MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia will put its seven-game winning streak on the line tonight when the 21^st-ranked Mountaineers battle improving Arizona, coming off an impressive 72-67 victory at 16^th-ranked Cincinnati last Saturday.
 
In the game, the Wildcats got 15 points from Jaden Bradley, 14 off the bench from Carter Bryant and 12 from guard Caleb Love, who has been on a tear during Arizona's current four-game winning streak.
 
The St. Louis resident is averaging 23 points, five rebounds and three assists while shooting 49% from the floor, including 36% from 3-point range.
 
Love lead Arizona with a 16.3 points-per-game average – one of three double-digit scorers for the Wildcats. The others are Bradley (11.5 ppg.) and forward Trey Townsend (10.0 ppg.).
 
Since losing 83-76 in overtime to West Virginia in the Bahamas back on Nov. 29, Arizona has won five out of its last six with the only defeat coming at the hands of former conference rival UCLA on Dec. 14.
 
The Wildcats have made one change to their starting lineup since the WVU loss, inserting 6-foot-6 junior guard Anthony Dell'Orso in place of Bryant.
 
The Melbourne, Australia, resident also started the TCU game, a 90-81 Arizona victory.
 
Love was Arizona's big weapon the first time the two teams met when he scored 24 points on 9-of-20 shooting.
 
Arizona is 8-5 overall and 2-0 in Big 12 play and boasts an NCAA NET ranking of 16 this week. The Wildcats' early season schedule includes games against Wisconsin, Duke, Oklahoma and UCLA.
 
West Virginia (11-2, 2-0) has a NET of 25 and returned to the Associated Press Top 25 poll this week for the first time since Dec. 26, 2022.
 
Since losing to Louisville 79-70 in overtime in the Bahamas, the Mountaineers have run off consecutive victories over Arizona, Georgetown, North Carolina Central, Bethune-Cookman, Mercyhurst, Kansas and Oklahoma State.
 
It's the most consecutive wins since reeling off eight straight victories early in the 2021-22 season.
 
West Virginia has not trailed in either Big 12 game this year and has led for 77:57 out of 80 minutes of conference action so far.
 
In the latest NCAA stats, West Virginia ranks seventh in field goal percentage defense (37.1%), ninth in 3-point field goal percentage defense (27.4%0, 11^th in blocks per game (5.7), and 19^th in scoring defense (62.5 ppg.).
 
Guard Javon Small, the reigning Big 12, NCAA March Madness and Naismith Trophy Player of the Week, lead the conference with a 19.5 points-per-game scoring average.
 
Small scored 13 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and handed out six assists in West Virginia's 62-61 upset victory at Kansas last week and added a game-high 24 points with 11 rebounds in last Saturday's 69-50 win over Oklahoma State.
 
The senior guard is having an All-America-type season so far with averages of 5.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.0 steals per game. 
 
Freshman guard Jonathan Powell has stepped in for injured Tucker DeVries and has scored double figures in four out of his last five games, including 17 in last Saturday's Oklahoma State win. 
 
The Centerville, Ohio, resident is now averaging 9.3 points per game.
 
WVU's other significant contributor of late has been 6-foot-11 center Eduardo Andre, who tallied 15 points, grabbed six rebounds and blocked four shots in the Kansas win and has boosted his scoring and rebounding averages to 5.5 and 5.0 respectively. 
 
He also leads the team with 28 blocked shots.
 
Coach Darian DeVries is off to the second-best start in school history for West Virginia coaches through the first 13 games of their tenure. Lee Patton started 12-1 in 1945-46, while Bob Huggins posted a 10-3 record during his first season in 2007-08.
 
Arizona will become the 194^th different team to play at the WVU Coliseum, but this is not the first time the Wildcats have played in Morgantown.
 
Twice, Arizona traveled East to play games here, once in 1948 and again in 1950. West Virginia claimed the '48 game 61-58, but Arizona took the '50 contest 68-67. Both games were played at the old Field House that was located downtown on Beechurst Avenue.
 
WVU is seeking its first 3-0 start to Big 12 play since 2018.
 
Tonight's game will tip off at 7 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN+ (Eric Rothman and Tim Welsh).
 
Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage with Tony Caridi, Brad Howe and David Kahn tips things off at 6 p.m. on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUSports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.
 
All fans in attendance tonight are encouraged to wear their gold as part of "Gold Rush."