By james art 
Television Schedule: Wednesday, January 29, 6:00 pm CST ESPN+
Arena: Wvu Coliseum in Morgantown West Virginia
West Virginia is one of the biggest surprises in basketball at college this season. The climbers and their new chief coach Darian Devris are in an excellent position to make the NCAA tournament this year. All this aside, the mountaineers have a huge game at home against Houston Kugari. Cugars enter the game with a perfect 8-0 record and are planned to win the rest of their Kenpom games.
Cugars are not as good in the offensive end as their previous teams, but they should not be. Their defense is elite and makes it an absolute job to get offended. Isn’t the protection always great for Houston? Yes, but this year is the best thing that was once for Houston, and it all starts with their background. Milos Uzan (9.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists) is one of the best guards in the country, and although it does not bring in the speed in which Houston Guards have inserted into the past, it anchors the best Protection in the country’s defense and makes sure that his teammates receive the ball in the shooting pocket, ready to shoot. Uzan is a huge reason to turn the ball to the least amount of anyone in the country.
So, how does Houston get? Well, they are one of the best shooting teams in the country, shooting 39% as a team. Emmanuel Sharp (13.4 points and 45% of three) and LJ Cryer (13.5 points and 40% of the deep) are deadly from deep and when rolling, they can extend the game quickly. Cryer is a leading goal scorer for Cougars and has a very diverse offensive game. It can score from the three levels and it is difficult to stop when it goes down. Houston has the best back plan in the big 12 and maybe one of the best in the country.
The three-point firing, ball control and defense are how Houston always does it, and even if it is the least talented list the Sampson coach had in a few seasons, they are still the favorites to win the big 12.
West Virginia hopes to avenge the loss of a worse season of Houston. The climbers hope they can make some adjustments to the offensive end of the floor to make it easier to get into Houston. Western Virginia will need many boys to activate to make it happen. Western Virginia is conducting a crime that does not do well against protection like Houston, with a lot of isolation for its best player.
The climbers get the bigger part of their estimates from one player, but this player is good and can do many things. Javon Small (19.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists) is a leading goal scorer in the big 12 and had to be a volume shooter this season. If he hits pictures, especially from deep, the mountaineers are very difficult to win. In losses for the mountaineers, they were too one -dimensional in the offensive end.
Western Virginia can also play a little protection and will be able to provide some Houston resistance in the offensive end, and most of all by blocking shots and rollover. The question is not how many points Houston can score, but can Western Virginia mark? Cugars kept the mountaineers until their lowest rating of the year. What will the mountaineers do to change this, especially if the little ones do not play better than he did the first time?
Forecast: Houston 70, West Virginia 55