MORGANTOWN — The No. 24 WVU men’s basketball team will be back to full strength when it opens Big 12 play on the road Saturday against Kansas State.
WVU forward Emmitt Matthews Jr. returned to practice this week and is expected to play against the Wildcats (11-1).
“He’s going to play,” WVU head coach Bob Huggins said. “He’s ready to go.”
Matthews missed the last two games with a bone bruise in his left knee, which he suffered in a game against UAB on Dec. 10.
Matthews remained in that game and finished with 16 points and nine rebounds over 34 minutes, but sat out in wins against Buffalo and Stony Brook.
Huggins likened Matthews’ injury to that of a bad bruise on someone’s arm, saying he just needed time for it to heal.
“He’ll be fine,” Huggins said. “Thank goodness it wasn’t a tear. It was just a bruise. It’s not really that much different from a bruise on your arm or elbow or whatever. He’s fine.”
In 10 games this season, Matthews is averaging 10.8 points, while shooting 47% from the field.
In his previous three seasons with the Mountaineers (10-2), Matthews has struggled against K-State, averaging just 5.2 points over six games.
He’s never scored in double figures against the Wildcats.
Ho-hum on Top 25
WVU’s No. 24 ranking in the Associated Press Top 25 poll is the first time the Mountaineers have been ranked since the end of the 2020-21 season.
It didn’t exactly cause much of a stir inside the program.
“They know about it, but I don’t think it made much difference one way or the other to be honest,” Huggins said.
Crucial road trip
WVU will stay on the road and travel to Oklahoma State on Monday in what will be a quick turnaround on for the Mountaineers.
There is no denying the importance of the two games, because of what they lead up to once the Mountaineers return home.
“I’d feel a whole lot better about (the road trip), if it wasn’t backed up by Kansas and Baylor,” Huggins said. “We certainly need to win on the road, because we’re coming home to play the two best teams in the conference for the last however many years.”
According to ESPN’s matchup predictor, the Mounatineers are underdogs against both K-State and Oklahoma State, but then are favored to beat No. 4 Kansas and No. 12 Baylor once returning home.
WVU is 4-6 all-time against K-State inside Bramlage Coliseum, and is 6-4 on the road against Oklahoma State.
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