West Virginia Mountaineers at Kansas Jayhawks Predictions
Three games. That's all that is left in the regular season for the Kansas Jayhawks. Bill Self's squad is in a familiar spot, tied atop the conference standings, this time with the Texas Longhorns. But Kansas is in good position, with a game still against the Longhorns. Up next is the West Virginia Mountaineers, a team that has been as up and down as you possibly can be.
Like much of the Big 12, the Mountaineers have been very formidable at home, but much less so on the road. Will they finally get that elusive marquee win on the road against the Jayhawks, or will Kansas cruise their way to another Quad 1 victory in front of the home crowd? Our crew shares their thoughts below.
Do you disagree with our assessment? Make sure you read them all and then hop over to the Discord or on Twitter to share your own thoughts.
Kyle Davis
Check out our West Virginia Preview for Kyle's full breakdown and prediction.
Lucas Murphy
The Kansas Jayhawks welcome the West Virginia Mountaineers to Allen Fieldhouse and I am going to get straight to the point, this should be a blowout. The Jayhawks have been playing some very talented, high-powered Big 12 teams and this has not been one of them. It is important Kansas wins this game as they are trying to win the Big 12 outright. I look for Jalen Wilson to lead the way and would like to see the bench utilized in this game.
Kansas 80, West Virginia 68.
Derek Noll
Ending the Allen Fieldhouse portion of the schedule with West Virginia and Texas Tech is exactly what the Jayhawks want going into the business end of the season. In the past, this would’ve been a pretty daunting one-two punch (and it would be in any other conference) but these are a few of the “lesser” opponents on the Big XII conference slate. So, with Bob Huggins’ team coming into Allen Fieldhouse after up and down games at home that will go a long way in determining their NCAA hopes, I can see the Mountaineers coming in desperate to make a point and swinging for the fences. They might even give KU a good half or so. But if the Jayhawks can defend like they have in the previous two games, especially in the second half, I can envision nothing but a Kansas win. Oh, and Jalen Wilson is going to have a monster game (with some help from his friends).
Kansas 82, West Virginia 66.
Brendan Dzwierzynski
It feels like nearly every element of this matchup should favor Kansas. Better talent? More momentum? Home court? Better coach? They all belong with the Jayhawks. Does that mean that team always wins? No, but it’s hard for me to see an obvious avenue in which KU falters in this game. WVU will play tough, but in the end I think the Harris-McCullar dynamic defensive duo will be too much for their offense, which should be enough to seal a win.
Kansas 79, West Virginia 71.
Andy Mitts
First, let me say that I'm glad that Kansas broke the curse for me against TCU, winning that game after I picked them. But there are a few things that jump out to me about this game, starting with some things from the first matchup. Kansas was very balanced in that one, with each starter scoring between 11 and 16 points. And there was some solid minutes from the Kansas bench, but Ernest Udeh didn't play that game.
In the game in Morgantown, the defense for the Jayhawks held West Virginia to just 62 points, forcing them into a balanced effort. Erik Stevenson and Tre Mitchell led the scoring, but couldn't provide enough heroics for the win. Given that a good game for West Virginia involves lots of points from those two players to open things up for everyone else, that is a good sign. Especially since the Kansas defense is better now than it was then.
Ultimately, I don't think Jalen Wilson is going to have a monster scoring game the rest of the year, but not for the reason you might think. Much like teams concentrated on Ochai Agbaji down the stretch last season and took away his big games, teams have started to key in on him. But that helps leave things open for Gradey Dick, Kevin McCullar and KJ Adams, among others. They've figured out how to take advantage while maintaining fantastic defensive pressure, which makes them extremely formidable. Give me Kansas big.
Kansas 89, West Virginia 67.
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