West Virginia vs. No. 7 Houston Preview and Game Thread

The West Virginia Mountaineers (11-5, 2-1) hit the road Tuesday night to face the Houston Cougars (15-1, 3-0) at the Fertitta Center. Tipoff is set for 8:42 p.m. ET, with television coverage on FS1.

West Virginia is coming off its second Big 12 win of the season, an 86–75 upset of then-No. 22 Kansas that sent the Jayhawks tumbling out of the AP Top 25. Senior guard Honor Huff led the way with a game-high 23 points, continuing a strong stretch that has seen him score 47 points over the last two games. Huff paces the Mountaineers at 17.5 points per game, ranks second nationally with 64 made three-pointers, and is shooting 41% from beyond the arc.

The supporting cast has been equally important. Senior center Harlan Obioha recorded his second double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds against Kansas, while senior forward Brenen Lorient poured in 16 of his 18 points in the first half. Treysen Eaglestaff has added consistency, reaching double figures in back-to-back games (10 and 12 points). Senior forward Chance Moore ranks second on the team in scoring at 12.3 points per game and is tied with Obioha for the team lead in rebounds at 5.8 per contest, while Lorient rounds out the trio of Mountaineers averaging double figures at 10.6 points per game.

Houston enters Tuesday riding a nine-game winning streak and owns a 3-1 record against ranked opponents this season, with its lone loss coming to Tennessee in the Players Era Championship. The Cougars are led by senior guard Emanuel Sharp, who averages a team-best 16.1 points per game and posted a season-high 27 points against Florida State.

Freshman guard Kingston Flemings has emerged as a dynamic playmaker, averaging 15.7 points and a team-leading 5.1 assists per game. Flemings scored a career-high 25 points against Tennessee and followed with 23 points and five assists in last week’s win over Texas Tech. Through his first three Big 12 games, he is averaging 17.3 points with 18 total assists. Senior guard Milos Uzan rounds out Houston’s double-figure scorers at 10.9 points per game and is second on the team in assists (4.2).

GAME THREAD

Timeout WVU, 16:21: A pair of threes leads to a Houston 10-2 advantage and West Virginia timeout.

U12 Timeout: Houston leads 15-5. Huff is 1-3 from three and Flemings is pacing the scoring with four points.

U8 Timeout: The Cougars are rolling 20-5. WVU is 2-14 from the field, including 1-9 from three-point range.

U4 Timeout: WVU starting to find a rhythm after back-to-back threes, but a long way to go to get back in the game as the Cougars lead 28-11.

HALFTIME: West Virginia was able to dwindle the 23-point Houston lead to 15 before the break, 33-18. WVU freshman forward DJ Thomas leads all scorers with 11 points behind a trio of threes.

GAME THREAD

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