Nicholls State @ West Virginia preview

West Virginia bounced back from its first loss by pounding Austin Peay on Thursday and will try to make it two wins in a row when it hosts Nicholls on Saturday. The Mountaineers have three non-conference games left before diving into Big 12 play and are trying to build some momentum after earning their most lopsided win of the non-conference slate.

West Virginia dropped a 70-68 decision at St. John's last weekend but put it all together in the 84-53 rout of Austin Peay at home on Thursday. The Mountaineers shot 50.7 percent from the floor in the blowout, but coach Bob Huggins still found some things that his team needs to improve before the start of conference play. "I thought we played well in spurts," Huggins told reporters. "We start the game and turn it over eight times in the first half and just made some really bad plays. We've got to cut that out and do a better job of not giving them the ball back after we get it." The Colonels are winners of four in a row and already own a win over one major-conference foe - Pittsburgh - while playing Illinois and LSU tough in close losses.

TV: 2 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet

ABOUT NICHOLLS (6-4): The Colonels dropped a 78-70 overtime decision at Illinois in the opener, fell 75-65 at then-No 23 LSU and came close to winning at Rhode Island before falling 70-65, and they will not be intimidated on the road against a major-conference foe. Nicholls took a step down in competition with three straight games against non-Division I opponents but dominated in those three contests, beating Blue Mountain College, Campbellsville-Harrodsburg and Carver College by an average of 57 points. Senior guard Dexter McClanahan leads the team in scoring at an average of 17.1 points while shooting 36.1 percent from 3-point range.

ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA (8-1): The Mountaineers are solid on the inside with sophomore forward Emmitt Matthews Jr. and freshman forward Oscar Tshiebwe, who each recorded a double-double in Thursday's triumph. "Oscar got really active in the second half," Huggins told reporters. "We've been telling Oscar that his strength is that he runs. He runs better than any guy his size probably in the country, so why wouldn't you take advantage of that? Then, we've worked this week on getting some movement in the offense. When we're not stagnant, and when we move it, it makes guys like Oscar a lot better." Tshiebwe leads West Virginia in scoring (12 points) and rebounding (9.3) while Matthews averages 10.7 points and 5.2 boards.

TIP-INS

1. Mountaineers F Derek Culver was held to four points and five rebounds on Thursday after averaging 18.5 points and 14.5 boards in the previous two contests.

2. Nicholls G Andre Jones scored a season-high 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting in Wednesday's 118-44 triumph over Carver.

3. Tshiebwe recorded a double-double in four of the last eight games.

PREDICTION: West Virginia 71, Nicholls 52