Analysis of Grueling Upcoming Schedule for West Virginia
A daunting stretch of basketball awaits the Mountaineers in the coming weeks.
Lets dive deeper into this part of the schedule to give you a better idea of just how tough it’s going to be.
In the next six games, they have a split of three at home and three away. All six opponents are ranked in the top-25, and only two of the six teams are outside the top 10, No. 13 Texas Tech and No. 23 Kansas. Two of the three home games come against two of the hottest teams probably in the country right now, No. 2 Baylor and No. 9 Oklahoma. They have a combined record of 28-5, all five losses from the Sooners.
Before hitting the court against those two, the Mountaineers will need to overcome the challenge of beating the Jayhawks at home. In the first meeting at Kansas, West Virginia struggled to cover the three-point shot and lost 79-65. The Jayhawks have went 4-5 since that game, so West Virginia has an opportunity to take advantage of their struggles, especially having them in Morgantown. Kansas is also currently tied for the fourth worst road record in the Big 12 at 2-4.
Once past Kansas, the Mountaineers will then look forward to getting by the Red Raiders, who they beat last time out from the heroics of Miles McBride. Tech is coming off two big wins against LSU in the SEC/Big 12 challenge and No. 9 Oklahoma. Mac McClung, who scored 30 points against the Mountaineers, struggled to find anything against Oklahoma shooting 0 for 7 from the field. Still, with the Red Raiders riding high off that win, they will be looking for revenge at home against the Mountaineers. Texas Tech is 8-3 at home.
Before losing to Texas Tech, the Sooners had won five straight games. Three of those five wins were against a then ranked at No. 9 Kansas, No. 5 Texas and No. 9 Alabama. The Sooners got the best of West Virginia in their previous meeting 75-71 and were on the outside looking in of the top-25 rankings. Oklahoma is sitting at fifth in the Big 12 in scoring (75.31) and third in scoring defense (66.7). Luckily, this game comes at home for the Mountaineers, and the Sooners are currently tied with Kansas for the fourth worst road record at 2-4. Although, Oklahoma is in a groove right now. West Virginia will have to play lights out at home.
As if things wouldn’t already be tough enough, the Mountaineers next three games will probably be the hardest stretch of the season. They will face an undefeated No. 2 Baylor twice in a four-day span. What makes that even worse? They will play at home on Monday, and then leave for Waco, Texas to play again on Thursday. West Virginia then heads to play at No. 6 Texas two days later.
The Mountaineers have yet to play against Baylor. Their last meeting was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns. The Bears are currently sitting atop the Big 12 standings at 9-0. Overall, they are currently 17-0 with four wins over top-15 opponents, No. 15 Texas Tech, No. 9 Kansas, No. 6 Texas and No. 5 Illinois. Baylor is one of three teams in the Big 12 (Baylor, Texas, West Virginia) who has four players on the court that average double-digits in points, Butler (17.0), Teague (14.7), Mitchell (13.6) and Flagler (10.2). With the Mountaineers struggling to guard the three lately, this could be a long game. The Bears are the best shooting team in the Big 12 from beyond the arc, shooting 44% from three. West Virginia at least splitting these two matchups would be great.
This is Shaka Smart’s best team since taking the job at Texas in 2015. The Longhorns have three wins over top-25 opponents, No. 3 Kansas, No. 14 West Virginia and No. 19 North Carolina. As previously stated, the Longhorns are one of three teams who have four players averaging double-digits in scoring on the season, Jones (15.1), Ramey (13.8), Coleman III (13.1) and Brown (11.4). Texas had three games postponed since beating West Virginia on a last second shot in their last game 72-70. They are currently averaging a second-best in the Big 12 of 8.6 made three’s per game. The Mountaineers only allowed four last time out. Of the top six teams in the Big 12, Texas has the worst home record at 6-4. The Longhorns have lost two games straight against Oklahoma and Baylor, but have five games between now and their matchup with West Virginia. They’re currently 11-4.
West Virginia is in a situation where they really need to pickup some big wins, and this is a great chance to do so. It’s a difficult road ahead, but an important one for the Mountaineers.
You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the page's top righthand corner. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook & Twitter:
Facebook - @WVUonSI
Twitter - @SI_WVU and Matt Thornsbury at @mthornsburyap
