Game Preview: BYU vs. West Virginia men’s basketball
West Virginia looks to go 2-0 on a two-game homestand as they host BYU on Tuesday night at the WVU Coliseum.
WVSports.com offers a look at some key elements of the match-up to get you ready for tip-off.
SERIES: BYU leads 2-1
LAST MEETING: Feb. 3, 2024 in Morgantown — BYU 86, WVU 73
TELEVISION: CBSSN (Tom McCarthy/Chris Walker/Emily Proud)
TIP-OFF: 7:00 p.m. ET
COACHES
Darian DeVries, West Virginia
15-8 (1st season at WVU), 165-63 (7th season overall)
COACH, School
15-8 (1st season at BYU, 1st season overall)
LAST TIME OUT
BYU enters Tuesday coming off an 84-64 loss to Cincinnati on the road. The Cougars made 47 percent of their shots, but made only eight total shots in the second half against the Bearcats. BYU also shot 10-for-29 from three in the loss. Richie Saunders led the Cougars with 15 points scored.
West Virginia enters Tuesday off a 72-61 win over Utah on Saturday. The Mountaineers did it without Javon Small lighting up the stat sheet from the floor. Small was held to only 14 points, with nine of those points coming at the free throw line. WVU went 9-for-24 from beyond the arc, while they forced 10 turnovers leading to 16 points. Amani Hansberry led WVU with 17 points and seven rebounds.
By The Numbers — BYU (15-8, 6-6 Big 12)
BYU is fourth in the Big 12 in points per game at 80 per game, but in each of their six Big 12 losses, the Cougars have not scored more than 74 points and have scored more than 67 only twice. In their wins during league play, they are averaging 83 points per game.
Defensively, the Cougars are allowing teams to score 69.2 points per game on the season, which is 8th in the Big 12. During conference play, BYU is allowing 73.3 points per game, which is 12th in the league.
BYU has the best field goal percentage in the Big 12 during conference play, shooting 47.6 percent. From beyond the arc, they are the second-best shooting team during conference play, as they are making 36.9 percent of their 3-pointers. BYU’s defense ranks 11th in the league in field goal percentage during conference play, while their 3-point defense ranks 13th in the league when playing conference opponents.
BYU ranks 9th in the country in effective field goal percentage, while their offense ranks 17th as a whole in adjusted offensive efficiency. Defensively, BYU is 8th in offensive rebound percentage as a defense in the country.
Over their last five games, their most frequent lineup on the floor has been Egor Demin, Trevin Knell, Richie Saunders, Mawot Mag, and Keba Keita. They are playing 31.2 percent of the possessions together.
Saunders leads BYU and is 9th in the Big 12 this season averaging 15.1 points per game. Demin is second on BYU in scoring averaging 11.1 points per game. Keita leads BYU in rebounding, averaging 7.7 rebounds per game.
BYU comes into the game ranked 41st in the NET and 37th by KenPom. This is considered a Quad 1 game for BYU. They are 2-5 in such games this season, and are 3-3 in Quad 2 games.
By The Numbers — West Virginia (15-7, 6-6 Big 12)
West Virginia is averaging 69.4 points per game this season, which is 15th in the Big 12. Over WVU’s last eight games, the Mountaineers have only surpassed this mark once, and it was on Saturday against Utah. WVU’s opponents are averaging 63.6 points per game this season, and their opponents are averaging 63 points per game over the last eight games as well.
West Virginia is shooting 43 percent from the field, which is 13th in the Big 12, while their opponents are shooting 40.2 percent from the field, which is 4th in the league. West Virginia’s offense has eclipsed the 43-percent mark in each of their past four games. WVU’s opponents have eclipsed their season average in seven of the last eight games against the Mountaineers.
WVU is shooting 33.1 percent from beyond the arc this season, which is 12th in the Big 12 this year, while WVU’s 3-point defense is the best in the Big 12 at 28.8 percent. WVU is 8th in three-point defense by KenPom, while they are 17th in adjusted defensive efficiency.
Over their last five games, their most frequent lineup on the floor has been Javon Small, Sencire Harris, Jonathan Powell, Toby Okani, and Amani Hansberry. This lineup has been used 21.4 percent of the time.
WVU’s leading scorer is Small, who leads the Big 12 in scoring as well, averaging 18.9 points per game this season. Hansberry leads WVU in rebounding with 6.0 per game while Small is second with 4.5 per game.
West Virginia is ranked 38th in the NET, and 45th by KenPom. This is considered a Quad 2 game for WVU as the Mountaineers are 1-2 in such games this year.
Standings Implications
Both BYU and West Virginia are 6-6 in league play this year. If the season ended today, they would be in a three-way tie for seventh place in the Big 12, with Kansas State being the other 6-6 team.
Houston and Arizona are tops in the Big 12 at 11-1, Texas Tech is 9-3, Iowa State is 8-4 and Kansas and Baylor are 7-5.
Below both teams is Utah and TCU at 5-7, Cincinnati, UCF, Oklahoma State at 4-8, Arizona State at 3-9, and Colorado at 0-12. This week, WVU plays BYU and Baylor, while BYU plays the Mountaineers and then Kansas State at home.
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