3 West Virginia Players To Watch Against Houston

Basketball in the Big 12 is quickly becoming interesting, as a ton of high-caliber athletes are facing off.

That will be no different on Tuesday night when the Houston Cougars host the West Virginia Mountaineers at the Fertitta Center.

After a crazy home upset against Kansas, West Virginia is on a high right now and motivated to keep its winning ways going after the 86-75 win. Houston is in a similar position after crushing Baylor on the road, securing a 77-55 win.

So something has to give: can these three players agitate the Cougars’ offense and defense, or will it be the other way around? Here are the Mountaineers that everyone will pay attention to on Tuesday night.

Honor Hoff, Guard

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As the leading player of the Mountaineers who earns the most minutes has been an asset to a team that is still trying to figure out its identity early in conference play. Honor Huff is one of three players on the roster who are averaging double digits, and he happens to be the leading scorer as well.

Listed at 5-foot-10, the senior is posting 17.5 points per game to go along with his 1.8 rebounds per game and 1.1 assists. His best game is hard to gauge because he has had numerous games scoring 24 points, so it is normal for him to be in the 20s. Don’t be surprised if he quickly posts points.

From downtown, he is the second-best shooter, where he is going 41 percent from behind the arc. Watch out for the best player on offense who will be proudly wearing No. 3 on Tuesday night.

Chance Moore, Guard

There have been only nine appearances this season for Chance Moore, but when he does play, he can be a game-changer and has proven it with the way he releases the ball from his hands.

As a senior who is shooting well from the field at 48.3 percent and averaging 12.3 points and 5.8 rebounds, he will make sure to keep playing heads-up basketball. He has a positive attitude and is great at feeding the ball to his teammates, but at times, he chooses to hold on to it and take it for himself, which isn’t always a bad idea.

His best game of the season was against No. 3 Iowa State, where he scored 17 points and shot 75 percent from the field. He’s still learning the system, despite his four years in college basketball, as this is his first season playing for West Virginia.

Brenan Lorient, Forward

One of the best rebounders and free-throw shooters on this team is Brenan Lorient, a native of Ocala, Florida. At the charity stripe, Lorient is 72.7 percent, so he does a great job of drawing contact and earning easy points. He is also tied for being the second-best player at snagging rebounds, so he can box out great and seems to be in the right spot at the right time.

As a shooter, the 6-foot-9 senior is shooting 51.7 percent from the field, averaging 10.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. His size will be a big factor against the Cougars and could be trouble, but if he is shut down and not allowed to do much offensively, it could be a bad night for the Mountaineers.

His best performance came against Lehigh, when he posted 26 points in a 69-47 win, going 11 of 15 from the field. From three, he buried three of his four attempts and also had seven rebounds. The baller that wears No. 0 will definitely be aggressive and try to win his matchup, but it remains to be seen if Houston will be too much for another dominant program.