MORGANTOWN — Armed with a No. 2 seed for the Big 12 Tournament, West Virginia will face several obstacles and questions that normally don’t associate with the higher-seeded teams.
First on that list is the health of the Mountaineers’ top scorer, Kysre Gondrezick.
The senior guard sprained her ankle in the third quarter against Baylor on Monday.
She returned to the game, but WVU head coach Mike Carey eventually had to sit her out as a precaution.
“Kysre still has a lot of soreness in her ankle,” Carey said. “She’s not a full go yet. We’ll see where she’s at come Friday.”
The 17th-ranked Mountaineers (19-5, 13-5 Big 12) will take on either Texas Tech or Kansas State at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
Those two teams played their first-round game late Thursday.
“The both bring a different challenge,” Carey said. “Kansas State we played pretty recently, but it’s been a while since we’ve played Texas Tech. It doesn’t really matter, because at tournament time, you have to play who is there. Everybody (in the Big 12) has played each other twice, so there’s really no surprises. You just have to come out and execute and hope you’re hitting shots.”
A victory in the quarterfinals could set up a potential rematch against Oklahoma State in the semifinals.
The two schools split during the regular season, with each team winning on its home court.
As of now, the Mountaineers are projected as a No. 4 seed for the NCAA Tournament and are ranked No. 23 in the NCAA’s NET rankings.
IF WVU were to go on a run to the title game, or even upset No. 6-ranked Baylor in the finals, the Mountaineers could certainly take a step up in seed for the NCAAs.
“I think we can definitely help it if we advance in the tournament,” Carey said. “As far as hurting it, I don’t know if we could hurt it, but we could definitely help our cause.
“We would have to go to the championship game to help it. You’re not going to help it with just one win or whatever.”
The Mountaineers continue to be a short-handed bunch and will play in the Big 12 Tournament without starting point guard Madisen Smith, who is out with a hamstring injury.
Carey said the team is hopeful Smith can return by the NCAA Tournament, but there was no guarantee.
“The biggest thing is if we get in foul trouble,” Carey said. “If we can stay out of foul trouble, we’re O.K. Most of the teams are playing seven or eight right now getting down to tournament time. It’s not like anybody is playing 10, 12 players this time of the year.”
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(2) WVU vs. TEXAS TECH/K-STATE
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Mo.
TV: ESPN+ (Online subscription needed)
RADIO: 100.9 WZST-FM
POSTGAME: dominionpost.com
