After a 40-point performance from AJ Dybantsa and a Big 12 Tournament record 105 points, BYU next plays 7 seed West Virginia after beating Kansas State. After losing at West Virginia 79-71 February 28, BYU will look for revenge 11 days later.
This is a Quad 2 game for BYU and would beef up the resume a bit as BYU looks to snag a 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The game tips off at 6pm CT on ESPN2.
Advertisement
BYU and West Virginia by the numbers
West Virginia KenPom: 56
NET ranking: 58
Record: 18-13 (9-9 Big 12)
Best Wins: Cincinnati (H/A), Kansas (H), Colorado (H), Arizona State (A), Kansas State (H), UCF (A), BYU (H), UCF (H)
Losses: Clemson (N), Xavier (N), Wake Forest (N), Ohio State (N), Iowa State (A), Houston (A), Arizona (A), Baylor (H), Texas Tech (H), Utah (H), TCU (A), Oklahoma State (A), Kansas State (A)
AP Ranking: n/a
BYU KenPom: 25
NET Ranking: 24
Record: 22-10 (9-9 Big 12)
AP Ranking: n/a
KenPom Prediction: BYU 75, WVU 69 — BYU 69% win probability
Point Spread: BYU -4.5
Point Total: 142.5
West Virginia Overview and First Game Recap
West Virginia is the polar opposite of Kansas State. The Wildcats are the fastest tempo team in the Big 12, and the Mountaineers run the slowest tempo in the league and one of the slowest in the country. The Mountaineers aren’t normally a great offensive rebounding team, but they had 18 of them versus BYU and manufactured second chance points. Khadim Mboup was nursing a leg injury that game and had just 2 rebounds in 11 minutes.
Advertisement
West Virginia did a good job limiting AJ Dybantsa, holding him to 20 points and crowding him every time he got in the paint. Rob Wright scored 23 points and Alexsej Kostic scored 12 off the bench. BYU trailed by 14 points at halftime and got to within 3 points in the final couple minutes, but some turnovers and West Virginia second chance points were the difference in this game.
West Virginia’s 6-foot-9 forward Brenen Lorient killed BYU, scoring 18 points and grabbing 7 offensive rebounds. BYU held leading scorer Honor Huff to just 3-10 shooting from three, but his threes came at pivotal moments and he shot 6-7 from the foul line. The 5-foot-10 guard shoots as many threes as any player in the country and will be the focal point for BYU’s defense. West Virginia is the worst three-point shooting team in the Big 12 but has the second highest attempt rate in the conference after Texas Tech.
West Virginia is on the outskirts of the bubble and need a win in this game to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive.
Prediction
BYU is coming into this game with some confidence and West Virginia comes in motivated to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive. They made things difficult for AJ Dybantsa last game, and BYU will need someone like Moo Davis to knock down shots to open up some space for AJ.
Advertisement
I expect this to be a close game versus a motivated WVU team, but I think BYU comes out on top. Khadim Mboup was limited last game, but is more healthy now and playing his best ball of the season. He is coming off a 14 point rebound performance versus Kansas State and I think his presence evens out the rebounding battle and makes a difference in the outcome. Rob Wright is expected to play, but it will be worth monitoring if his lip laceration impacts him at all.
Prediction: BYU 71, West Virginia 69
