Kansas @ West Virginia preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 4, 2020 ) West Virginia 53, Kansas 60

Udoka Azubuike had an historic effort in No. 3 Kansas' 60-46 victory over TCU on Saturday with 20 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks. The reigning Big 12 Player of the Week will look for a repeat against No. 14 West Virginia when the Jayhawks seek a ninth straight victory as they visit the WVU Coliseum on Wednesday.

Azubuike (13 points per game), who leads the NCAA in field-goal percentage (75.9) and leads the Big 12 in rebounding (9.7) and double-doubles (10), became the sixth Big 12 player in the league’s history to post at least 20 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots in a conference game. "He ran the floor, he protected the rim and the lane ... him getting 14 shots will always be good for us because he’s obviously going to make a high percentage because of where he shoots it from. I thought he played terrific," coach Bill Self said. The 7-footer dominated the Mountaineers in the Jayhawks' 60-53 win over West Virginia on January 4 at Allen Fieldhouse with 17 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks. West Virginia will be trying to bounce back from a 69-59 loss at Oklahoma on Saturday and improve to 7-0 in home conference games this season.

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN+

ABOUT KANSAS (20-3, 9-1 Big 12): Devon Dotson (18 points per game, 4.4 assists) added 18 points, a career-high 11 assists and three steals against the Horned Frogs in his second career double-double. TCU managed just two field goals in the final seven minutes in scoring a season-low points, which was the fewest Kansas has allowed in a Big 12 road game since 2013. According to KenPom, the Jayhawks have the No. 1 defense in the nation (84.8 points/100 possessions) - just ahead of West Virginia - and in Big 12 games alone lead in effective field goal percentage (41.7), block percentage (16.2) and lowest offensive rebound percentage (27.7).

ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA (18-5, 6-4): The Mountaineers, whose biggest concern is offense (they rank outside the top-250 in D1 in effective field goal percentage, 3-point percentage, free-throw percentage and turnover percentage) took 27 more shots than the Sooners but made just 24-of-76 for 32 percent. "Twenty-two misses within two feet of the basket … what other explanation is there?" West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said during his postgame radio show. "We took 76 shots. One of our guards took three shots, two of them didn't hit anything and one of them hit the backboard before it hit the rim. How do you explain that?" Leading scorers Oscar Tshiebwe (11.5 points, 9.1 rebounds) and Derek Culver (10.8 points, 8.9 rebounds) shot a combined 7-of-26 at the rim.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Kansas is 13-5 all-time against West Virginia. The Jayhawks are 2-5 versus West Virginia in Morgantown, but have just one win at WVU Coliseum since 2013.

2. Tshiebwe had 17 points and 17 rebounds against the Jayhawks earlier this year, but Culver was held to five points on 1-of-6 shooting, though did grab 12 rebounds.

3. After testing the Jayhawks, the Mountaineers travel to No. 1 Baylor on Saturday. “We’re good enough to beat anybody in the country if we have the right frame of mind," Huggins said after the Oklahoma loss.

PREDICTION: West Virginia 64, Kansas 62