West Virginia @ Kansas preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 15, 2019 ) West Virginia 74, Kansas 88

West Virginia had arguably played one of the most difficult schedules in the country this season, but there was one glaring omission on its resume prior to last weekend - a victory over a Top 25 opponent. The 17th-ranked Mountaineers picked up that signature win in a virtual road contest against fifth-ranked Ohio State and will attempt to get their first victory in Allen Fieldhouse in eight tries Saturday when they visit No. 3 Kansas.

Facing the one-loss Buckeyes in Cleveland - just over two hours away from their Columbus campus - West Virginia dominated the second half while holding Ohio State to a season-low point total en route to a 67-59 victory. "I wasn't very happy with (my team) at halftime because I didn't think we played as hard as they did and we got in foul trouble. Then they came out in the second half and played as well as we've played defensively all year," coach Bob Huggins told reporters after his team forced the Buckeyes into 5-for-24 shooting after intermission. The Jayhawks bounced back from a one-point Dec. 21 loss at Villanova with last Sunday's 72-56 victory at Stanford despite not getting much help offensively from Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year Udoka Azubuike. Kansas' defense continued to assert itself in a big way, holding the Cardinal scoreless for the first 7:49 of the game and without a field goal for the first 11:49.

TIME: 4 p.m. ET. TV: No TV

ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA (11-1): Myles McBride (8.8 points) was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week after scoring six of his season-high 21 points over the final 2:22 against the Buckeyes, marking the third time in as many games he's reached double figures after doing so only twice in his first nine outings. Coach Bob Huggins was complimentary of fellow reserve guard Chase Harler (4.5), who amassed season highs in points (10) and minutes (24) while converting four of his six field-goal attempts. "Chase played really, really well. You can hardly measure what he brings to us. He did a great job of coaching them on the floor and he may be our best on-the-ball defender. I've been elated with what he's giving us," Huggins said.

ABOUT KANSAS (10-2): After getting shut out in the loss to Villanova, senior sharpshooter Isaiah Moss (7.9 points) came off the bench to lead the Jayhawks in scoring for the second time this season, finishing with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting - including 4-of-7 beyond the arc. Azubuike (13.0 points, 8.8 rebounds) battled foul trouble while scoring a season-low two points and committing a season-high five turnovers over 27 minutes, but he still managed to pull down 13 boards and is averaging 11.5 over the last four contests. Sophomore guard Devon Dotson (Big 12-best 18.8 points, 4.6 assists, 2.3 steals) has scored at least 10 points in 18 consecutive games and recorded multiple steals in six of his last seven.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Kansas has held its opponents to fewer than 60 points six times in 2019-20, matching its total from last season.

2. Huggins is seven wins shy of tying Adolph Rupp for seventh place in NCAA history with 876 coaching victories.

3. The Jayhawks have won 28 consecutive conference openers.

PREDICTION: Kansas 78, West Virginia 69