MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — After nearly a month away from home, West Virginia returns to WVU Coliseum for a Big 12 showdown with defending national runner-up Texas Tech on Saturday night.
The No. 17 Mountaineers (11-2, 1-1 Big 12) haven’t played on their home floor since beating Nicholls State on Dec. 14 — so long ago that it took place in an entirely different decade.
The No. 22 Red Raiders (10-3, 1-1) are starting to piece things together as they replace multiple key players from last year’s Final Four run.
Here are three keys to West Virginia winning a game that may end up being crucial to both of these teams’ hopes of contending for a Big 12 title.
Hit the open shot
Sounds elementary enough, but it’s proven to be more difficult than it should be for the Mountaineers. With defenses focused on Derek Culver and Oscar Tshiebwe in the post, WVU is getting great looks from three-point range. But the Mountaineers are shooting 30.7 percent from downtown — 272nd in the country.
The shots will be there against the Red Raiders. Texas Tech is stingy inside, ranking 23rd in field-goal percentage on two-point shots. However, the Red Raiders are 200th against threes, with opponents hitting 33.4 percent of their attempts.
Emmitt Matthews, Sean McNeil, Taz Sherman, Miles McBride — the who doesn’t matter. Somebody needs to drain them.
Contain Ramsey
Freshman Jahm’ius Ramsey is a big reason the Red Raiders haven’t had a big drop-off from last season.
Ramsey is ready for the Big 12 level, dropping 18 points against Oklahoma State and 20 against Baylor. He hit a combined nine threes in those games, so someone needs to be hounding him at all times.
Stopping Ramsey seems unlikely, but the Mountaineers are capable of making him work hard for his points.
Protect the rock
West Virginia has rotated three different point guards. Against Oklahoma State, Bob Huggins even moved Jermaine Haley down from forward to handle the point for the middle portion of the game.
The lack of one player really holding down the role has shown in West Virginia’s turnovers. The Mountaineers are 262nd nationally in turnover percentage, giving the ball away on 20.9 percent of possessions.
Meanwhile, Texas Tech forces turnovers on 23.4 percent of possessions — good for 30th nationally. The Red Raiders can steal a road win by literally stealing the ball.