MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia returns to the WVU Coliseum on Saturday to face Utah in an important Big 12 clash.
 
The Utes are coming off a 72-59 victory over Colorado on Wednesday night to improve to 13-9 overall and 5-6 in conference play, the same as West Virginia.
 
Utah, led by fourth-year coach Craig Smith and a coaching staff that includes longtime Mountaineer coach Josh Eilert, will be making its first-ever visit to the Coliseum on Saturday.
 
The two teams have met six times previously, most recently in the 1998 NCAA Tournament when Utah defeated West Virginia 65-62 during its run to the Final Four. The Utes have claimed all six meetings, the other wins occurring in 1947, 1956, 1961, 1974 and 1976.
 
This season, Utah boasts a massive starting five that features four players taller than 6-feet-8, not to mention a 6-foot-6 guard. In that regard, the Utes are similar to Georgetown, which West Virginia defeated here back on Dec. 6, and to Arizona State, who beat WVU here on Jan. 21.
 
Center Lawson Lovering is the biggest of the bigs standing 7-foot-1 and weighing 245 pounds. He shows averages of 8.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. 
 
Just below Lovering on the measuring stick is 6-foot-10 sophomore forward Jake Wahlin, averaging 6.0 points and 4.7 boards per contest. Junior guard Mike Sharavjamts stands 6-foot-9, an inch taller than emerging junior forward Ezra Ausar, who has scored double figures in six of his last eight games and is averaging 14.3 points over that span. For the season, the former East Carolina transfer is averaging 11.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
 
Utah's leading scorer is 6-foot-6 senior guard Gabe Madsen, one of the top 3-point shooters in the country. He currently ranks first in the Big 12 and 20^th nationally in 3-point attempts, connecting on a team-best 61 for 31.9%.
 
He made a season-high seven in a win earlier this season against Mississippi Valley State but has found the going much tougher in Big 12 play. In 11 conference games so far this year, Madsen has made just 21 of 90 for 23.3%.
 
"Offensively, they run a lot of sets with some really good actions, and they've got multiple guys who can go get 20 on any given night," West Virginia coach Darian DeVries said. "They do a nice job. They really execute and get you moving with their pieces on offense so there are some challenges there from a defensive standpoint."
 
Overall, the Utes are shooting 46% from the floor and are outboarding their opponents by an average of nearly five caroms per game. They have four players with more than 30 offensive rebounds so far this season, which could be an issue on Saturday considering West Virginia's lack of size.
 
Defensively, Utah does just about everything.

"They have a lot of defenses," DeVries noted. "The do triangle-and-two, box-and-one, two-three zone and man, so it's a lot to prepare for in a couple of days but we've been preparing for it for quite a while, and hopefully, we will be prepared for all of that."
 
Four of Utah's five conference victories have come at home against Oklahoma State, BYU, Cincinnati and Colorado, while its lone road win was at TCU, where WVU lost 65-60 on Wednesday night.
 
Utah shot 54.2% in the second half and assisted on 18 of its 24 made field goals in its 73-65 win over the Horned Frogs in Fort Worth on Jan. 15. Madsen led four double-digit scorers with 17 points, while 6-foot-9 sophomore forward Keanu Dawes came off the bench to tally 16 points and grab six rebounds.
 
Wahlin grabbed a team-best 11 boards, and Utah had a 41 to 35 advantage on the glass against TCU, which outrebounded West Virginia 34 to 26 on Wednesday night.
 
DeVries said Friday that his team's defense must be its calling card for the remainder of the season.
 
"In our last game, I thought we played really good defensively to start the game for about 15 minutes, and then to close the game, I thought we were pretty good defensive for a stretch," he said. "That's our whole key. If we can put it together for a full 40 minutes, then typically we end up on the right side of the scoreboard."
 
Javon Small led West Virginia (14-8, 5-6) with 20 points against the Horned Frogs, the 10^th time he's hit for at least 20 in a game this season. The Mountaineers are 7-3 in those games.
 
West Virginia's top on-ball defender, Sencire Harris, left Wednesday night's game with a lower body injury and was not on the floor for the final 7:56, including the late stretch when the score was tied at 58.
 
DeVries indicated Friday that he is uncertain of Harris' status for Saturday's game, already announced a sellout.
 
It has also been designated a Coal Rush game in dedication of the state's long history with the coal mining industry. The team will be wearing special black uniforms in honor of West Virginia's coal miners.
 
"Home games are huge for us, and we have a great home-court advantage, especially when the crowd is really engaged and into it," DeVries said. "We have one of the louder buildings in the country, and that impacts your chances of winning when you are at home, and you've got a crowd that can disrupt opponents with just sheer noise.
 
"Not only that, but it impacts your own team from just an energy standpoint, so we're excited to be home, excited to have a sellout, and it should be a great atmosphere," DeVries added.
 
The game will tip off at 5 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN+ (Eric Rothman and Tim Welsh).

Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage with Tony Caridi, Brad Howe and studio host David Kahn will get things going at 4 p.m. on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.