West Virginia opens Big 12 Conference play on Saturday, January 2, when the Mountaineers face Kansas State at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas.

 

The Wildcats are now 10-2 following Tuesday’s impressive 75-47 victory over St. Louis. K-State also shows wins over Missouri, Georgia and Colorado State and just two 10-point defeats against North Carolina and Texas A&M.

 

Junior forward Wesley Iwundu is averaging 13.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game and is one of three K-State players averaging double figures. The other two are 6-foot-4 senior guard Justin Edwards (13.0 ppg.) and 6-foot-10 freshman forward Dean Wade (10.8 ppg.).

 

Kansas State is limiting opponents to just 61.5 points and 39.1 percent shooting per game, limiting six of their 12 opponents to 60 points or less. The Wildcats have won all eight games played at Bramlage this season.

 

West Virginia, too, is coming off an impressive performance earlier this week with its 25-point victory at Virginia Tech in the Mountaineers’ first true road game of the season.

 

Jevon Carter scored 18 points on eight-of-10 shooting to lead four double-digit scorers against the Hokies. Jaysean Paige came off the bench to contribute 17, Tarik Phillip added 12 off the bench and senior forward Jonathan Holton produced a 12-point, 13-rebound double-double.

 

West Virginia (11-1) shot 50.8 percent from the floor for the game and limited the Hokies to just six second-half field goals.

 

Junior forward Devin Williams continues to lead the Mountaineers with averages of 15.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. Carter (13.0 ppg.), sophomore guard Daxter Miles Jr. (12.2 ppg.) and Paige (11.3 ppg.) are WVU’s other double-figurer scorers.

 

WVU is averaging 85.9 points and is outscoring its opponents by an average of 25.8 points per game.

 

The Mountaineers won for the first time in Bramlage last year, 65-59, and have won the last three meetings in the series.

 

WVU coach Bob Huggins is now 4-4 against Kansas State, where he coached one season in 2007 and produced a 21-12 record.

 

Tip off for Saturday is set for noon and the game will be televised nationally on ESPNU. The Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG’s coverage begins with the pregame show at 11 a.m. leading into regular game coverage at 11:30 a.m. on stations throughout West Virginia and online via leanStream and the mobile app TuneIn.