TV Schedule: Wednesday, January 29th, 6:00 PM CST ESPN+
Arena: WVU Coliseum in Morgantown West Virginia
West Virginia is one of the biggest surprises in College Basketball this season. The Mountaineers and their new head coach, Darian DeVries, are in a prime position to make the NCAA tournament this year. All of that aside, the Mountaineers have a huge game at home against the Houston Cougars. The Cougars come into the game with a perfect 8-0 record and are projected to win the remainder of their games on KenPom.
The Cougars are not as good on the offensive end as their previous teams, but they don’t have to be. Their defense is elite and makes it an absolute chore to score on offense. Isn’t the defense always excellent for Houston? Yes, but this year is the best it has ever been for Houston, and it all starts with their backcourt. Milos Uzan (9.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists) is one of the best point guards in the country, and while he doesn’t score at the rate that Houston point guards have scored at in the past, he anchors the best defense in the country and makes sure that his teammates get the ball in the shooting pocket ready to fire. Uzan is a huge reason that the Cougars turn the ball over the least amount of anyone in the country.
So, how does Houston score? Well, they are one of the best shooting teams in the country, shooting 39% as a team. Emmanuel Sharp (13.4 points and 45% from three) and LJ Cryer (13.5 points and 40% from deep) are deadly from deep, and when they get rolling, they can extend a game quickly. Cryer is the leading scorer for the Cougars and has a very diverse offensive game. He can score from all three levels and is hard to stop when he gets going downhill. Houston has the best backcourt in the Big 12 and maybe one of the best backcourts in the country.
Three-point shooting, ball control, and defense are how Houston always does it, and even if this is the least talented roster that coach Sampson has had in a few seasons, they are still the favorite to win the Big 12.
West Virginia hopes to avenge an earlier season loss to Houston. The Mountaineers are hoping that they can make some adjustments on the offensive end of the floor to make it a little easier to score on Houston. West Virginia is going to need a lot of guys to step up in order for that to happen. West Virginia runs an offense that doesn’t fare well against a defense like Houston, with a lot of isolation for their best player.
The Mountaineers do get the majority of their scoring from one player, but that player is a good one and can make a lot of things happen. Javon Small (19.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists) is the leading scorer in the Big 12 and has had to be a volume shooter at points this season. If he is hitting shots, especially from deep, the Mountaineers are very tough to beat. In the losses for the Mountaineers, they have been much too one-dimensional on the offensive end.
West Virginia can play a little defense as well and will be able to provide some resistance to Houston on the offensive end and mostly by way of blocking shots and turning them over. The question isn’t about how many points Houston can score, but can West Virginia score? The Cougars held the Mountaineers to their lowest-scoring output of the year. What will the Mountaineers do to change that, especially if Small doesn’t play better than he did the first time?
Prediction: Houston 70, West Virginia 55