West Virginia Set to Meet Colorado in the Second Round of the Big 12 Championship

The Mountaineers open their postseason play against the Buffaloes

Jan 12, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers center Eduardo Andre (0) and Colorado Buffaloes guard Harrison Carrington (31) reach for a rebound in the second half at CU Events Center. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

KANSAS CITY – West Virginia will take on Colorado in the second round of the Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m. EST and the action will stream on ESPN+.

The Mountaineers (19-12) earned a first round bye of the Big 12 Championship as an eighth seed. Meanwhile, after finishing last in the conference standings, the Buffaloes (13-19) kept their season alive with a 69-67 win over TCU in the opening round. Senior forward Andrej Jakimovski scored a game-high 18-points and seven rebounds and the team’s leading scorer, senior guard Julian Hammond III (12.6 ppg), put in 16 points.

West Virginia took the lone matchup against Colorado early in the Big 12 Conference slate 78-70 in Boulder. All-Big 12 first team selection and the league’s leading scorer, Javon Small (18.5 ppg) was one of four Mountaineers to hit double figures, leading all scorers with 26 points and seven assists while Joseph Yesufu provided a spark off the bench with 18 points.

Colorado began its first season in the Big 12 on a 13-game league losing streak before notching a win over UCF in mid-February, marking the first of the Buffaloes three conference wins (UCF, Baylor, TCU) that came in the last month of the regular season.

West Virginia started 2-0 in Big 12 play, including acquiring the program’s first ever win at Kansas, before splitting a four-game stretch capped with a win over then second-ranked Iowa State. Then, suffered its only losing streak of the season (3) and finished out the last four games of the regular season 3-1 to finish league play 10-10.

West Virginia forward Amani Hansberry had a strong half to the conference schedule. The sophomore averaged 12.2 points and 7.6 rebounds in the last nine games.

Along with Small’s All-Big 12 First Team nod, WVU guard Sencire Harris was voted to the All-Big 12 Defensive Team.

WVU is 11-12 all-time in Big 12 Championship play, including reaching the finals in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

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