West Virginia @ Tennessee preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 23, 2007 ) West Virginia 72, Tennessee 74

Tennessee barely survived its first game as the No. 1 team in the nation earlier this week with a remarkable performance from junior forward Grant Williams and looks to make things easier on itself Saturday against visiting West Virginia in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. Williams scored a career-high 43 points, making all 23 of his free throws, as the Volunteers rallied for an 88-83 overtime triumph over Vanderbilt on Wednesday, extending their winning streak to 13.

Junior point guard Jordan Bone called Williams’ effort “incredible” and told the Knoxville News Sentinel: “We didn’t panic down the stretch. We trusted coach and we trusted what we practice every single day.” Williams, a candidate for national player of the year, is averaging a team-high 20.3 points on 56.9 percent shooting while hauling in 7.5 rebounds per contest and could have his way against a West Virginia team that is without its top scorer and has lost six of the last seven contests. The Mountaineers are 3-7 since 6-8 Sagaba Konate (13.6 points) went down with a knee injury and the junior forward may begin practicing soon as West Virginia tries to salvage its season. The Mountaineers are shooting 42.1 percent from the field overall - tied for 290th in the nation - after connecting on just 38.7 in the 85-73 loss to Baylor on Monday and coach Bob Huggins told reporters: “I don’t understand how we can continually miss the shots that we miss.”

TV: 4 p.m. ET, ESPN

ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA (9-10): Junior guard James Bolden is the leading active scorer for the Mountaineers (12.8) and has averaged 20 points in the past four games after being shut out by Kansas State on Jan. 9. Senior forward Esa Ahmad contributes 12.3 points per contest while 6-10 freshman forward Derek Culver (10.9 points, team-high 8.3 boards) has scored in double figures six of his nine games, but was held to three by Baylor on 1-of-8 shooting. Junior forward Lamont West, who averages 10.6 points, is just 1-of-8 from behind the arc the past three contests.

ABOUT TENNESSEE (17-1): Senior guard Admiral Schofield, the team’s second-leading scorer (16.7), struggled the past two games while connecting on just 6-of-26 from the field and 1-of-10 from 3-point range. “The fact we are able to win games with (Schofield) not playing great, I think speaks volumes for our team,” coach Rick Barnes told the Knoxville News Sentinel. “It happens. I’ve never been around a player that didn’t go through a struggle at some point in time. He will figure it out.” Bone averages 13.3 points and a team-high 6.4 assists, including 22 total the last three.

TIP-INS

1. Ahmad is 17 points away from becoming West Virginia’s 53rd player to reach 1,000 in his career.

2. Tennessee senior F Kyle Alexander leads the team in rebounding (7.6) and blocked eight shots the past two games.

3. The Mountaineers lead the all-time series 5-3, but the Volunteers won the last meeting 74-72 in 2007.

PREDICTION: Tennessee 80, West Virginia 66