MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In four seasons of Big 12 action TCU’s road ledger reads like a spreadsheet misprint.
Losses in 31 of 32 games. Outscored by an average of almost 16 points.
No wonder coach Trent Johnson says the Big 12 presents “no place to hide.”
Yet the Frogs came within seconds of winning in Morgantown last season and knocking off a West Virginia team destined for the Sweet 16. Only some heads-up telepathy by freshmen Daxter Miles and Jevon Carter saved the Mountaineers.
No. 10 West Virginia (19-5, 8-3) is similarly positioned for Saturday’s sold-out game when TCU (11-13, 2-9) returns to the WVU Coliseum. While Big 12 co-leaders Oklahoma and Kansas stage the weekend’s headliner in Norman, conventional wisdom says the Mountaineers should have a breather after the Frogs dropped this season’s five league road games by a margin of 23 points.
“It’s about to be March Madness time,” said West Virginia guard Tarik Phillip. “We’ve got to protect home court, keep winning games and not take no teams for granted. Teams are playing with their life on the line.”
Senior forward Jonathan Holton, reinstated from a four-game suspension, puts the Mountaineers at full-strength. The only nuance for coach Bob Huggins is whether to start Holton—as he did through the first 55 games of his WVU career—or play him off the bench.
“He’s been very remorseful after the initial why-me deal,” Huggins said. “He knows it’s his fault. He knows he let everybody down.”
Tipoff: Saturday noon at WVU Coliseum (ESPNU)
RPIs: West Virginia 9, TCU 160
Scouting TCU: The Frogs are 1-11 vs. the RPI top 100, that win coming 58-57 over Texas. … Guard Chauncey Collins (10.5 points, 3.2 rebounds) scored a career-high 20 vs. WVU in the first meeting but also committed five turnovers. … 6-foot-10 Slovakian import Vladimir Brodziansky (10.4 points, 4.7 rebounds) is a sophomore who prepped at the same Spanish academy as former WVU signee Volodymyr Gerun. … Guards Malique Trent (11.0 points, 3.0 assists) and Brandon Parrish (8.7 points, 3.4 rebounds), and forward Chris Washburn (8.4 points, 4.3 rebounds) are key parts of a rotation that shoots a Big 12-worst 41 percent from the floor but gets to the foul line third-most in the league. … Center Karviar Shepherd (8.0 points, 5.8 rebounds) is questionable after sitting out TCU’s previous game with a back injury.
WVU trends: The Mountaineers shot a season-best 57 percent Jan. 4 at TCU with six players scoring in double figures. Guards scored 48 of the team’s 50 second-half points … Holton was banned from team activities during his suspension and looked winded upon being reinstated for Thursday’s practice. “He was a little more out of breath than what he normally is,” Huggins said. “But Jon doesn’t have any body fat. Guys like him, they get into shape faster than you or I do.” … Devin Williams (13.4 points, 8.8 rebounds) grabs 28.3 percent of the missed shots on defense, tops in the Big 12. Holton owns the best offensive rebound percentage (18.9). … Sixth man Jaysean Paige (14.2 points, 3.6 rebounds) produced one of his five 20-point games in Fort Worth. Phillip score 18 and they combined to shoot 11-of-16. … Nathan Adrian (4.1 points, 3.0 rebounds) has made 8-of-10 3-pointers over a five-game stretch, while guard Jevon Carter (10.0 points, 3.3 assists) is in a 3-for-28 slump over eight games.
Line: West Virginia -18.5
Prediction: West Virginia 84-69