MORGANTOWN ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” The West Virginia womenÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s basketball team is about to see a step up in competition.
The Mountaineers have made it through their nonconference schedule and are set to open Big 12 Conference play Saturday with a 2 p.m. game against Oklahoma at the WVU Coliseum.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™m excited to get going,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ WVU fifth-year point guard Madisen Smith said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œI think itÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s going to be a great year for us. We have girls that can really play hard on defense and offense ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” starters and off the bench. I think we have a really good team this year and IÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™m excited to get going.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
WVU is one of seven teams in the 10-team league currently with two or fewer losses this season after making their way through nonconference play with a 9-2 mark ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” the MountaineersÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ two losses came against NC State and at Penn State.
The loss to the Lady Lions was followed with a resilient 49-45 victory over Georgia in the West Palm Beach Invitational and an 82-51 victory over Miami (Ohio) the following day. Those two games in south Florida were the only two contests the team has had since the loss to Penn State on Dec. 11.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œI thought we did a really good job of competing when we were down in Florida,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ WVU head coach Dawn Plitzuweit said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œCertainly the Georgia game was a game where I thought we played hard and I thought we finished plays at a very, very high level in that game, and thatÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s something that weÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve seen in other games during stretches, and that was a game that we saw it for longer stretches of the game and that was really good.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
The Mountaineers have the fourth-best scoring defense in the nation and best in the Big 12 at 50.3 points allowed per game ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” WVU is the only Big 12 team in the top 25 in the category. WVUÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s opponents are shooting just 35.3% from the field and turn it over an average of 22.9 times per game.
ThatÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ll be tested moving forward.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œDefinitely, weÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re ready,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Smith said.
The Big 12 features four teams in the AP top 25 ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Iowa State is No. 15, Oklahoma is No. 20, Kansas is No. 22 and Baylor is No. 23. Texas is also in the receiving votes category, and while not ranked, Texas Tech has the best overall record in the league at 12-1.
In the NET rankings, eight of the 10 teams in the league are in the top 75 ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” WVU is 75th, while Texas Tech is just behind at 77th and TCU is No. 139. Iowa State has the best NET ranking in the league at No. 13, and Texas, Baylor, Kansas, Oklahoma State and Kansas State are all in the top 50.
While defense has been a strength through nonconference play, WVU will see more potent offenses moving forward.
Half of the league is in the top 50 nationally in scoring, and the MountaineersÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ first league opponent ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Oklahoma ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” is the top scoring team in the Big 12 and sixth nationally. The Sooners average 87.5 points per game.
Iowa State was picked in the Big 12 preseason poll to win the league and received four first place votes. Texas, the defending champion, was second and also received four first place votes, while Oklahoma and Baylor were third and fourth, respectively, and each received a first place vote. WVU was picked eighth in the poll.
WVU will follow its 2 p.m. game Saturday against Oklahoma with road trips to Iowa State on Wednesday and at Kansas State the following Saturday.
