MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia is going from one difficult opponent to the next when it faces 18^th-ranked Texas Tech early Saturday afternoon in Lubbock, Texas.
 
In a span of seven days, the Mountaineers will have faced No. 9 Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse, defending national champion and No. 5-ranked Baylor earlier this week in Morgantown, and now one of the best defensive basketball units in college basketball in the 14-4 Red Raiders.
 
Texas Tech is giving up just 58.7 points per game while opponents are shooting 37.7% overall and only 30.9% from 3-point range. That's a considerable improvement over last year's Texas Tech squad that allowed 63.2 points per game and opponents to shoot 41.2%.
 
The Red Raiders (4-2 in Big 12 play) are using a unique starting lineup featuring three 6-foot-6 players in the backcourt, paired with a couple of 6-foot-8 bigs up front which gives them the ability to switch all five defensively.
 
"They've got great size," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. "They don't have any really small guys and they have terrific athleticism."
 
First-year coach Mark Adams has also continued former coach Chris Beard's practice of bringing in four-year transfers; three players expected to start tomorrow against West Virginia began their college careers at other places.
 
Fresno State transfer Bryson Williams, a 6-foot-8 forward, leads Texas Tech with an average of 12.6 points per game. Buffalo native Davion Warren started at Hampton but moved on to Texas Tech where he's averaging 10.4 points per game as one of three double-digit scorers in the Red Raiders' backcourt.
 
Junior starting guards Terrence Shannon (11.5 ppg.) and Kevin McCullar (11.9 ppg.) are homegrown, while 6-foot-8 senior forward Kevin Obanor (9.5 ppg.) is an Oral Roberts addition.
 
Other imports who saw court time in Tuesday night's 72-60 victory over 15^th-ranked Iowa State at United Supermarkets Arena included Marcus Santos-Silva (VCU), Daniel Batcho (Arizona), Adonis Arms (Messa CC) and Mylik Wilson (Louisiana- Lafayette).
 
"This is pretty much what Mark has done his whole career (working with transfers)," Huggins said. "He's been a top-level junior college coach and is kind of used to going out and getting guys and bringing guys in who have no experience in his system. He's been able to coach those guys up well and probably for this new age of doing things, I think he's probably better prepared than virtually anybody."
 
Tech used a 9-0 run at the 10-minute mark of the second half to down the Cyclones Tuesday night. Williams led a balanced scoring attack with 16 points, while Obanor contributed 15 points and eight rebounds and Warren added 11 points.
 
The Red Raiders led for the majority of the game while owning a 27-19 advantage in bench scoring.
 
"We've got to do a great job of defending because they do a great job of spreading you and penetrating with it," Huggins said.
 
Tech's perimeter length could pose a challenge for a West Virginia team that has struggled to find its shooting touch in its losses to Kansas and Baylor. In those games, WVU connected on just 41 of its 124 field goal attempts for 33.1%, including only 28.2% (11 of 39) from 3-point range.
 
During a critical six-minute stretch in the second half the Mountaineers saw their 54-53 lead evaporate as a result of nine missed layups without Baylor blocking a shot. In all, WVU failed to convert 11 point-blank shot attempts in the second half and missed 15 layups for the game.
 
"We haven't done a great job of getting some of our guys the ball at the right time, and some of them are still getting used to scoring over bigger people," Huggins said. "The biggest thing is finding the rim. I think a lot of people get enamored with the ball and they stare at the ball the entire time and they only see the rim when they're about to release the ball."
 
Senior guard Malik Curry led West Virginia with 19 points off the bench, following up his season-high 23 points at Kansas. The Old Dominion transfer has now boosted his season scoring average to 8.6 points per game, including a 13-points-per-game average in Big 12 action.
 
"He's a great penetrator," Huggins said of Curry. "That was his claim to fame before he got here. He's got a great touch with the ball and he finishes over bigger people, which most guys his size probably can't do."
 
Senior guard Taz Sherman continues to lead the Mountaineers in scoring with an overall average of 18.8 points per game, but his four-game Big 12 totals are significantly lower at 12.5 points per contest. Sherman missed the Texas game while in COVID safety protocols, and he's still trying to regain the strength and endurance he had before the Christmas break.
 
"We've got to get Taz well and get some of his strength back and gain some weight back," Huggins said. "But he's played pretty well."
 
Senior guard Sean McNeil is West Virginia's top scorer in conference play, scoring at a 15.4-points-per-game clip, and he's averaging 14.4 points per game overall.
 
Talented sophomore forward Jalen Bridges is contributing 8.7 points and 5.5 rebounds but has been somewhat up and down in five Big 12 contests so far this season. He scored 18 in a loss at Texas and had 22 in a mid-week win over Oklahoma State, but had just 2 points in a home victory over Kansas State and 7 earlier this week against Baylor.
 
He scored 12 in WVU's 85-59 loss at Kansas.
 
West Virginia has enjoyed success against Texas Tech in overall series play and in Lubbock. The Mountaineers own a 16-6 mark and have won five out of nine at United Supermarkets Arena as well as claiming 13 out of the last 18 overall meetings. Last year, WVU swept the season series by winning 82-71 in Lubbock and 88-87 in Morgantown.
 
Saturday's game will tip off at noon ET and will be televised nationally on ESPN2 (Rich Hollenberg and Tim Welsh). Mountaineer Sports Network coverage begins at 11 a.m. on stations throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the popular mobile app WVU Gameday.
 
Dan Zangrilli will once again call the game in place of veteran play-by-play announcer Tony Caridi, who is still in COVID safety protocols. Jay Jacobs will join Dan on the game broadcast while David Kahn will handle things in the studio.