West Virginia Opens Big 12 Conference Slate vs. Kansas State
Manhattan, KS - The No. 24 West Virginia Mountaineers (10-2) will begin their Big 12 Conference slate on the road versus the Kansas State Wildcats (11-1) Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. EST with the action streaming on ESPN+.
Jan 8, 2022; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Kedrian Johnson (0) dribbles the ball up the floor during the second half against the Kansas State Wildcats at WVU Coliseum.
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The Wildcats are a perfect 7-0 in at home this season behind a stingy defensive that allows a mere 56.7 points per game inside the comfy confines of the Bramladge Coliseum, but they’ve been just as effective on the road and rank third in the Big 12 in scoring defense, 30th nationally, at 60.8 points per game.
Leading Kansas State in scoring is Florida transfer Keyontae Johnson (6’6”, 230-lbs), averaging 17.7 points per game and grabs a team-best 6.8 rebounds per game. This is the first season back for Johnson after collapsing on the floor against in-state rival Florida State less than two years ago.
"He was a McDonald’s All-American. He was the best player Florida had,” said West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins. “When he went down, that’s when they (Florida) really struggled. He can shoot it and he can bounce it, and he can pass it.”
Kansas State Wildcats forward Keyontae Johnson (11) is defended by Butler Bulldogs guard Chuck Harris (3) at Hinkle Fieldhouse, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022, during Butler s 76-64 win over Kansas State.
The Indianapolis Star
He’s led the team in scoring six out of the 12 games this season, not including a career-high 28 points in the fifth game of the season versus Nevada where teammate Markquis Nowell went for a season high, and a Wildcat career-best, 29 points.
“He’s the one making the passes, he’s the one penetrating with the ball, he’s the one drawing defenders and he’s a terrific passer,” said Huggins. “I think the vast majority of what happens from a people getting other people open,’ comes from him.”
Nowell’s 8.3 assists per game are good for second in the country while swiping a team best two steals per game and leads the team from behind the arc, shooting 45.9% from three-point range.
“He’s the engine that makes the train run, there’s no doubt,” said Huggins.
Forward Nae’Qwan Tomlin (6’10”, 210-lbs) has twice led the team in scoring third on the team in scoring at 11.7 ppg and second rebound at 6.1 rpg. Huggins says he brings “versatility” to the lineup.
“He can step outside and shoot it. He’s active around the rim. He really shows himself on cuts. He’s the receiver of a lot of passes because he’s always aware but really, he’s ultra-athletic. He doesn’t really have a position, it’s multiple positions.”
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West Virginia will have forward Emmitt Matthews Jr. back in the lineup after a knee injury kept the senior sidelined the last two games. The Mountaineers struggled during the two-game stretch, making runs late in the second half to pull away from Buffalo and Stony Brook.
West Virginia is averaging 81.3 ppg which ranks third in the conference and 30th nationally with all four of the top leading scorers joining the program via the transfer portal. Except, put an asterisk next to Matthews 10.8 ppg due to spending his first three seasons at WVU before transferring to his home state of Washington for a season with the Washington Huskies.
“I think we’re getting better,” said Huggins. “When you put together a bunch of guys from different ways of doing things. We’re trying to get these guys to understand what we want done. The one guy that knows what’s going on is Emmitt.”
Guard Erik Stevenson leads the team in scoring at 14.5 ppg, forward Tre Mitchell is behind Stevenson, averaging 12.8 ppg followed by Matthews, and wrapping up the four Mountaineers averaging double figures is guard Joe Toussaint’s 10.8 ppg, who is also tied with guard Kedrian Johnson for a team-leading 3.3 assists per game.
West Virginia is 15-9 all-time versus Kansas State, including winning five of the last six meetings.
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