad 1 game for WVU. The Mountaineers are 3-3 in such games and are 3-0 against ranked opponents this season.

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