West Virginia at Kansas: 2021-22 college basketball game preview, TV schedule
By Matt Melton
Two of the top teams in the Big 12, Kansas hosts West Virginia in a matchup of 13-2 teams.
When: Saturday, January 15 at 1:30 pm ET on CBS
Location: Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, KS
In a matchup of two of the top overall teams in the Big 12, Kansas hosts West Virginia in a can’t-miss conference showdown.
One of the top teams in the Big 12, Kansas added to their claim for tops in the conference on Tuesday night as the Jayhawks topped No. 15 Iowa State 62-61 in a back-and-forth contest. Despite a late second half run from the Cyclones, Kansas was able to reclaim the lead with seconds remaining on a lay-up from Dajuan Harris, who was one of three Jayhawks in double-figures.
The No. 9 ranked team in the country, the Jayhawks as mentioned previously sit at 13-2 on the year (2-1 in Big 12), and are averaging 81.7 PPG as the No. 5 team nationally in offensive efficiency according to KenPom. Also only allowing 66.8 PPG, the Jayhawks are led by one of the top scorers in the country in Ochai Agbaji (20.6 PPG, 47.5 3P%), as well as two other impact guards in Christian Braun and Remy Martin.
West Virginia on the other hand comes to Allen Fieldhouse off back-to-back home wins over Kansas State, as well as Oklahoma State as the Mountaineers defeated the Cowboys 70-60 on Tuesday night. A game in which the Mountaineers led for a majority, West Virginia shot a phenomenal 21-for-22 from the free throw line, but struggled in other areas offensively shooting 37.3% from the field and 26.3% from three.
Despite being unranked, the Mountaineers are just outside of the Top 25 at 13-2 (2-1 in Big 12) led by their usual strong defense that is allowing only 61.3 PPG to opponents. While West Virginia averages only 69.7 PPG, the Mountaineers do have two prominent scorers in the star guard duo of Taz Sherman and Sean McNeil, as well as forward Jalen Bridges also averaging 8+ PPG.
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Coming off a strong start to conference play, this is the start of a rough three-game stretch for West Virginia where the Mountaineers will face Kansas, Baylor, and Texas Tech in a span of seven days. An upset win on the road here is certainly a possibility for West Virginia, but the Jayhawks should pick up a yet another impressive conference win on Saturday.
Prediction: Kansas 76, West Virginia 68