Texas Christian @ West Virginia preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 15, 2019 ) West Virginia 67, Texas Christian 98

Despite playing without five players who began the season on the roster, TCU coach Jamie Dixon told his team it was "time to play better" after dropping three straight games, including surprising losses to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. His Horned Frogs did just that Saturday against then-No. 20 Iowa State and will need the same focus down the stretch if they are to qualify for a second straight NCAA Tournament after a 19-year absence, and it starts Tuesday at West Virginia.

Kouat Noi returned from a two-game absence (ankle), had 20 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, TCU made nine 3-pointers and held Iowa State to just 2-of-20 from 3-point range - a 10-percent clip that was the lowest by a TCU opponent in five seasons - in the 75-72 victory. With Big 12 leaders Texas Tech and Kansas State coming up in the next week, the Horned Frogs can't afford to slip up against the Mountaineers, who they pasted 98-67 back on Jan. 15. West Virginia, which has dropped five straight games and is on the verge of just their second losing season in 17 years, led at Baylor 70-66 with 3:07 remaining on Saturday but a technical foul for having six players on the floor hurt the Mountaineers in the eventual 82-75 defeat. In the first meeting this season, Desmond Bane had 26 points while Alex Robinson added 14 and 10 assists in the TCU victory, but West Virginia leads the all-time series 12-2 with a 5-0 advantage in Morgantown.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPNU

ABOUT TCU (18-9, 6-8): TCU turned up the defense in the first half Saturday, holding Iowa State to 28 points, the third-fewest in a half this season for the Cyclones, who entered the game as the Big 12’s top offense. "You need some luck. They missed some open ones,” Dixon told reporters. “But when you look, they’re a 3-point shooting team and they only had 20 of their 70 shots; it means you probably weren’t giving them many good looks. A lot of broken plays that maybe got them some open looks. I thought we guarded well on the perimeter.” Bane ranks sixth in the Big 12 in scoring (15.1 points), and Noi seventh (15.0), Robinson, the school's all-time assists leader, ranks sixth in the nation in assists (7.1) and Kevin Samuel ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 2.1 blocks per game and has recorded at least one block in the last 10 games.

ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA (10-17, 2-12): Lamont West had 16 points, freshman Jordan McCabe added 14 points, five rebounds and four assists while Brandon Knapper (5.5 points, neck sprain) joined fellow starters James Bolden (12.2 points) and Sagaba Konate (13.6 points, 8.0 rebounds) on the sidelines with injuries. Derek Culver (11.4 points, 9.0 rebounds) had a rough night with nine points on 2-of-9 shooting and six turnovers in 26 minutes before fouling out, but the 6-10 freshman forward has averaged 11.8 points and 10.8 rebounds during the losing skid. Seldom-used 6-9 sophomore Andrew Gordon (2.3 points) played 15 minutes with Culver in foul trouble and contributed 13 points and four rebounds.

TIP-INS

1. Eight of TCU’s nine losses have been to opponents ranked inside the KenPom top 45.

2. West Virginia ranks fourth in the nation with 14.0 offensive rebounds per game.

3. The 31-point margin of victory for TCU in the first game with West Virginia was its largest ever in a Big 12 Conference game.

PREDICTION: TCU 81, West Virginia 68