Kansas Jayhawks vs. West Virginia Mountaineers in Big 12 Tournament: Time, TV, preview
The details
When/where: 2 p.m. Thursday at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City
TV/radio: ESPN; WHB (810 AM)
About No. 1 seed Kansas (25-6, 14-4 Big 12): KU leads the all-time series versus the Mountaineers, 17-6. Bill Self and Bob Huggins have coached in each of those games. … KU, which went 2-0 versus West Virginia during the regular season and 1-1 versus the Mountaineers in 2020-21, has won seven of the last eight and 11 of the last 13 in the series. … The Jayhawks defeated WVU, 85-59, on Jan. 15 at Allen Fieldhouse and again, 71-58, on Feb. 19 in Morgantown, West Virginia. In the game in Lawrence, Jalen Wilson scored 23 points with eight rebounds and five assists. Ochai Agbaji had 20 points and seven boards and David McCormack 19 points and 15 boards. Malik Curry came off the bench to score 23 for WVU. KU had 23 assists to WVU’s five. In the game in Morgantown, Agbaji had 23 points and McCormack 19. Sean McNeil had 18 points and Taz Sherman 16. … KU is 3-0 vs. WVU in the Big 12 tournament. ... KU needed overtime to beat WVU in Lawrence in the 2014-15 and 2016-17 campaigns. … Bill Self is 17-6 vs. WVU. … Since the Big 12’s inception in 1996-97, KU is 47-12 in the league tournament. ... KU is 1-0 in opening round games, 21-3 in the quarterfinals, 14-6 in the semifinals and 11-3 in finals. … KU is the No. 1 seed for the Big 12 tournament for the 17th time. KU is 31-7 as the 1-seed. The Jayhawks have won eight of their 11 Big 12 tourney titles as 1-seed. KU was the 1-seed in 2020 when the tourney was canceled due to COVID. … KU is 43-10 in T-Mobile Center. … Self is 753-229 all-time including a 547-124 mark at KU. … KU’s 11 Big 12 tourney titles are more than any other school in the league. Iowa State is second with five titles.
About No. 9 seed West Virginia (16-16, 4-14 Big 12): West Virginia has won two straight games after losing seven in a row. … The Mountaineers defeated Kansas State, 73-67, in a first-round Big 12 tournament game on Wednesday at T-Mobile Center. Sean McNeil scored 21 points and Malik Curry 17. Taz Sherman had nine points and nine boards. ... WVU’s main threats from beyond the arc are Sherman, who has made 63-of-182 (34.6%) threes and McNeil, 56-of-150 (37.3%). Jalen Bridges is 37-of-113 (32.7%) . … It was announced on Dec. 20 that WVU coach Bob Huggins is eligible for the 2022 class of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. With a win against Clemson on Nov. 21, Huggins moved past Roy Williams for fourth place on the NCAA all-time Division I winningest coaches list. Huggins’ record now stands at 916-398 in his 40th season as a head coach. … WVU in 2020-21 made its 10th NCAA appearance in 14 years and 12th appearance in the last 17 seasons. WVU has made 16 postseason appearances in the last 18 years, including the NCAA Final Four in 2010. … This season, WVU has seven seniors, including five who are in their fifth year of eligibility because of COVID-19. ... WVU has reached the finals in three of the last five Big 12 tournaments and the semifinals in four of the last five.
Projected lineups
P | No. | Kansas | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 33 | David McCormack | 6-10 | Sr. | 10.1 |
F | 10 | Jalen Wilson | 6-8 | So. | 10.8 |
G | 30 | Ochai Agbaji | 6-5 | Sr. | 19.8 |
G | 2 | Christian Braun | 6-6 | Jr. | 14.9 |
G | 3 | Dajuan Harris | 6-1 | So. | 5.4 |
P | No. | West Virginia | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 11 | Jalen Bridges | 6-7 | So. | 8.5 |
F | 3 | Gabe Osabuohien | 6-7 | Sr. | 4.9 |
G | 12 | Taz Sherman | 6-4 | Sr. | 18.0 |
G | 22 | Sean McNeil | 6-3 | Sr. | 12.5 |
G | 0 | Kedrian Johnson | 6-3 | Sr. | 5.3 |
This story was originally published March 10, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
