The West Virginia Mountaineers will remain in the state of Arizona when they face the first-ranked and unbeaten Arizona Wildcats, coached by Tommy Lloyd. WVU (13-6, 4-2) is coming off its first win away from Hope Coliseum in Morgantown this season. They took down the Sun Devils of Arizona State 75-63 on Wednesday night. The 19-0 Wildcats now await the Mountaineers in Tucson for a match-up on Saturday afternoon.
How to Watch WVU Basketball vs Arizona
Date: January 24th
Time: 2:00 PM EST
Venue: McKale Memorial Center, Tucson, AZ
How to Watch: CBS
Radio: Mountaineer Sports Network/Varsity Network
WVU Record: 13-6
No. 1 Arizona Record: 19-0
Arizona Preview
How They Got Here
To say the least, the Wildcats of Arizona are off to a very impressive start to the season, sitting at 19-0 in late January. They have moved up to #1 in the AP Poll after beginning the season ranked 13th. On paper, their non-conference slate was anything but a walk in the park, though they made it look like one at times. Arizona picked up notable wins in closely contested contests against Florida, UCLA, and UConn. They also picked up blowout wins over Auburn and Alabama.
While they have yet to play another ranked team in conference play thus far, the Wildcats are 6-0 to begin Big 12 play. 4 of their 6 wins have come by 13 or more points. They have defeated Utah, Kansas State, TCU, Arizona State, UCF, and Cincinnati.
Numbers to Know
10-26
The teams that Arizona has played thus far (mentioned above) in Big 12 play have a combined conference record of 10-26. This is not a slight at Arizona; they have been undeniably all-season long, including over the last 6 games. However, the fact of the matter is, they have faced several teams sitting at the bottom of the Big 12 standings at this moment.
43.4
The Wildcats are the 4th-best rebounding team in the nation, hauling in 43.4 rebounds per game. To go along with freshman sensation Koa Peat’s 5.8 rebounds per game, Arizona big men Motiejus Krivas and Tobe Awaka combine for 18 rebounds per game.
89.9 & 51.5
Arizona leads the Big 12 in both points per game (89.9) and field goal percentage (51.5). They rank in the top-13 nationally in both categories as well. Remarkably, Arizona’s top 7 scorers are averaging between 14.6 and 8.7 points per game.
14:12
Arizona is coming off a game in which it beat Cincinnati at home by a 26-point margin. However, at the 14:12 mark in the second half, the Bearcats trailed by just 2 points. The Wildcats closed the game on a 37-13 run over the last 14 minutes.
Players to Know
Freshman Koa Peat is likely to be a lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Against the defending champion Florida Gators, Peat scored 30 points, collected 7 rebounds, and 5 assists in his collegiate debut, leading the Wildcats to the victory. Peat leads the Wildcats in scoring, averaging 14.6 points per game, though he has not proven to be a threat from beyond the arc, making just 3 threes all season.
Brayden Burries has also been sensational as a freshman for the Wildcats. The 6’4 guard is averaging 14.2 points per game. His career high is 28 points, reaching that total against Alabama and Kansas State.
Jaden Bradley is a face that Mountaineer fans will recognize as the senior is in his 3rd season with the Wildcats. Bradley does a bit of everything for Arizona, averaging 13.7 points, 4.5 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per contest. He’s knocking down over 45% of his three-point shots with over 5 attempts per game.
The aforementioned Motiejus Krivas and Tobe Awaka have proven to be a handful for opposing teams on the glass. Krivas stands at 7-foot-2 and is averaging over 11 points and 8 rebounds, while Awaka is averaging a near double-double (10.4 points, 9.6 rebounds) while coming off the bench for 20 minutes per game.