TCU-West Virginia Preview By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer
West Virginia's Jonathan Holton had one of his best performances of the season against TCU last month. His return from suspension gives him a chance to better that effort. After splitting four games without Holton, the No. 10 Mountaineers go for an eighth straight win over the last-place Horned Frogs in this Big 12 matchup Saturday. Holton was suspended four games for an undisclosed violation of team rules, leaving West Virginia (19-5, 8-3) without its second-leading rebounder (7.5 per game) and fifth-leading scorer (9.7 ppg). The senior forward finished two points shy of his season high Jan. 4, scoring 15 on 6-of-8 shooting with six boards in a 95-87 win over TCU (11-13, 2-9). Holton's return should bolster the Mountaineers on the glass after they were outrebounded in each of the last two games, falling 75-65 to sixth-ranked Kansas on Tuesday following an 80-69 victory over then-No. 15 Baylor last Saturday. "If you're not mentally ready to go this is a hard league to play in," coach Bob Huggins told the team's official website. Huggins is also looking for the Mountaineers to show improvement shooting after connecting on 37.3 percent from the floor - 5 of 20 from 3-point range - against the Jayhawks. "You just can't miss that many shots," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. "You can't miss that many transition opportunities. We had all kinds of transition opportunities and we didn't convert one." Daxter Miles Jr. had a forgettable game against Kansas, scoring two points while missing 7 of 8 shots. He had a season-high 20 points against the Bears three days earlier and contributed 14 at TCU last month. Jaysean Paige had a team-high 20 points in that matchup as West Virginia improved to 7-0 all-time against the Horned Frogs. Remaining perfect in the series will keep West Virginia tied atop the Big 12 as fellow co-leaders Kansas and Oklahoma meet in Norman later in the day. Huggins, though, isn't taking the Horned Frogs lightly since they shot 57.7 percent from the floor and 9 for 17 from long range against the Mountaineers. They ended a seven-game skid in conference play by beating visiting Oklahoma State 63-56 on Monday, but have lost five straight league road games by an average of 19.2 points. "They're playing better and they're going to play better because they are coached well," Huggins said of his counterpart Trent Johnson. "He coaches them up. I think because they were young on the perimeter they were maybe a little more inside-oriented the last time we played them. Then they started making shots. They are very capable of making shots as they did the other day against Oklahoma State." TCU had 44 points and shot 65.2 percent in the second half against the Cowboys. Brandon Parrish led the way with 15 points off the bench, but he was held to five against West Virginia last month. He was even worse in the last visit to Morgantown on Jan. 24, 2015, scoring three points in an 86-85 overtime defeat. TCU has lost 32 of its last 33 games against ranked opponents, including 11 in a row during which it has allowed 78.7 points and 51.6 percent shooting. The Horned Frogs have lost 34 consecutive such matchups on the road, dating to a win over No. 24 Hawaii on Jan. 19, 1998. |