MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — If anyone knows the insides and outs of Kansas’ Allen Fieldhouse, it’s West Virginia forward Derek Culver.
Foul trouble, poor shooting nights, second-half comebacks by the Jayhawks, yeah, Culver has experienced it all in two previous trips to Kansas’ home court.
“It’s always an honor to play in the field house,” Culver said. “There’s a lot of history in that building and a lot of great players have played on that court. It will be a lot different without all of the fans.”
The No. 8 Mountaineers (7-1, 1-0 Big 12) survived its Big 12 opener Friday with a 70-65 victory against Iowa State.
Afterwards, Culver said the close game — WVU was a 15-point favorite going in — was a result of the Mountaineers playing down to the competition.
“I said this during my last interview; we’re a victim of playing down to our competition a lot,” he said. “I don’t understand why we do that. I’m guilty of it, too. I’m probably one of the most guilty out of everyone.”
WVU was happy to escape with a win and was simply ready to move on.
Moving on means looking forward to a top-10 showdown with the fifth-ranked Jayhawks (7-1, 1-0) at 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Both teams have something in common heading into the game — their only loss of the season came against top-ranked Gonzaga.
“They’re playing really well,” WVU head coach Bob Huggins said of the Jayhawks. “If you look at our loss against Gonzaga, it’s a block-charge call away from us maybe winning the game. If you look at their game against Gonzaga, it’s kind of the same way.”
WVU will be armed with its highest-ever national ranking when traveling to Kansas, not that it will be a high priority on the minds of WVU players.
Instead, WVU has a goal of winning the Big 12 title and challenging for a spot in the Final Four.
Like in years’ past, getting there means going through the Jayhawks.
“If we can get out of our own way, we’ll be fine,” Culver said. “To be honest, I’m not too worried about the other teams we play. I worry about ourselves more than the other team. If we do what we’re supposed to do, we’ll be fine. There aren’t too many other teams that scare us. We’re our own worst enemy at times.”
WVU has been its own worst enemy at Kansas, too, in recent seasons.
The Mountaineers lost there in overtime in 2017, after holding a 14-point lead with 2:58 left in regulation.
WVU went 12 of 22 from the foul line at Kansas last season and lost by seven.
WVU is 0-8 all-time at Allen Fieldhouse.
“West Virginia has never won at Kansas and that’s one thing I would like to give (Huggins) and to this state,” WVU guard Taz Sherman said. “It’s not even about me and how I play there. I feel like we’re going to be prepared for that game and we’ll be more focused.”
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