For a solid 60 seconds, the West Virginia Mountaineers had to think their Big XII Tournament was over with. They had fought hard against Oklahoma for the full 40 minutes, but they looked like they had been beaten in the semifinals on a Buddy Hield half-court shot at the buzzer. Hield's hand was just barely on the ball at the gun though, and the 'Eers celebrated their biggest win of the season.
With just 16 hours or so to rest up, Bob Huggins must get his team ready for its biggest challenge of the year against the Kansas Jayhawks.
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SCHEDULING
Live bettors can't like this spot for West Virginia. The Mountaineers were favored over Oklahoma, but national perception suggested that they were probably the lesser of the two teams. That was the battle of all battles for the full 40 minutes, and the fact that they played the late game at the Sprint Center on Friday night has to be concerning. This is a really short turnaround.
Kansas had to play hard against Baylor, but that win wasn't as close as 70-66 suggests. Live bettors know that game was punted away in the dying moments, as the Jayhawks were up by 13 with 1:21 to go before the Bears hit some shots to nail the backdoor. Devonte' Graham was the only member of the Jayhawks to play more than 31 minutes, and that came on the heels of a very easy game against Kansas State in the quarterfinals.
KEY MATCHUP
Physical guards with quick hands have given the Jayhawks problems all season long. They turned the ball over a stunning 22 times in a loss in Morgantown in January, and that was followed up by a 15-turnover performance versus WVU in February. KU did survive the second of those games by shooting the ball at a blistering pace, getting to the foul line a ton and playing stout defense, but the problems certainly still existed.
Graham had a particularly tough time. He turned the ball over five times in the second meeting of the year, and he fouled out of the first one while shooting 2-of-7 from the field. It's clear that he was frustrated by all of the pressure which the Mountaineers put on him.
Live bettors have to be ready for the run. We all know that it's coming. There are going to be three or four possessions in this game in which Kansas is careless with the basketball and either turns it over or puts up shots which it shouldn't. West Virginia can turn that into a 10-0 run in a hurry. It'll happen at least once for sure. If it happens more than once, the Jayhawks are in a lot of trouble.
KEY STATS & TRENDS
Since losing the second time this year to the Sooners, West Virginia has gone on a tremendous run of six straight wins both from an SU and an ATS perspective. A win in this game should surely see it on the No. 2 line on Selection Sunday, and the argument could be made for a No. 1 if Villanova, Michigan State and Virginia all lose on Saturday as well.
Kansas had played three straight over games before Friday's semifinal win over Baylor. The Jayhawks had their worst offensive half of the NCAAB season, scoring just 21 in the first 20 minutes. However, they fired back with 49 in the second half and still pushed the game past the total for live bettors who played the over at pretty much any point during the proceedings.
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