Scripts have changed for WVU, No. 15 TCU, as the rematch approaches

MORGANTOWN — In the span of two weeks, worlds have been flipped where it concerns the 15th-ranked TCU men’s basketball team and WVU.

Once thought to be simply treading water, the Mountaineers (13-8, 2-6 Big 12) have responded with three victories over their last four games — all of them holding some sort of significance — while the Horned Frogs (16-5, 5-3) are dealing with severe injuries.

We begin with TCU, which lost more than just an overtime game against Mississippi State last Saturday. In the early minutes of the game, star guard Mike Miles Jr. went down on the floor after injuring his right knee.

WVU STATS

According to published reports, Miles is not expected to miss the rest of the season, but he is doubtful to return for Tuesday’s 9 p.m. game against WVU.

He was the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year and is averaging 18.1 points this season. He had 21 points in 36 minutes in the first meeting this season between the schools, a 74-65 WVU victory in Morgantown.

“I don’t think it changes it very much,” WVU head coach Bob Huggins said Thursday. “They’ve got multiple guys who can make shots. I’ve watched a bunch of their games, and when Miles has a bad day, they have a lot of other people capable of stepping up.”

TCU may also be without starting center Eddie Lampkin Jr., who is the Horned Frogs’ biggest presence down low at 6-foot-11 and 263 pounds.

Lampkin suffered a high ankle sprain against Kansas on Jan. 21, and has missed both games since.
Then there are the Mountaineers, who enter the match-up in a tie for eighth place in the Big 12 standings, but are suddenly delivering body blows rather than receiving them.

The first victory against TCU on Jan. 18 ended an 11-game losing streak to ranked opponents, and the Mountaineers followed that up with a road win against Texas Tech, which ended a 12-game road losing streak in Big 12 play.

WVU is now coming off an 80-77 victory against then-No. 15 Auburn, giving the Mountaineers two signature wins to help build their NCAA tournament résumé.

“In the beginning, we were kind of lost,” Huggins said. “We had guys from the portal, we had transfers, we had freshmen. We had such a conglomeration of a lot of different people who had been coached in a lot of different ways. To be able to get all those guys on the same page was really a struggle.”

That struggle began with the start of Big 12 play with an 0-5 start, but since, WVU has climbed up to No. 25 in the NCAA NET rankings, leaving it on solid footing to make a run for the NCAA tournament.

“I think we’re to the point now where everybody understands their role,” Huggins said. “They understand what they can do. They understand what their teammates can do. I think that puts us in a much better place.”

That can be seen in the play of guard Erik Stevenson, who has combined for 47 points over his last two games after scoring just 25 in the three games prior to that.

Jimmy Bell Jr. also played well in the first meeting against TCU, finishing with 15 points and 12 rebounds, his second double-double of the season.

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