As college basketball heads into the final weekend of the regular season, there are still some teams trying to secure NCAA Tournament bids.
One of those teams is West Virginia.
The Mountaineers sit at 17-13 and just 6-11 in the Big 12.
Although the metrics favor West Virginia, which is still in the top 20 on KenPom, the Mountaineers may need one more quality win to make the dance.
They will get that chance Saturday when Kansas State visits Morgantown.
It is established as a good place for mountaineers.
Six of Kansas State’s seven losses have come away from home.
In those six road losses, the usually stout Wildcats defense allowed an average of 79.6 points.
The matchup is even on paper, but one area in which Hills has a big edge is offensive rebounding.
West Virginia ranks 26th in offensive rebounding percentage and the smaller Kansas State frontline can push around in the paint.
Look for both teams to shoot a lot of free throws as well.
They each draw a lot of fouls thanks to their aggressive defenses and both rank in the top 40 in free-throw attempts per game on offense.
The first time they played, the two teams combined for 72 foul shots but made only 41.
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West Virginia shot just 52 percent from the line, which is surprising since the Mountaineers have shot 73 percent as a team this season.
Kansas State won the first meeting on December 31 in overtime.
Look for a more competitive matchup this time around, but expect a desperate West Virginia team to win on its home floor and move one step closer to an NCAA Tournament bid.
