TV SCHEDULE: Tuesday, February 9th, 2021 at 6:00 PM PST on ESPN+
LOCATION: United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas
The West Virginia Mountaineers will travel south, in the midst of winter, to take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders in an enormous Big 12 showdown. Both the Mountaineers and Red Raiders are vying for positioning in a crowded conference behind leader Baylor. The Mountaineers are currently second in the Big 12 followed by Oklahoma and Texas Tech with only one loss separating these three contenders and Texas.
Less than a month ago, the two teams faced off at the WVU Coliseum. West Virginia barely squeaked by Texas Tech with a one-point win. In that game, the Mountaineers shot lots out behind the arc for a 63.2% success rate. Mountaineers were led by three players who hit three treys each; Miles McBride (3-4 from 3PT), Jalen Bridges (3-4 from 3PT), and Sean McNeil (3-7 from 3PT).
Although Texas Tech doubled West Virginia’s offensive rebound output (10 to 5), the Mountaineers showed up the Red Raiders on the offensive board with eight more rebounds. To some, it doesn’t seem like a lot but with a one-point game, that translates to more possessions — a net of three. That made all the difference.
For Texas Tech, Mac McClung did the lion’s share of the work with 30 points on 11-21 shooting in 34 minutes played. He also hit 50% of his 8 three-point attempts. With only one other Red Raider in double digits in that January game (Terrence Shannon, Jr.), it begs the question as to whether McClung needs to distribute more to open teammates. Either way, expect a heavy dose of Mac McClung for the Red Raiders to be successful.
The Mountaineer’s success depends on Miles Bridges. After his 24 point performance against Texas Tech, Bridges cooled off with two straight 9-point games against Florida and Iowa State respectively. In Saturday’s win against Kansas, Bridges came to life again. He hit 53% of his field goals including 4 of 10 from three-point range. In the contests against Florida and Iowa State, Bridges shot a combined 26.9% from the field and posted a big donut from three-point range (0-8). Bridges, for all intents and purposes, lost his shot and the Kansas game proved he found it once again.
Another Mountaineer to keep an eye on is forward Derek Culver. Culver has regularly contributed double-digit rebounding performances including totals of 19 and 16. Most recently, Culver has posted totals of 12, 12, and 9 for rebounds. In those games, he also posted point totals of 28, 13, and 19 respectively. Culver has been a menace on the boards and he continues to fill up the stat sheet. The Mountaineers will need Culver on the boards and in the paint if they want to weather the Red Raiders’ incoming storm.
In 21 total games, the Mountaineers lead the series 15-6 against the Texas Tech Red Raiders with an average difference of four points per game. Expect another close one.
Prediction: Texas Tech Red Raiders 75, West Virginia Mountaineers 72