Getting to know: West Virginia basketball

A West Virginia cheerleader rides on top of a crowd of fans as the rush the court after defeating the Jayhawks 74-63 at the WVU Colliseum in Morgantown, W.V. Tuesday.

photo by: Mike Yoder

A West Virginia cheerleader rides on top of a crowd of fans as the rush the court after defeating the Jayhawks 74-63 at the WVU Colliseum in Morgantown, W.V. Tuesday.

West Virginia enters Tuesday’s primetime matchup against second-ranked Kansas on a two-game losing streak, but that won’t diminish any significance in Morgantown.

The 18th-ranked Mountaineers have won three straight matchups against the Jayhawks in their home arena, and they view Tuesday (6 p.m., ESPN) as another opportunity to make a big statement.

In those three losses, the Jayhawks haven’t shot above 50 percent and they were outrebounded in each game.

“They’ve got great speed,” WVU coach Bob Huggins said of the Jayhawks. “They just run at people, and all of a sudden they’re laying it in and most people are just trying to catch up. They’ve got great speed in transition.”

West Virginia, ranked No. 4 in KenPom — four spots ahead of Kansas, was ranked inside of the top 10 prior to an overtime, home loss to Oklahoma and road loss at Kansas State.

Of course, turnovers will be the must-watch category. The Mountaineers (15-4, 4-3 in Big 12) are 0-3 when they turn the ball over more than their opponents. The Jayhawks (18-1, 7-0) should be well-equipped to handle “Press Virginia” with their four-guard lineup, which Matt Tait wrote about Monday.

“What we have to do is attack their pressure to score and then, obviously, take care of the basketball so we don’t have live-ball turnovers,” KU coach Bill Self said. “And then we’ve gotta rebound. We need to steal some possessions on the glass because that’s what they make a living on, stealing extra possessions off the glass.”

And in case you missed it, Tom Keegan wrote a nice feature on Bob Huggins’ roots in West Virginia earlier this week.

Interesting note: The Mountaineers are 5-1 in their last six games against Top 25 teams.

Series history: Kansas leads 6-3. The Jayhawks are 1-3 in Morgantown.

Vegas says: West Virginia by 4.

WEST VIRGINIA STARTERS

No. 2 — G Jevon Carter | 6-2, 200, jr.

West Virginia guard Jevon Carter (2) breaks through Oklahoma players during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017, in Morgantown, W.Va.

• A two-time honoree on the All-Big 12 defensive team, Carter leads the conference with 60 steals this season. He ranks fourth in the nation with 3.16 thefts per game. No other player in the Big 12 has more than 43 steals.

• Along with his defense, Carter leads the Mountaineers with 12.0 points per game on 44 percent shooting. He’s dished 87 assists to 33 turnovers while grabbing an average of 4.1 rebounds.

• Against the Jayhawks last season, Carter scored 20 points in 78 minutes (7-of-19 shooting) with five assists and three steals.

• According to hoop-math.com, Carter only takes 28 percent of his shots at the rim, one of the lowest marks on the squad. He’s scored on 66 percent of those layups/dunks.

• QUOTE: “Last year, I feel like I worked hard, but I didn’t work hard enough and it showed,” Carter said. “That’s why we came up short. If you shortcut the game, the game’s going to shortcut you. That’s why I give the game my all and sometimes, you get rewarded.”

No. 4 — G Daxter Miles Jr. | 6-3, 200, jr.

West Virginia guard Daxter Miles Jr. (4) is stripped of the ball by Kansas State guard Kamau Stokes, left, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Manhattan, Kan., Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017.

• Shooting 49.6 percent from the floor, Miles is averaging 10.3 points in 20.6 minutes per game. He’s shooting 37.9 percent from deep, but only 58.8 percent at the free throw line.

• Miles scored 12 points in 64 minutes during three games against the Jayhawks last year.

• Doesn’t spend much time taking shots outside of threes and at the rim. According to hoop-math.com, Miles has taken a team-low percentage of mid-range jumpers (13.3).

• His high school coach, Cyrus Jones, played at West Virginia.

• QUOTE: “Dax, J.C. and Esa, when they have open shots, I want them to shoot it,” Huggins said. “I get more upset when they don’t shoot it than when they do.”

No. 11 — F Nathan Adrian | 6-9, 235, sr.

West Virginia forward Nathan Adrian (11) gets to a loose ball ahead of Kansas State guard Barry Brown (5) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Manhattan, Kan., Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017.

• Second on the team in minutes (28.3 per game), Adrian averages 10.6 points and a team-best 6.4 rebounds. He’s a strong passer with 61 assists to 27 turnovers.

• A Morgantown native, Adrian ranks third in the Big 12 with 3.2 offensive rebounds per game. He’s collected 61 offensive boards this season.

• One of the important glue players, Adrian is shooting 43.5 percent from the floor and 27.1 percent from downtown.

• Averaged 5.7 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 3.3 rebounds against KU last year.

• QUOTE: “He hasn’t shot the ball very well as of late, but we know how capable he is of making shots,” coach Bob Huggins said. “He never really drove it to the basket until the end of last year and this year – he was really a catch and shoot guy – and I think he has expanded his game. He doesn’t do things that he’s not capable of doing very often. I think that’s the battle. Do what you can do. Don’t try to do things you can’t do.”

No. 20 — F Brandon Watkins | 6-9, 225, sr.

West Virginia forward Brandon Watkins (20) rebounds against Kansas State forward Dean Wade (32) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Manhattan, Kan., Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017.

• Only averaging 15.4 minutes per game, Watkins is averaging 6.9 points and 4.1 rebounds. He ranks second on the squad with 14 blocks.

• He’s shooting a team-leading 64.3 percent from the floor. According to hoop-math.com, 51 percent of his shots are taken at the rim.

• His uncle, Warren Baker, was a star player for the Mountaineers. He scored 1,556 points and was the only player in school history to lead the team in rebounding for all four seasons (1973-76).

• Watkins contemplated transferring last offseason. Huggins told him to take a “little vacation” before he opted to return. His team voted unanimously to allow him to rejoin the squad.

• QUOTE: “Brandon’s been working his butt off,” teammate James Bolden said. “He’s been in the gym late nights and early mornings. It’s showing for him finally. Coach Huggs is trusting him. It all comes back to trust with Coach Huggs.”

No. 23 — F Esa Ahmad | 6-8, 225, soph.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas guard Frank Mason III (0) collides with West Virginia forward Esa Ahmad (23) while going for a loose ball during the first half, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2016 at Allen Fieldhouse.

• After leading the Mountaineers in scoring for the first two months of the season, he’s in the middle of a slump. After scoring at least eight points in the team’s first 15 games, he hasn’t scored more than eight in the past four contests.

• Throughout the season, Ahmad is averaging 11.3 points and 4.5 rebounds. He’s shooting 51.7 percent from the floor and 63.8 percent at the free throw line. He ranks third on the team with 25 steals and 12 blocks.

• Against KU last year, Ahmad scored 12 points in 54 minutes.

• Pronunciation: E-sa AAh-muhd. He’s started every game in which he has played.

• QUOTE: “He can shoot, he can score, he can pass, he can rebound,” Carter said. “He can do everything we need. We just need to get him back running the way he was.”

WEST VIRGINIA BENCH

No. 12 — G Tarik Phillip | 6-3, 195, sr.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas forward Landen Lucas (33) gets up to defend against a shot from West Virginia guard Tarik Phillip (12) during the first half, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2016 at Allen Fieldhouse.

• Off of the bench (six starts in 19 games), Phillip is averaging 9.1 points and 2.9 rebounds in 22.5 minutes per game. He’s shooting 47 percent from the floor and 40 percent from deep, but only 60 percent at the free throw line.

• A pesky defender, Phillip ranks second on the team with 30 steals and he’s blocked six shots.

• Versus the Jayhawks last year, Phillip scored 23 points on 7-of-26 shooting with five steals.

No. 50 — F Sagaba Konate | 6-8, 250, fr.

• Only averaging 10.6 minutes per game, Konate leads the Mountaineers with an astounding 27 blocks, which ranks seventh in the Big 12.

• He’s averaging 4.8 points and 2.8 rebounds on 54 percent shooting.

• Pronunciation: SAG-uh-buh Kuh-NUH-teh. The Mali native moved to the United States prior to his junior year in high school. He speaks three languages: English, French and Bambara.

• QUOTE: “Play defense and rebound. I have to protect the basket and rebound the ball,” he said of his role.

No. 15 — F Lamont West | 6-8, 215, r-fr.

• Redshirted last season. Averaging 6.1 points in 10.9 minutes per game. He’s shooting 17-of-45 from deep (38 percent).

• West, a Cincinnati native, played in high school with former WVU standout Devin Williams.

• His mother, Tonya (Kirk) West, was a four-year starter at Purdue from 1993-96. She helped the Boilermakers to the Final Four in 1994.

• QUOTE: “I used to suck, to be honest. I used to suck real bad,” said West, who didn’t seriously play basketball until middle school. “Like, I wasn’t good at all. If y’all would’ve seen me back then, y’all would’ve never thought that I would be in this position I’m in right now.”

No. 0 — G Teyvon Myers | 6-2, 185, sr.

West Virginia guard Teyvon Myers (0) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan., Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017.

• Averaging 7.8 points and 1.3 rebounds in 15.5 minutes per gmae. He’s grabbed 14 steals and is shooting 48 percent from deep (11 of 23).

• A junior college transfer from Williston State College in North Dakota, West led the nation in scoring at the JUCO level, averaging 25 points per game in 2014-15.

• QUOTE: “I fell like we all feed off each other,” Myers said. “We all give off positive energy.”

No. 45 — F Elijah Macon | 6-9, 240, jr.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas forward Perry Ellis wrestles with West Virginia forward Elijah Macon (45) for a ball during the first half, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2016 at Allen Fieldhouse.

• Macon has posted averages of 4.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 12.1 minutes per game. He’s shooting 53 percent from the field and 61 percent at the charity stripe.

• His mom, Renai, died two years ago after battling cancer.

• QUOTE: “My first two years, I don’t believe I was always into it mentally, from family things to personal things and trying to figure Elijah out,” he said. “That’s pretty much what I worked on over the summer. A lot of self-evaluation of myself and what I need to do.”

No. 3 — G James Bolden | 6-0, 160, r-fr.

• A 3-point specialist, Boldne is 11-of-26 from deep this season. He’s only taken a total of 35 shots, averaging 3.8 points per game.

• His nickname is Beetle. He missed all of last season with a torn ACL in his right knee.

• He was a three-time selection to the Kentucky all-state basketball team.