Undefeated WVU is in the right conference for a challenge this women’s basketball season.
One of four undefeated teams, No. 25 WVU places last of the five Big 12 schools featured in the AP Top 25. Of those schools, just No. 11 Kansas State has a loss while No. 5 Texas, No. 10 Baylor, and No. 23 TCU were all undefeated in non-conference play.
As WVU gears up for the Big 12’s first conference matchup of the season, they will want to prepare for a tough season. A lot can and will change before the Big 12 Championship in March, but this is where the competition stands now for West Virginia.
Texas Longhorns: 13-0 (Ranked No. 5 by Associated Press)
The Longhorns earned their top status with a strong mix of height and skill across the floor. Headlined by ESPN’s ranked sixth best player in the nation, 5’6″ guard Rori Harmon, the Longhorns also start two 6’4″ forwards and have 11 six-foot players.
Texas has yet to play a ton of competition as of yet, but it has taken care of every team in front of them, including then-No. 12 UConn by 12 points. The Longhorns can certainly score, entering triple digit scores five times so far, but how their season will play out is still in the air due to injury concerns for Harmon and Taylor Jones.
The Mountaineers first play Texas on Jan. 6 in the WVU Coliseum.
Baylor Bears: 11-0 (Ranked No. 10 by Associated Press)
The Bears have a powerful roster at their disposal, as four starters received votes for ESPN’s top 25 players. Also unlike Texas, Baylor has two victories against ranked teams with an 84-77 win over then-No. 4 Utah and a 75-57 triumph over No. 24 Miami.
Baylor does not quite have the height or depth of Texas, but the team still manages to outrebound its opponents by 13.5 boards on average. The Bears sit just behind the Longhorns, though by a decent margin, in the conference’s scoring and margin of victory averages and have the third least points allowed in the conference.
Baylor will look to break out as the primary contenders in Saturday’s game against Texas. It is not until Feb. 10 when WVU will visit the Bears in Waco.
TCU Horned Frogs: 13-0 (Ranked No. 23 by Associated Press)
The Horned Frogs are in a weird place amongst the other undefeated teams in the conference. They never cracked triple digit scoring and they have yet to play a ranked team to really prove themselves.
Nevertheless, TCU, like Texas, is 13-0, primarily under the direction of its two 20-point scorers, Madison Conner and Sedona Prince. The pair tops the Big 12 in scoring averages at first and second respectively, and Prince also leads the conference in blocks per game with 3.3.
That being said, the Horned Frogs also give their starters much more playing time than the deeper teams in the conference, making it difficult to gauge their full power. TCU will meet the Mountaineers Feb. 13 in Fort Worth.
WVU Mountaineers: 11-0 (Ranked No. 25 by Associated Press)
The Mountaineers’ unique press-to-zone defensive scheme forces the second most turnovers in the Big 12 behind Texas. As such, WVU boasts the third highest average scoring margin in the conference.
ESPN named Mark Kellogg the NCAA’s coach of the week, and junior guard JJ Quinerly was named the conference’s player of the second week of December. Four players average over two steals per game as well, making for an impressive opening season for the Mountaineers.
WVU’s 103-52 win over Niagara earned themself a place in the AP Top 25 this week, which is only set to rise after projected wins against Kansas and Cincinnati in the next two games.
Kansas State Wildcats: 12-1 (Ranked No. 11 by Associated Press)
Ayoka Lee hit 19th in ESPN’s player rankings last week. The 6’6″ senior is the Big 12’s third and final player averaging 20 points per game, and her value shows.
Lee definitely gives Kansas State an advantage in the AP voting, especially considering the team has the fifth highest margin of victory in the conference and one loss despite being ranked significantly above TCU and West Virginia. The Wildcats do shine, however, in efficiency, as they barely beat WVU for the second highest field goal percentage in the conference, and they hold opponents to the second lowest field goal and three-point percentages.
Kansas State opens Big 12 play against Cincinnati and will meet WVU Feb. 21 in Kansas. The Wildcats’ only loss was to No. 4 Iowa.
UCF Knights: 9-1
West Virginia plays UCF twice in January. As the second lowest scorer in the Big 12, the Knights are likely to struggle against WVU’s zone defense.
UCF does hold its own defensively, however, allowing the fifth least points per game in the conference. The sample size is both small and unsubstantial, as the Knights have yet to play a ranked team in their 10 games, but they do tend to force teams to slow down with them in scoring.
The recent 59-58 loss to Florida Atlantic will hurt the Knights reputation entering conference play, but if they can slow the pace against the Big 12’s offensive powerhouses, they could be an interesting team to watch this year.
Texas Tech Red Raiders: 11-2
The Red Raiders do not pop off the page in any statistical category, but they do have wins.
11-2, Texas Tech’s only losses of the season came in their most recent appearance in the Maui Classic. Nevertheless, the Red Raiders are young and certainly capable, but how that will translate to conference play is yet to be seen.
The Red Raiders travel to Morgantown Feb. 6 for the teams’ only matchup this season.
Houston Cougars: 9-2
Houston has had some incredible highs and lows this season, especially in terms of scoring. Had the Cougars opened the season with one more point against Air Force, they would have started the season with three straight 100-point games.
When contrasting that with a 70-45 loss to Middle Tennessee State and a 95-48 loss to Washington State, it is no surprise that Houston has yet to establish itself as a threat. At best Houston sits in the middle of the pack in team stats. At worst, the Cougars have the second lowest field goal and three-point percentages in the conference while also allowing the most rebounds per game.
The Cougars will open conference play against Texas Tech and play WVU Jan. 17 at the Coliseum.
BYU Cougars: 10-3
BYU has had an average start to the season, but the Cougars can shoot. Ranked fourth in field goal percentage and third in three-point percentage, BYU is definitely a threat to even the undefeated teams in the conference.
The Cougars are heavily led by senior forward Lauren Gustin. She ranks sixth in the Big 12 in scoring with 16.9 points per game, but her real strength is rebounding, as the 6’1″ forward averages a ridiculous 15.4 rebounds per game, which is down from last season’s 16.7.
Gustin and the Cougars welcome WVU to Utah Feb. 3.
Cincinnati Bearcats: 8-3
Cincinnati has the worst shooting percentage in the Big 12, both in field goals and three-pointers. The Bearcats also rank last in assist to turnover ratio. The biggest problem, though would be that Cincinnati places last in scoring and margin of victory.
In terms of record, however, Cincinnati stands strong, especially considering that the Bearcats’ three losses were all to ranked teams. They will look to end that streak against Kansas State on Saturday before traveling to Morgantown Jan. 3.
Iowa State Cyclones: 7-4
Iowa State has a decent balance between offense and defense, ranking fifth in field goal percentage and allowing the fourth worst from opponents. Scoring does not jump off the page, but the Cyclones do shoot at the fourth highest three-point clip in the conference.
After losing three of its first four games Iowa State now sits 7-4 with one triple-digit win under its belt. The Cyclones welcome WVU to their own coliseum Jan. 10.
Kansas Jayhawks: 7-4
The Jayhawks are a good first conference opponent for WVU. The team is pretty average across the board when compared to its Big 12 peers, but it does have an exploitable weakness in rebounding, which WVU needs to improve on as well.
Kansas’s rebounding struggles are an interesting case, as the team’s best player is 6’6″ center Taiyanna Jackson. Jackson is an anchor for the Jayhawks, averaging just under 10 rebounds per game and blocking 2.6 shots on average. This defensive star will be a good challenge for WVU, but the Mountaineers should be able to outscore Kansas regardless of her performance.
Oklahoma State Cowgirls: 7-4
OSU allows the second most points among Big 12 teams. As such, despite personal ability to score, as exhibited by back-to-back triple-digit games to start the season, the Cowgirls are just 7-4 after their loss to Oregon.
Oklahoma State does shoot a high quantity of three-point shots, making the Cowgirls a genuine threat if they reach a hot streak, but their inability to keep mostly out-of-conference opponents under 40% shooting from the field is a weakness that any team can exploit.
Oklahoma Sooners: 6-5
The only team that allows more points than Oklahoma State are the Oklahoma Sooners. The Sooners do, however, place 13 spots higher in rebounding.
The Sooners average 46.8 rebounds per game, but they also allow the second most rebounds per game, so the statistic is likely just a byproduct of fast pace. Regardless, Oklahoma does have something to hang its hat on despite ranking last in the Big 12 before conference games.
Oklahoma will look to bounce back from its 79-70 loss to Southern with its first conference matchup against UCF. The Sooners travel to West Virginia Feb. 17.
Photo by Aaron Parker, Blue Gold Sports
