West Virginia vs Texas Tech: 2018-19 College basketball game preview, TV schedule
By Joey Loose
West Virginia and Texas Tech are two Big 12 teams with very different things on the horizon. Will the Red Raiders bounce back at home or can the Mountaineers pull another monumental upset?
TV schedule: Monday, February 4, 9:00 pm ET. ESPN
Arena: United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas
Though they are fresh off a nice home win, West Virginia (10-12) enters this game in the midst of a season of struggle. Non-conference play saw them drop games to teams like Buffalo and Rhode Island, but this team has really struggled in Big 12 play, sitting in last place at 2-7. The Mountaineers did knock off Oklahoma on Saturday and do boast an impressive home win over Kansas a few weeks ago.
This team has not given up, despite the injury to junior forward Sagaba Konate (13.6 ppg, 8.0 rpg), the team’s most potent scorer. The offensive attack has been balanced (but not necessarily good) in recent weeks. Senior forward Esa Ahmad (12.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg) and freshman forward Derek Culver (11.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg) are the players to watch down low, but neither can shoot like Konate, a much better 3-point and free throw shooter. Freshman guard Brandon Knapper really excelled off the bench with 25 on Saturday, and the Mountaineers will need a similar lift off the bench.
These Mountaineers are barely a top 100 team, holding on at 98th on KenPom, ahead of only Oklahoma State. One place where the Mountaineers stand out is offensive rebounding, where they rank 8th in the nation. Even without Konate, their forwards are active down low. The efficiency rankings don’t stand out, but they’ve really struggled on the road lately, losing by more than 15 each of the last three games.
Across the court, Texas Tech (17-5) really struggled in a road loss at Kansas on Saturday. Their season began impressively, but the offense has let them down in recent weeks. A 15-1 start was soured by losses to every team ahead of them in the Big 12 standings. Fortunately, a home date against this West Virginia squad could present (yet another) chance for the Red Raiders to turn things around.
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The offensive attack runs through sophomore guard Jarrett Culver (18.1 ppg, 6.8 rpg), who struggled mightily at Kansas. Sophomore guard Davide Moretti (10.5 ppg) might be the team’s best shooter and they’ll need him to keep making shots for this offense to thrive. Senior guard Matt Mooney (10.7 ppg) will also need to find consistency in his shot, though he did pour in 18 a week ago in a win against TCU.
The Red Raiders’ defense is elite, though their performance against Kansas dropped them to 3rd in defensive efficiency. The team is still 16th in KenPom, and remain a definite top 25 program, but they haven’t been trending in a positive direction. Regardless, they are top 10 in the nation in defensive shooting and in forcing turnovers, though they do struggle at times with turnovers themselves.
On paper, this game leans heavily towards Texas Tech, but West Virginia can’t be ignored. Their performance against Kansas proved that this team isn’t dead, and the Red Raiders certainly haven’t been invincible lately.
For the Mountaineers, getting offense before the crowd takes them out of the game is very important, especially after a string of rough road losses. They’ll need to continue to dominate on the offensive boards. For the Red Raiders, getting back on track offensively should be a plausible task in this game. Their defense took a step back against Kansas but should take advantage of an injury-ridden Mountaineers club.
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I don’t think West Virginia has enough to win this game in Lubbock, though the Red Raiders’ recent struggles do remain a cause for concern. Then again, their Big 12 slate has been much tougher than the teams they faced in their 15-1 start.