Monday, February 12
Morgantown, W.Va.
9:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
vs
TCU
TCU Preview
February 12, 2018 11:59 AM | Men's Basketball
| Team Stats |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Points Per Game | 85.0 | 80.9 |
| Points Against | 76.8 | 68.1 |
| Field Goal % | 50.2 | 43.1 |
| Rebounds Per Game | 37.0 | 38.6 |
| Assists Per Game | 19.8 | 15.3 |
| Blocks Per Game | 3.4 | 4.9 |
| Steals Per Game | 6.8 | 8.5 |
| Streak | W1 | L1 |
While West Virginia is coming off a disappointing, 88-85 loss to eighth-place Oklahoma State on Saturday, the Horned Frogs are riding high following their big, 87-71 victory over Texas in Fort Worth the same day.
TCU shot 54.8 percent from the floor and got 25 points on 11-of-19 shooting from Vlad Brodziansky and 18 points from forward Kouat Noi in the win over the Longhorns.
Brodziansky (15.6 ppg.) is one of four TCU regulars averaging double figures heading into tonight's game. The others are guard Kenrich Williams (13.7 ppg.), guard Desmond Bane (12.0 ppg.) and Noi (10.3 ppg.)
Earlier this year in Fort Worth, guard Alex Robinson scored 17 points and handed out nine assists in an 82-73 victory over West Virginia. After trailing early, the Horned Frogs took control of the game in the second half by cashing in at the free throw line where they outscored West Virginia, 23-16, at the charity stripe.
TCU also had a 46-40 edge on the glass while making nine 3s.
Robinson has been the most effective TCU player against West Virginia, scoring 45 points in three career games while handing out 14 assists, grabbing 13 rebounds and making four steals.
Brodziansky's six-game totals against the Mountaineers include 60 points, 29 rebounds and 12 blocks.
TCU's victory over Texas on Saturday snapped a two-game losing streak (Texas Tech and Kansas) and boosted the Horned Frogs' record to 17-8.
TCU is in great shape RPI-wise this week at No. 24 and is projected as an eight seed in the latest Joe Lunardi Bracketology updated earlier today.
West Virginia (18-7, 7-5) is also in pretty good shape with an RPI of 34 and a projected five seed in Lunardi's most recent bracket, but the Mountaineers let one get away from them on Saturday when Oklahoma State came back from six points down with three minutes remaining to clip WVU at the end.
"They made shots," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. "What we didn't do was get rebounds when we needed to get rebounds. There were a bunch of run-stoppers."
The Cowboys also benefitted at the free throw line where they made 30 out of 36 attempts compared to West Virginia's 24 of 28. West Virginia's opponents have taken more free throws than the Mountaineers in all five Big 12 losses this year, the widest disparities coming at TCU (minus-11) and at Texas Tech (minus-9).
"It's hard to guard them at the foul line," Huggins said.
On Saturday, Oklahoma State's advantage included an 18 to six edge in the first half.
Clearly, West Virginia is going to have to figure out a way to foul less and keep its better players on the floor with six important regular season games remaining, including tonight's.
Texas Tech is now in the driver's seat in the league with a 9-3 conference record, one game ahead Kansas in the standings.
West Virginia is alone in third place at 7-5, followed by Kansas State and Oklahoma at 6-6. TCU is in a four-team logjam in sixth place at 5-7 with Baylor, Oklahoma State and Texas.
Iowa State is at the bottom at 4-8 but has won two out of its last four games.
TCU, which defeated West Virginia last month for the first time since the two joined the Big 12 in 2012, is seeking a season-sweep over the Mountaineers.
Rich Hollenberg and Chris Spatola will handle the call for ESPN2. The Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG's radio coverage begins at 8 p.m. on affiliates throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the mobile app TuneIn.
Briefly: Senior guard Jevon Carter is now two steals shy of 300 for his career … Carter is the only player in the country to score at least 10 points, hand out eight assists and make six steals in a game six times this season … Carter, who recently passed 1,500 points for his career, ranks 17th in school history in career scoring with 1,549 and needs just five to pass Mark Workman (1950-52) for 16th place and eight to pass forward Warren Baker (1973-76) with 1,556 career points … Carter is coming off a career-high 33 points in the loss to Oklahoma State and is now averaging 17.2 points per game … Forwards Esa Ahmad (16) and Lamont West (10) were the only other players to reach double figures against OSU in a game that saw both teams combine for 173 points … Sophomore forward Sagaba Konate saw his seven-game double figure scoring streak snapped against the Cowboys when he scored just 8 on three of five shooting … Konate picked up two early fouls in the first half and also drew two fouls in the second half 20 feet away from the basket attempting to block 3-point shots … His 20 minutes were his fewest since the Kansas State game on Jan. 1 when he played 18 minutes … Senior guard Daxter Miles Jr. has scored just 22 points in his last four games and has attempted just 17 shots … Sophomore James "Beetle" Bolden, getting some of the minutes Miles was normally getting, has scored 17 points in his last two games while shooting six of 18 from the floor … Sophomore Logan Routt has been getting the backup center minutes coming off the bench that Maciej Bender was receiving before … Routt matched a season-high with 15 minutes against Oklahoma State and also logged nine minutes in West Virginia's recent home win over Kansas State … Meanwhile, Bender did not play against Oklahoma last Monday and got just five minutes in the loss to Oklahoma State … Sophomore guard Chase Harler is another player who has seen his minutes reduced … he has not played since last Saturday's Kansas State game … Oklahoma State's 52 points in the second half was the third time this year a team has scored more than 50 points in the second half against the Mountaineers … Marist matched Oklahoma State's 52 points in an 84-78 loss on Nov. 23, while Kentucky scored 50 in its 83-76, come-from-behind win at the Coliseum on Jan. 27 … TCU scored 47 second-half points in its nine-point win over West Virginia back on Jan. 22.
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