Score Predictions for West Virginia vs Kansas

The West Virginia Mountaineers welcome in the sixth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks Saturday night at eight and will be televised on ESPN.

Schuyler Callihan: West Virginia 76, Kansas 73

The Coliseum has been a house of horrors for the Jayhawks since West Virginia entered the Big 12 Conference. They've lost six of nine in Morgantown, including two of the last three.

The game got out of hand in the second half the last time these two played, but a lot of that had to do with WVU's transition defense. Kansas got bucket after bucket by pushing the floor and beating WVU to the rim. Head coach Bob Huggins thought his team did a really good job in the half-court in the first half, so if they can play that way for an entire 40 minutes, they have a chance.

Also, Taz Sherman was still trying to get back to full strength after a bout with COVID and was not his usual self. This time around, Taz will be 100%, and that alone, could lift WVU to victory. Kansas may be the better team, but West Virginia is in dire need of a victory and a win over the Jayhawks will give them a signature win for their NCAA Tournament resume. The crowd will be a factor in this one too. Mountaineers by three.

Christopher Hall: West Virginia 79 Kansas 78

West Virginia is 6-3 versus Kansas in the WVU Coliseum. Every pregame stat says the Mountaineers do not stand a chance against the sixth-ranked Jayhawks but one. West Virginia holds an advantage in turnover margin. Oddly enough and despite their success, Kanas is ninth in the Big 12 Conference in turnover margin at -3.67, West Virginia average differential is -1.17.

I think West Virginia will speed up Kansas enough to keep them off balance with a raucous crowd behind them and turn them over at a high rate while keeping Kansas shooting percentage low. I got a little Mountaineer Magic with this one, West Virginia pulls off the upset, 79-78.

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