Kansas Jayhawks Basketball Predictions: West Virginia Mountaineers

The Kansas Jayhawks welcome Gameday into town today in preparation for what is probably the most important home game of the season (at least until Monday). Life in the Big 12 has been difficult for everyone this year, and with the West Virginia Mountaineers coming to town, it isn’t going to get any easier. Can KU nail down a super important home win against a tough opponent to stay in the Big 12 race?

David: I can’t really think of another time I’ve fully expected a home loss in Big 12 play, but here we are. This team has done nothing to inspire confidence of late. It’s going to take a better, more cohesive performance than we’ve seen in the last couple weeks to take down West Virginia. Turning it around and coming up with the big win just doesn’t seem to be in keeping with the story of the season so far. West Virginia 79, Kansas 71

Mike.Plank: I honestly haven’t seen much of the past two games, but I have no reason to believe that David’s pessimism isn’t warranted. KU likes to fall behind to West Virginia before coming back for big wins, which means… well… absolutely nothing I guess. Shut up, Mike. Just make a prediction. OK. West Virginia 82, Kansas 76.

Fizzle406: i’m with mike and david, Kansas sucks at home this year and WVU is good. West Virginia 80, Kansas 74

dnoll5: These clowns above me have gotten it all wrong. Sure, West Virginia is good, but please remember that on their day, Kansas is too. This is the game that will propel Kansas to its fourteenth consecutive Big 12 title. If I have to believe in something, I’ll believe in that. I don’t think the Jayhawks will let us down, and I’m as sure of that as I am that West Virginia’s stupid gimmicky style of play travels poorly. Get those guys into a half court game, make some open jumpers, (pay off the referees), and it’s a blowout. Yes, I’m predicting a blowout. Kansas 99, West Virginia 75.

Kyle_Davis21: I get that Kansas hasn’t shown much lately to make you feel overly confident, even at home. And West Virginia can absolutely win this game. But what about West Virginia’s performance lately makes you any more confident in the Mountaineers? WVU is 4-4 since losing to Kansas in Morgantown. GameDay is in town, Aldrich’s Jersey will go into the rafters, and the 2008 national championship team will be honored. Meaning: the fieldhouse will be rocking. Vick is showing promise of bouncing back and the Mountaineers should get fewer whistles on the road. Kansas 79, West Virginia 74

Andy Mitts: No disrespect to anyone else here, but you are all crazy. First, yes KU has struggled at home, but West Virginia got blasted on the road by Iowa State and lost a head-scratcher at home against Oklahoma State where they had a pretty commanding lead. The Mountaineers are the epitome of Kansas weather: you never know what you are going to get in the next 5 minutes. They are definitely capable of winning this game, but they have some serious problems, including the fact that Kansas is a really bad matchup for them. On the other hand, Kansas has had real problems at home, even when the crowd should have been hyped up. They lost to Oklahoma State on a day when we were celebrating a huge anniversary in Kansas basketball, so have Aldrich here isn’t necessarily going to spark this team any more than normal.
All that being said, Kansas really needs this game, and I have more trust in Devonte’ Graham and his ability to pull this team to victory than I do for Jevon Carter. Kansas gets off to a hot start, West Virginia claws back around halftime, especially when Azubuike picks up his 3rd foul within a minute of halftime. But ultimately, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and Malik Newman get hot and propel Kansas to a huge home win. Kansas 77, West Virginia 73.