Both No. 14 WVU and No. 12 Texas Tech may have rust to shake off in their Big Monday showdown

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — It’s a Big Monday showdown that may be anything but.

“When it comes to Monday, we’re going to have to create our own energy,” WVU guard Deuce McBride said minutes after the 14th-ranked WVU men’s basketball team had finished off Kansas State, 69-47. “Obviously, we’d love to have the fans in the Coliseum. It’s the way things are, so we have to figure out a way to get through that.”

Due to COVID-19 regulations, only a limited amount of family members will be on hand at 9 p.m. Monday when the Mountaineers (10-4, 3-3 Big 12) host No. 12 Texas Tech (11-4, 4-3).

That’s far from the only reason this match-up is askew.

WVU’s victory against the Wildcats was its first game in two weeks, as the Mountaineers were on the sidelines after not being able to meet Big 12 roster requirements due to positive coronavirus tests and contact tracing within its program.

The Red Raiders haven’t played since losing at home against No. 2 Baylor on Jan. 16.

They had games postponed against TCU and Iowa State through those programs also not being able to meet conference roster requirements.

More than likely, it may be two top 15 teams trying to shake off some rust inside the WVU Coliseum rather than being at the top of their games.

Preparing for that may be anything but traditional.

“I doubt that we do anything that surprises Chris (Beard, Texas Tech head coach) and I doubt that Chris does anything that surprises us,” WVU head coach Bob Huggins said. “That’s league play. You kind of know what you’re getting into.

“I think what plays into this is how much they’ve been able to practice. I know the little bit we’ve been able to practice wasn’t very much.”

The Red Raiders will come in looking different from a season ago.

Texas Tech’s leading scorer, Mac McClung, was a standout at Georgetown last season.

It’s second-leading rebounder, Marcus Santos-Silva, is a transfer from Virginia Commonwealth. He was named the Big 12’s preseason Newcomer of the Year. Reserve guard Jamarius Burton is a transfer from Wichita State.

They’ve mixed in with holdovers Terrance Shannon Jr., Kyler Edwards and Kevin McCullar to form a nucleus that leads the Big 12 in points allowed (59.9 ppg).

Texas Tech has also gone through some roster adversity.

UNLV transfer Joel Ntambwe and 5-star freshman Nimari Burnett both left the team for personal reasons. Burnett is currently in the NCAA Transfer Portal looking for a new team for next season.

As for the Mountaineers, the quick turnaround will be a major challenge for a team that spent the better part of the last two weeks practicing with just four available players.

Huggins said conditioning will be an immediate focus for the players who were forced to quarantine.

“I thought the guys who got to work out were pretty good,” Huggins said. “I thought the guys who didn’t get to work out because of the COVID thing, they struggled. We’ve got to get those guys back into playing shape. That’s going to be hard to do with the schedule we’ve got coming.”

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