PREVIEW: Mountaineers Face-Off Against the Wildcats

West Virginia and Kansas State look to get back in the win column

The West Virginia Mountaineers (14-10, 3-8) will wrap a two-game road trip against the Kansas State (13-11, 5-7) Wildcats Monday night at 7:00.

West Virginia grabbed the first meeting between the two programs 71-68 in Morgantown. WVU guard Sean McNeil led all scorers with 26 points on 9-15 shooting from the field, including 4-6 from three-point range, while his counterpart Taz Sherman put up 14 points. Kansas State was without head coach Bruce Weber and a couple of assistant coaches along with six players due to COVID-19 protocols.

Since then, The Wildcats are 4-6 while recovering from absences, notching conference wins over nationally-ranked Texas and Texas Tech. Sophomore guard Nijel Pack is averaging team-best 17.7 points per game on the year but has averaged 19.8 ppg in the last 10 outings, including a career-high 35-points against Kansas.

Kansas State guard Mark Smith’s production has also increased over the last 10 games averaging 13.9 ppg up from 10.3 ppg heading into the first meeting against West Virginia.

Like West Virginia, the Wildcats have not gotten much production for their frontcourt, with three forwards combining for an average of 14.4 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.

Jan 8, 2022; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Kedrian Johnson (0) steals the ball from Kansas State Wildcats guard Markquis Nowell (1) during the second half at WVU Coliseum / Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

The Mountaineers are coming off their tenth loss of the season after letting a winnable game at Oklahoma State turn into an 81-58 beatdown, shooting just 31.7% (19-60) from the field, along with 25.9% (7-27) from behind the arc while being outrebounded 48-24.

West Virginia has lost eight of the last nine games, and in those eight losses, the Mountaineers shot 35.9% from the field and 29.3% from three-point range.

West Virginia is 14-8 all-time versus Kansas State and has won four straight over the Wildcats. 

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