The West Virginia Mountaineers were rolling along until last time out, when they were shocked at home by the lowly Oklahoma Sooners. It was a big blow to their chances of winning the Big 12 regular season title, and they must be nearly perfect the rest of the way to catch Kansas.
West Virginia will look to get back onto the comeback trail with a road win against the Kansas State Wildcats. This is not an easy game, as Kansas State is a quality foe which has the home court advantage.
The Mountaineers are still the better team and have the firepower to win this one if they play well.
At 6 p.m. ET, tune into ESPN2 for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Saturday, January 21, 2017, at the Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas.
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West Virginia is 15-2 straight up and 9-5 against the spread. The Mountaineers have played four true road games and have covered half of them. West Virginia is 8-5 against the spread as the favorite this year and figures to have that role again. The Mountaineers have only been the underdog once this season.
Kansas State is 13-4 straight up and 8-4-1 against the spread. The Wildcats are 3-2-1 against the spread at home. They have been the underdog only twice but have managed to cover both times.
Player to Watch
Nathan Adrian -- One of West Virginia’s top players is its senior forward. He averages 10.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals per contest.
He never averaged more than 5.4 points per game in any of his previous three seasons but has really progressed and now he is one of the go-to-players. Adrian isn’t always a reliable scorer, but if he can put up points it will give his team a solid chance to win.
Adrian starred in the team’s recent upset of No. 1 Baylor, scoring 22 points and adding six rebounds and three steals. He also performed nicely last time out, scoring 14 points, including hitting three three-pointers, but it wasn’t enough in the loss to Oklahoma.
Key Stat
Six. That’s the number of players Kansas State has that averages at least nine points per game. The Wildcats have nice offensive balance, which is important against a solid defensive team like the Mountaineers.
Barry Brown leads the way with 12.1 points per game, while D.J. Johnson scores 12.0 points per game and Wesley Iwundu adds 11.9. Kamau Stokes (11.3 points) and Dean Wade (10.3 points) also average in double figures, while Xavier Sneed adds 9.1 points per contest.
While Kansas State has good depth, it still scores about 14 fewer points per game than West Virginia, so all the players will need to step up in order for the Wildcats to have a shot at capturing this win.
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The Mountaineers had been so solid this season, highlighted by a win over then-No. 1 Baylor, so the overtime loss to Oklahoma was truly a shock. West Virginia, though, still has plenty of motivation to get back into the race for the conference title and lock down a top seed in March Madness.
Kansas State has played well enough to be in consideration for an NCAA men’s basketball tournament bid as well, and a win here would go a long way in securing that. The Wildcats played nationally ranked Kansas extremely tough a few weeks ago and hopes to get over the hump in this game against another top-10 foe.
West Virginia may have lost a head-scratcher last time out, but it should be able to rebound in this one. Kansas State has a solid team but it won’t be quite enough in this conference showdown.
College Basketball Odds: West Virginia 78, Kansas State 73
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