WVU - Texas Tech Preview: Kansas City Crusade

2013 Big XII Tournament Bracket

Game Day Vitals

• West Virginia Mountaineers (8-13, Big XII 6-12) vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders (10-19, Big XII 3-15)
• Series Record - 3-0, first time in conference tournament
  
• Location - Sprint Center (Capacity: 18,972) Kansas City, MO
• Vegas Lines - (-8.5) for the good guys O/U 131.0
  
• Date: Wednesday, March 13th, 2013 at 7pm EST
• Television - Big 12 Network / ESPN3 / WatchESPN
  
• O/U on Bob/Pat Knight name drops: 1.5
  
• Radio Affiliates

Opponent Information

• Texas Tech Red Raiders (10-19, Big XII 3-15)
• Conference - Big XII
• Head Coach - Chris Walker, First year as head coach
• O/U on Billy Gillispie name drops: 2.5
  
• Last Result - Loss vs Texas 71-69
• Official Red Raiders athletics website
• BN Texas Tech blog - Viva the Matadors

Game Preview

Welp, the conference tournament is finally here. WVU successes this season are few and far between, including finishing 8th of 10 in the Big XII conference and effectively eliminating themselves from both the NCAA and NIT. While there have been grumblings of a possible CBI birth, I would say most of the fan base would like to just see the zeros on the clock and put this baby to rest. That being said, any experience for our future classes is good experience and there is, technically, the smallest sliver of hope for meaningful postseason play with four games ahead of the Mountaineers.

The helpful part of this dream that this team has been competitive against anyone in the conference. There have been games that get within 4-5 points where WVU just haven't been able to pull the trigger and take the lead. The only three teams that WVU have beaten in the conference have been Texas, TCU, and Texas Tech. Luckily, one of those is the opponent tonight.

The Mountaineers are favorites tonight and for good reason. While the last meeting against the Red Raiders was only a two point win at home, it can be conceived that the Mountaineers should be able to take care of business in a neutral site against an equally troubled squad. Jaye Crockett and Jordan Tolbert will get their points and keep this game competitive, but I expect Deniz Kilicli keeps his recent form along with Terry Henderson and Eron Harris hit some deep balls to keep the Mountaineers in the lead throughout the game.

Prediction:

WVU 70 - TTU 63