MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A Saturday matchup against 14^th-ranked Texas Tech might or might not include the Big 12's second-leading scorer Taz Sherman, according to West Virginia coach Bob Huggins.
 
Sherman was hit in the face by Baylor's Jeremy Sochan with 3:47 remaining in last Tuesday night's 77-68 loss to the Bears and did not return. Before Sherman's injury, the game was tied 66-66 and the senior guard had already scored a career-high 29 points.
 
Now he remains in concussion protocol, Huggins said earlier today.
 
"I have no idea," Huggins said of Sherman's availability on Saturday. "I haven't been involved. That's our medical group and it should be. They are going to decide what the protocol is."
 
If Sherman can't go, that's 19 points per game that will be removed from a team that has already had lots of scoring issues this season. Sherman tallied 21 the first time these two teams met in Lubbock on Jan. 22, a Red Raider 78-65 victory.
 
"He's one of the best players in the league, and it's going to affect us," Huggins said. "Our coaching staff and our team are more concerned about Taz and Taz's welfare before rushing him back too soon."
 
Second-leading scorer Sean McNeil struggled to get up shots against Texas Tech's perimeter length, and he will clearly be a focal point of the Red Raiders once again on Saturday at the Coliseum.
 
Huggins said it's time for some of West Virginia's younger backcourt players such as freshmen Kobe Johnson, Seth Wilson and Jamel King to step up and take on more prominent roles moving forward. The three have averaged just a combined 19 minutes of action through 21 games so far this season.
 
Another freshman, 6-foot-8, 230-pound James Okonkwo, is a promising prospect who has seen little court time so far.
 
"We've got freshmen who can be really good players here and getting them playing time has been a priority for reasons you can figure out," Huggins said. "I would like to see them be players here for years to come. You're talking about two of the best players in Ohio (Johnson and Wilson) and a kid from Great Britain (Okonkwo) who is getting better and better. King is a 6-foot-5 guy who can step out on the perimeter and make shots."
 
Besides scoring, rebounding and ball security are the team's two other big issues. West Virginia was outrebounded by 10 and turned the ball over 15 times in the Baylor loss. During its current six-game losing streak, West Virginia is being outrebounded by an average of 8.8 boards per game while turning it over 13.3 times.
 
"The reason we are in the shape we are is because we don't rebound it and we throw the ball to the other team too much," Huggins pointed out.
 
Yet despite the current losing streak, West Virginia (13-8, 2-6) has a lot of its major preseason goals still on the table. A better whistle, a better bounce of the ball or some better luck could have meant a couple more wins and a higher place in the league standings than where it sits right now.
 
West Virginia is currently 63^rd in the NET rankings and its 10 remaining regular season games are against higher-ranked teams, including No. 14 Texas Tech on Saturday. 
 
Iowa State, coming up on Tuesday night, is ranked No. 28 and a home date against No. 9 Kansas is on the horizon on Feb. 19.
 
"We're right there," Huggins said. "We were God-awful against Oklahoma, and I don't know why. We played hard against Arkansas in the second half, and we played hard against Baylor. I was proud of our guys, but sometimes luck or fate or whatever you call it was not in our corner. But you play on."
 
Which means Huggins will get his team prepared a second time to face a streaking 17-5 Red Raider squad that is coming off an emotional 77-64 win over Texas in former coach Chris Beard's return to Lubbock earlier this week.
 
Kevin McCullar scored a game-high 19 points against the Longhorns, 12 of those coming from the free throw line. Texas Tech shot 11 more free throws than Texas and 14 more than West Virginia attempted the first time these two teams met last month.
 
Four of Texas Tech's five probable starters are averaging double figures, led by Bryson Williams' 13.6 points per game.
 
Terrence Shannon was the big gun the first time around in Lubbock. The 6-foot-6 guard scored a game-high 23 points on 7 of 12 shooting. Kevin Obanor had 18 and Williams added 13.
 
Saturday's game will tip off at 2 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPN (Mark Neely and Tim Welsh).
 
Mountaineer Sports Network coverage on stations throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the popular mobile app WVU Gameday tips off at 1 p.m.
 
Tickets are still available and can be purchased by logging on to WVUGAME.com.