The Mountaineers Aim to Slow Down the Cougars Offense

Morgantown, WV - West Virginia and BYU are set for a Big 12 Conference showdown Tuesday night inside the WVU Coliseum.

The two programs are in a three-way tie with Kansas State for seventh in the conference standings and sit two games back from the top four for the coveted two-round Big 12 Championship bye.

The Mountaineers (15-8, 6-6) put themselves back in the win column on Saturday after a 72-61 victory against Utah.

West Virginia has struggled to find consistency outside of senior guard Javon Small (18.9 ppg), the league’s leading scorer, however, in the win against Utah, four Mountaineers scored double figures for the first time since winning at Colorado on January 12.

Forward Amani Hansberry produced a game-high 17 points, just two points shy of the sophomore’s career-high. Freshman guard Jonathan Powell and Small put in 14 points apiece, and senior guard Joseph Yesufu had 11 points.

“These guys show it everyday in practice how well they can shoot, how well they can play,” Yesufu said. “So, I’m just happy that it showed on the court day.”

“Every game we go in, it’s a team thing,” Powell added. “It’s not one player or two players, it takes all of us to win the game.”

“Coach believes in us, we believe in each other, so we’re just going out there playing with confidence,” Hansberry stated.

Joseph Yesufu has been an immediate spark off the bench for the Mountaineers the last three games. The senior has averaged 13.7 ppg, behind an efficient 59.3% (16-27) from the field, including 9-18 from three-point range.

West Virginia University guard Joseph Yesufu brings the ball up the floor against Utah. | Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

BYU has suffered back-to-back losses after dropping the first game of a two-game eastern road trip Saturday at Cincinnati 84-66 to split the season series.

The Cougars (15-8, 6-6) were riding a four-game winning streak until an 85-74 loss at home to then-No. 20 Arizona last week.

BYU leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage in league play at 47.6%, including 36.9% from behind the arc, which ranks second in the conference.

Richie Saunders is scoring a team-high 15.1 ppg with a 50.6% field goal percentage. The junior forward has upped his game during Big 12 action, averaging 17.5 ppg and is shooting a league-leading 46.5% from three. Saunders came off the bench and went 4-6 from three-point range for 17 points in the Cougars’ 86-73 win in Morgantown last season.

Six-foot-nine freshman guard Egor Demin is second on the team in scoring at 11.1 ppg and is third in the conference with 5.6 assists per game.

In one of his eight starts a season ago, center Fousseyni Traore scored a season-high 24 points and pulled down nine rebounds, six were on the offensive glass, against the Mountaineers. The senior’s production has slightly dipped the season, scoring 8.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.

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