Kansas State meets West Virginia in the only Wednesday game due to Oklahoma State being banned from the Big 12 tournament because they are not eligible to make the postseason as punishment for committing NCAA violations.
The Mountaineers enter after a win in their final regular season game over TCU. Before that, though, they had lost seven straight and 14 of 15. K-State arrives after losing five consecutive contests.
Kansas State won the last meeting between the two clubs, 78-73 in Manhattan. Shooting was fairly even, the Wildcats won the turnover battle, and unsurprisingly, West Virginia out-rebounded K-State.
The big difference in the game came at the free throw line where Kansas State shot 39 free throws compared to just 24 for the Mountaineers. Thus, the wildcats out-scored West Virginia by 11 at the charity stripe.
It will feature the two worst defenses in the Big 12, while K-State had the better offense.
Markquis Nowell's status will be a major factor, as the transfer guard had one of his best games of the year when he scored 21 points versus the Mountaineers. Mark Smith scored 17 and collected 10 rebounds.
Nijel Pack scored 13 points but on 15 shots in one of his more inefficient games this season. Ismael Massoud also scored 13 points.
Taz Sherman led West Virginia with 23 points in Manhattan, while making 6 of 10 on his two-point attempts and 8 of 10 from the free throw line.
He was the key in breaking the Mountaineer losing skid with 25 points versus TCU that consisted of 6 of 11 from two-point range and a perfect 4 of 4 from the charity stripe. Sherman has also made at least three shots from beyond the arc in four of his last five games.
Kedrian Johnson scored 15 against Kansas State the last time but is coming off an injury and has scored just 11 total points over the last three games.
The last meeting in Manhattan was the best game of the season for Isaiah Cottrell when he found his way to 13 points. But it is his only double-digit scoring game this year.
Sean McNeil is West Virginia's second-leading scorer in Big 12 play, but he only scored five points in Manhattan. The streaky shooter is only 1 of 9 from distance in his last two contests.
Jalen Bridges scored nine points and grabbed 10 rebounds during the second meeting between the two squads and had 10 points and five rebounds versus the Horned Frogs in the win to finish the 2021-2022 campaign.
Malik Curry didn't score in Manhattan, but he has been hot lately, even from the bench. He's scoring 18.3 points per game over the last four for the Mountaineers.
SUMMARY AND PREDICTION
HOW TO WATCH: ESPNU
TIP TIME: 6:00 P.M. CST
FAN: It's hard to say what happens in Kansas City. Both teams finished the season poorly and have no real chance at postseason play outside of an unlikely four-game run to a Big 12 conference tournament title. With Nowell limited, it looks like a tough game for the Wildcats, plus West Virginia is coming in off a win and K-State has lost five straight. The Wildcats are tripped up in the first game, 68-66.
DY: _FAN has the same thoughts as me. The two main factors in my choice to lean towards the Mountaineers winning on Wednesday night are that they ended their losing streak and Kansas State padded their losing streak to finish the year and, while Markquis Nowell will play, he won't be his normal self and K-State hasn't won a game where he hasn't played. I don't know how much it moves the needle if he isn't 100 percent. West Virginia slides past Kansas State on the opening night, 77-74.
FLANDO: K-State nearly defeated West Virginia twice during the season, but fell just short in Morgantown after leading by 17 in a contest they only had one coach available. The Wildcats will have Markquis Nowell available after he was sidelined for two games with a hamstring injury. He probably won't be 100 percent and may not start, but they did miss his playmaking, ball-handling and perimeter defense. Defending Taz Sherman well and preventing him from having a special game will be paramount, but they also need to disrupt the rhythm of Sean McNeil and Jalen Bridges. Bruce Weber's tenure is almost up, but they are still probably the better team. Kansas State snaps their five-game losing streak and take care of the Mountaineers, 77-70.
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