WVU looks to stop losing skid against No. 1 Kansas

No. 18 West Virginia (15-4, 4-3) is coming off back-to-back losses but has a chance to erase some of those concerns with No. 1 Kansas coming to town Tuesday night.

The Mountaineers have lost consecutive games to Oklahoma and Kansas State but will look to right the shop against a Jayhawks team that has had its issues in Morgantown. Head coach Bob Huggins believes that his team practiced well after the two disappointments in a row.

“They were into it,” Huggins said.

West Virginia will welcome Kansas to Morgantown where West Virginia is 3-1 against the Jayhawks since joining the Big 12 Conference. Kansas currently sits atop the Big 12 Conference at 18-1, 7-0 in the league and this year’s edition of Bill Self’s team is not much different than the ones in previous seasons.

The Jayhawks are the nation's No. 1 team in the Coaches Poll and it will be the second time that the Mountaineers will host the nation's top team after beating Baylor.

Senior guard Frank Mason leads the Jayhawks in scoring at 20.1-points per game and 5.4 assists serving as the leader of the club on the floor from his point guard spot.

“I think he’s just playing with more confidence. He’s playing with a huge amount of confidence and him being a senior he’s their leader,” Huggins said.

That means that the focus will be on making things difficult for Mason, who excels at attacking the rim and being physical.

“We’re just going to have to try to take him away a little bit more,” senior Nathan Adrian said.

The Jayhawks have a mixture of veterans on the roster as well as true freshman standout Josh Jackson who is averaging 15.1 points and 6.7 rebounds per contest and has proven to be a difference maker with his skillset and length on both ends of the floor.

And while those two are singled out by most, it is a different player altogether that Huggins believes is the most important cog in the Jayhawks machine. That player is fifth-year senior Landen Lucas and Huggins believes that because he does what he is asked and plays his role to perfection.

“Unquestionably the most valuable big guy with what he does because he defends the rim. He’s the ultimate team guy and really he’s the most valuable guy on the team,” Huggins said.

West Virginia has struggled with recording tough rebounds and it cost them down the stretch against both Oklahoma and Kansas State. That has been a department that the Mountaineers have had success in the past against Kansas and it will have to happen again for West Virginia to record an upset.

“The reality is for those years we had guys that could get hard rebounds,” he said.

One player that West Virginia will look to get jump started is sophomore Esa Ahmad, who has struggled over the last three games and Huggins believes it is a case of him getting back to doing things with fundamentals after the uptick in competition. That also means dedicating more time in the gym and that is something that has been the focus for Ahmad this week.

“Just catching in the high post, opening up and making sure I’m low,” he said.

The game is set to tip at 7 p.m. and has been announced as a sell out.