West Virginia returns home for a two-game homestand, starting with Utah on Saturday.
WVSports.com offers a look at some key elements of the match-up to get you ready for tip-off.
SERIES: Utah leads 6-0
LAST MEETING: March 19, 1998 in NCAA Tournament — Utah 65, WVU 62
TELEVISION: ESPN+ (Eric Rothman / Tim Welsh)
TIP-OFF: 5:00 p.m. ET
COACHES
Darian DeVries, West Virginia
14-8 (1st season at WVU), 164-63 (7th season overall)
Craig Smith, Utah
63-59 (4th season at TCU), 216-138 (10th season overall)
LAST TIME OUT
Utah enters Saturday off a 72-59 win over Colorado on Wednesday. The Utes made their most 3-pointers they've made against a Big 12 opponent this season in the win. Utah lost three straight to start conference play, but have won five of their last eight games. Gabe Madsen led Utah in scoring with 17 points in the win, while Ezra Ausar scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
West Virginia enters Wednesday off a 65-60 loss to TCU on Wednesday. Javon Small scored 20 points as WVU blew a 12-point first-half lead, before they trailed by 11 and tied the game late. The Mountaineers shot 43 percent from the field and were out-shot at the free throw line, 23-5. WVU has now lost four of their last five games.
By The Numbers — Utah (13-9, 5-6 Big 12)
Utah ranks 9th in the Big 12 in points per game with 76 per game, but have not hit that mark in their last seven games. They are also giving up 70.1 points per game, which is 12th in the Big 12. The Utes are shooting 46 percent from the field, which is 6th in the league, while opponents are shooting 40.3 percent from the field, which is 5th in the league.
Utah has struggled to shoot well from distance during Big 12 play, as six of their seven worst shooting games from three came against conference opponents. In those six games, Utah is 1-5 in those games, with the only win coming over BYU in overtime. Utah's opponents are shooting 32.1 percent from beyond the arc, which is 8th in the league.
Over their last five games, their most frequent lineup on the floor has been Gabe Madsen, Mike Sharavjamts, Ezra Auser, Jake Wahlin, and Lawson Lovering. This lineup has been used 19.6 percent of the time in this span.
Madsen is Utah's leading scorer with 15.0 points per game, and has scored 17, 15, and 18 points in his last three games respectively. Keanu Dawes is the leading rebounder for Utah, but has not started a game this season. He's averaging 5.2 rebounds per game. Utah is averaging 39.5 rebounds per game, which is second in the Big 12 this season.
Utah comes into the game ranked 78th in the NET and 87th by KenPom. This is considered a Quad 1 game for Utah. They are 1-7 in such games this season.
By The Numbers — West Virginia (14-8, 5-6 Big 12)
West Virginia is currently averaging 69.3 points per game this season, which is 15th in the Big 12, but they are only allowing 63.7 points per game this season, which is 2nd in the Big 12. The Mountaineers are shooting 42.8 percent from the floor, but their opponents are only shooting 40.1 percent from the field this season.
West Virginia has struggled to score from beyond the arc this season, specifically during Big 12 play. West Virginia is 13th in the league in team 3-point field goal percentage, and is averaging 32.9 percent from distance. In WVU's loss to TCU, the combination of Javon Small and Joe Yesufu went a combined 7-for-18 from three, but the rest of the Mountaineers went 1-for-12 from three.
Over their last five games, their most frequent lineup on the floor has been Javon Small, Sencire Harris, Jonathan Powell, Toby Okani, and Amani Hansberry. This lineup has been used 16.1 percent of the time, however, the lineup with Eduardo Andre at the five position instead of Hansberry has been used 13.4 percent of the time during that stretch.
WVU's leading scorer is Small, who leads the Big 12 in scoring as well, averaging 19.1 points per game this season. Hansberry leads WVU in rebounding with 6.0 per game, while Small is second with 4.9 rebounds per game.
West Virginia is ranked 39th in the NET, and 43rd by KenPom. This is considered a Quad 2 game for WVU as the Mountaineers are 1-2 in such games this year with the win being against Colorado on the road on Jan. 12.
Standings Implications
Both Utah and West Virginia are 5-6 in Big 12 play this season, in a four-way tie for 8th place in the league standings.
There are two teams at 6-5 in the standings, two at 7-4, one at 9-2, and two at 10-1 at the top of the league. Below them there is a 4-7 team, three 3-8 teams, and an 0-11 team.
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