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West Virginia Basketball Primed To Win Big 12

By Joshua Taylor

Feb 2, 2016; Ames, IA, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Jaysean Paige (5), West Virginia Mountaineers guard Tarik Phillip (12) and West Virginia Mountaineers forward Esa Ahmad (23) celebrate as time expires after beating the Iowa State Cyclones at James H. Hilton Coliseum. West Virginia Mountaineers beat the Iowa State Cyclones 81-76. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 2, 2016; Ames, IA, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Jaysean Paige (5), West Virginia Mountaineers guard Tarik Phillip (12) and West Virginia Mountaineers forward Esa Ahmad (23) celebrate as time expires after beating the Iowa State Cyclones at James H. Hilton Coliseum. West Virginia Mountaineers beat the Iowa State Cyclones 81-76. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports /
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As teams try to position themselves in conference play across the country, the Big 12 is up for grabs and West Virginia basketball can make a statement.

The Mountaineers have never finished higher than fifth since joining the conference, and were picked to finish sixth in the preseason. The Big 12 Conference currently has a three-way tie with West Virginia, Oklahoma, and Kansas all at 8-3 in conference play. Two other teams, Baylor and Texas are on their heels at 7-4. While it’s certainly possible WVU can still find themselves in sixth place, it would be hard to do so.

West Virginia has their best chance to win the Big 12 since joining the conference, and potentially dethroning Kansas who has won 11 straight regular season titles. With only seven games remaining, the Mountaineers appear to be the favorite in all them. Compared to their counterparts, WVU also has the easiest route as crazy as it may seem.

The Mountaineers will face a seven game stretch against a combined 36-41(.468) record of their opponents. Most notable is #3 Oklahoma on February 20th. West Virginia fell 70-68 in Norman earlier in the season. Most assume WVU will hold strong at home in the rematch with so much on the line.

The best part for West Virginia fans, they no longer have to worry about Kansas with whom the Mountaineers split the season series with. There are two games WVU fans should worry about however, at Texas and at Baylor. These two will prove to be harder than the rest, including Oklahoma.

West Virginia had one of their arguably worst games of the season when Texas was able to steal a win in Morgantown by seven points. The Mountaineers shot a whopping 8-23 from the free throw line, which has to be corrected for the trip to Austin. The press defense only managed to create eight turnover which is a huge problem for WVU. Head coach Bob Huggins blamed the loss on the players not being mentally in to it, and has since seemed to fix that problem. Expect a West Virginia win in Austin, but not an easy one. Surely the Mountaineers won’t have a repeat of what happened back home.

One of the scariest games that should be circled is at Baylor. While West Virginia handled the Bears with ease at home, on the road is totally different. The biggest upside to this game is senior forward Jonathan Holton is back, if West Virginia could beat Baylor by 11 without him, what can they do with him? Again, you should expect a Mountaineer win to close the regular season.

This is the best team WVU fans have seen since the 2010-2011 Final Four squad. A Big 12 Conference championship would be the tip of the iceberg on what proves to be a special season for the Mountaineers. Can the Mountaineers knock Kansas off of their throne?

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