MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia tips off Big 12 play on Saturday afternoon in Houston, Texas, against the third-ranked Houston Cougars at the on-campus, 8,479-seat Fertitta Center.
 
The Cougars have become one of college basketball's powerhouse programs under 68-year-old coach Kelvin Sampson, who has taken two teams to the Final Four (Oklahoma and Houston) and has had the Cougars in the NCAA tournament the last five years it has been played, including a Sweet 16 trip last season.
 
Since 2018, Sampson has not lost more than eight games in a season and is 106-14 over the last four years playing in the American Athletic Conference. The American's KenPom rating was never higher than sixth during Houston's run and now the Cougars will be playing their first game in the No. 1-rated basketball conference in the country on Saturday against the Mountaineers.
 
Sampson said before the season that the move to the Big 12 is not going to materially change his program, considering what it has already accomplished.
 
"Last year, we were 17-1 in the conference; those days are over," he was quoted in this year's Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook. "Basketball-wise and with everything we want to do, this is not going to help us make the tournament. We're already doing that. It's not going to help us get guys drafted. We're doing that. It won't help us get a high seed. We were No. 1 last year."
 
All valid points.
 
However, it will be interesting to see if Houston can continue to dominate the way it did when it was in the American.
 
For now, the Cougars (13-0) appear to be the same old Cougars, though, particularly against a nonconference schedule that has featured just three power-conference-type foes - Utah, Xavier and Texas A&M.
 
Houston defeated the Utes 76-66 in Nov. 17, topped Xavier 66-60 in Cincinnati on Dec. 1 and most recently outlasted Texas A&M 70-66 on a neutral floor.
 
Those are the only three opponents Houston has allowed to score at least 60 points in a game this season.
 
"The Texas A&M game, for sure, was one of the most physical games I've seen all year on film," West Virginia coach Josh Eilert said. "Going into these games, you worry about how they are going to be called and for us that's going to be critical."
 
Louisiana-Monroe scored just 31 in the season opener. Rice had 39 points in early December and Texas State scored just 37 against the Cougars two weeks ago.
 
"They are a very, very good defensive team and a very, very physical team," Eilert said. "If you look at their numbers, points off turnovers and second-chance points, it's like 37 points per game in those two categories. Obviously, taking care of the ball is going to be important, and if we do have a turnover, we've got to make sure it's not a live-ball turnover so we can get our defense set."
 
Opponents are shooting just 34.5% overall and only 27.2% from 3-point distance. Houston is plus-nine on the glass with every single player capable of grabbing offensive rebounds, including point guard LJ Cryer, a Baylor transfer. The Cougars turn teams over an average of 18.4 times per game and have greatly used those turnovers to their advantage.
 
"They've got weapons in the halfcourt, but they are at their best when they turn people over and get downhill, and in the halfcourt, they are at their best getting second-chance points," Eilert said.
 
Cryer, as he did at Baylor, has been lights out from behind the arc and leads the team with 42 triples and a 16.9 points-per-game average. He had a season-high 24 against Montana and recently tallied 16 in blowout win against Penn.
 
"He's by far their best offensive option," Eilert said of Cryer. "We've got to know where he is at all times, regardless of what defense we are in."
 
Emanuel Sharp, a 6-foot-3 sophomore shooting guard, is contributing 13.8 points per game and is making 84.7% of his 59 free throw attempts. Sharp has 19 more free throw attempts than the next closest Cougar player, demonstrating his knack for getting to the basket.
 
Guard Jamal Shead is also an effective scorer, averaging 9.8 points while shooting 45.7% from the floor.
 
J'Wan Roberts, a bruising 6-foot-7, 230-pounder, has grabbed 30 offensive rebounds and leads the team with an average of 7.1 boards per game. He is shooting 61.7% from the floor, primarily because of put-back dunks.
 
Roberts did not play against Penn but is expected to play on Saturday against the Mountaineers, according to the Houston Chronicle.
 
Houston used a starting lineup against Penn consisting of Cryer, Shead, Sharp, 6-foot-7, 215-pound forward Joseph Tugler and 6-foot-8, 235-pound forward Ja'Vier Francis. Houston led by 22 at halftime and permitted the Quakers to make just 14 of their 45 field goal attempts.
 
West Virginia, meanwhile, is coming off an encouraging performance against Ohio State in Cleveland last Saturday night. The Mountaineers (5-8) battled back from a double-digit deficit to send the game into overtime before the Buckeyes prevailed 78-75.
 
Guard RaQuan Battle continues to fill up the stat sheet since his regular-season debut against Radford on Dec. 20. Battle scored 29 against the Highlanders and added 29 in a home win against Toledo on Saturday, Dec. 23.
 
Last Saturday, the 6-foot-5 guard scored 24 on 9-of-19 shooting against the Buckeyes, despite sitting a good portion of the first half after getting into early foul trouble. Battle is making 48.2% of his field goal attempts and has gotten to the free throw line 27 times in three games.
 
Noah Farrakhan, another transfer now eligible to play, has also consistently scored in the four games in which he's played so far, including a season-high 19 against the Buckeyes.
 
Those two will join point guard Kerr Kriisa in the backcourt. Kriisa will be playing only his fifth game since serving a nine-game NCAA suspension after receiving impermissible benefits while playing at Arizona.
 
WVU is also expected to start Quinn Slazinski (15.5 ppg., 5.2 rpg.) and Akok Akok (4.0 ppg., 4.7 rpg.) at the two forward positions.
 
Eilert said center Jesse Edwards, who injured his wrist in the Massachusetts loss on Dec. 16, had his cast removed Thursday and the WVU medical staff will determine what's next in his rehab process.
 
It was initially assessed as a four-week injury, which would have put Edwards' potential return around the Oklahoma game on Jan. 17, although that might be a little optimistic. The 6-foot-11 senior was averaging 14.8 points and a team-best 8.7 rebounds per game at the time of his injury.
 
Saturday's game will be West Virginia's first-ever meeting against Houston in a matchup the Cougars are promoting as a "Red-Out Game."
 
The contest will be televised on ESPN+ (Ted Emrich and Reid Gettys) and will tip off at 2 p.m.
 
Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage with Tony Caridi begins at 1 p.m. on stations throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.
 
This year is the ninth time in 12 seasons in the Big 12 West Virginia has opened the conference portion of its schedule on the road.
 
WVU's conference home opener will be Tuesday, Jan. 9 against Kansas State.