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Game Day Vitals
- #23 West Virginia Mountaineers (19-6, Big XII 7-5, NCAA RPI 28) vs. #8 Kansas Jayhawks (21-4, Big XII 10-2, NCAA RPI 1)
- Series Record: 1-3, last matchup was last year's beatdown turned almost awful in Morgantown W 92-86
- Location: Lyons Den (Capacity: 14,000) Morgantown, West Virginia
- Vegas Lines: (+2) for the good guys, O/U: 147.5
- Date: Monday, Feb 16, 2015, 9:00 PM EST
- Television: ESPN / WatchESPN
- Radio Affiliates
Opponent Information
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- #8 Kansas Jayhawks (21-4, Big XII 10-2, NCAA RPI 1)
- Head Coach - Bill Self, 12th year with KU, 547–177 career (.755)
- Last Result - Victory in Lawrence vs. #16 Baylor W 74-64
- Official Jayhawks athletics website
- SBN KU blog - Rock Chalk Talk
The Interwebs
I don't care how many times I do this in a row. As long as I'm writing the previews, this will always be my go-to for KU:
And... yep.
oh, Kansas.
— Santa Beebe (@DanBeebe) March 8, 2014
OHHHHHHHH KANSAS
— Santa Beebe (@DanBeebe) March 8, 2014
JOEL EMBIIDS BACK IS FINE HE JUST DIDNT WANT ANY PART OF THIS DUMPSTER FIRE
— Santa Beebe (@DanBeebe) March 8, 2014
BILL SELF SOLEMNLY SHAKING ANOTHER COACHS HAND AS HE WALKS OFF THE FLOOR MARCH HAS TRULY ARRIVED
— Santa Beebe (@DanBeebe) March 8, 2014
ITS OK KANSAS YOULL JUST BE A 4 SEED THIS YEAR NOTHING BAD HAPPENS TO 4 SEEDS RIGHT KANSAS
— Santa Beebe (@DanBeebe) March 8, 2014
THEYRE GONNA BE HATESPANKING THEMSELVES IN LAWRENCE TONIGHT FOLKS #KUTEARS #KUTEARS #KUTEARS #KUTEARS #KUTEARS
— Santa Beebe (@DanBeebe) March 8, 2014
KU FANS HAVE A DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE #KUTEARS RT @Mooreboy76: @DanBeebe didn't Michigan go to the National Title game as a 4 seed last year?
— Santa Beebe (@DanBeebe) March 8, 2014
ITS OK IF WIGGINS HAS TO CARRY THE TEAM IN THE TOURNEY THAT ALWAYS WORKS JUST LOOK AT ALL THE RINGS DURANT GOT IN TEXAS
— Santa Beebe (@DanBeebe) March 8, 2014
Direct Message to Andrew Wiggins: I WISH YOU WERENT CANADIAN SO YOU COULD TELL YOUR TEAMMATES THEYRE HOLDING YOU BACK AND YOU DESERVE BETTER
— Santa Beebe (@DanBeebe) March 8, 2014
HOPE THATS ALL HE WANTS RT @RockChalkBlog: .@DanBeebe Wiggins already has a Big 12 championship ring.
— Santa Beebe (@DanBeebe) March 8, 2014
IF THE BEST TEAM IN THE BIG 12 CAN GET WORKED LIKE THAT THEN IM PRETTY SURE WINNING THE BIG 12 ISNT EXACTLY A BIG DEAL
— Santa Beebe (@DanBeebe) March 8, 2014
GOD I DONT EVEN CARE WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE REST OF MY WEEKEND IF SOME 6 YEAR OLD COMES UP AND KICKS ME IN THE DICK IM STILL SMILING #KUTEARS
— Santa Beebe (@DanBeebe) March 8, 2014
According to the latest NCAA and ESPN RPI rankings, the Kansas Jayhawks are the best, most proven team in the country. KU sits with a #2 seed under Joe Lunardi's bracketology, but Bill Self's squad can easily do work on the rest of their schedule to make up ground of that elusive #1 seed. Either way you look at it, the Jayhawks are one of the nation's premier teams and a contender for the national title. Furthermore, they have the ability to run teams off the court, even the good ones. At the same time, Kansas is not immune to slipping every once and a while.
In fact, the Jayhawks do have an Achilles heel that comes in the form of field goal percentage. Kansas shoots around 44% which lands them at 132nd nationally. The Mountaineers would murder for that kind of average (41.2%, 277th), but this is a key in this game. In three of KU's four losses, they shot less than 40% and one of those defeats was against a stingy, in-your-face Kentucky defense. While West Virginia does not have the athleticism and pure talent that the Wildcats possess, it is not that much of a stretch to believe that the Mountaineers could have a shot at this if Kansas does not respond well to pressure defenses. There is a reason that WVU is first in several national defensive statistics, but the Mountaineers MUST make those turnovers count. Same story as always. If West Virginia does not make shots, this will get ugly. I'm an optimist, so I think the Coliseum will have fun tonight.
Prediction: WVU 78, Kansas 74